Central Arizona Raceway
Home-stater O'Neil revives Late Model dreams
By Aaron Clay
DirtonDirt weekend editor
Jake O'Neal during Central Arizona practice. (mikerueferphotos.photoreflect.com)
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 9) — As the Wild West Shootout returns to Arizona for the first time in five years, home-state driver Jake O’Neil knows this is likely his best chance for a good finish on the big stage during the miniseries at Central Arizona Raceway. | Complete WWS coverage
Racing within a few hours northwest of his Vail, Ariz., home, O’Neil plans to enter all six events in a Longhorn Chassis recently purchased by Jeff Hodges at Hodges Brothers Racing with support from Troy Tindall at Texas General Mechanical.
“One of the sponsors of mine, a buddy of mine, he was like, ‘I want to go Late Model racing,’ ” O’Neil said. “And I was like, well, ‘I do too.’
“He’s the one that purchased this car, he bought it from (Jonathan) Davenport last year and we got it in June or July.
“That’s always been the dream, we’ve just never been able to afford it,” O’Neil said, after his family-owned operation primarily focused on racing open modifieds out of their Tucson-based shop over the last several seasons.
“We started playing around with it a little bit, went to some big shows and got our butts kicked,” O’Neil half joked before adding, “we improved, I feel like. That’s kinda what we’re gonna have to do … keep getting our butts kicked and making more notes.”
The 33-year-old qualified for six main events on a limited schedule last year, highlighted by a pair of top-five finishes in Comp Cams Super Dirt Series Clash Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., including leading a lap and finishing third in the Clash at the Mag opener.
“Towards the end (of last year), we went to that Magnolia Comp Cams race and there were some pretty good guys there and we were competitive, at least, that makes you feel a little better about it,” O’Neil said, adding “that’s finally about the time we started tuning on the car and not running really standard stuff and kinda learning.”
The learning curve is expected to be steep for O’Neil, who has 10 Late Model feature starts since 2018. He discussed the differences between racing a modified and what it’s been like getting back behind the wheel of a high-powered, full-fendered car.
“The speed and getting adjusted to everything a little bit,” O’Neil said is the biggest difference before adding, “everything happens a little faster (in a Late Model).
"Setupwise, the Late Models are a lot more demanding, for sure. In a modified you can be kinda off and overdrive it and make up some time, but with these things, everybody is good and has good stuff and knows what they’re doing, so it’s kind of a constant catchup game.”
O'Neil also touched upon the aerodynamic challenges between the two styles of cars.
“That’s one of the biggest things to get used to, is racing with the air,” O’Neil said. “You have a little bit of that with the modifieds nowadays, it’s only gotten worse, but the Late Models for sure. You gotta really pick and choose your battles when you get behind somebody, when you enter a corner or on restarts even. You can lose the nose pretty easy.”
O’Neil’s previous Wild West Shootout feature start came Jan. 7, 2024, a 14th-place finish aboard a No. 51 entry fielded by fellow Tucson a Dallas Caldwell. Before that, his last miniseries start came with a ninth-place effort in the 2018 miniseries finale at the now-closed Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek aboard a family-owned entry.
O'Neil, who has a couple modified starts at the Casa Grande, Ariz., 3/8-mile oval more than five years ago, recently attended one of the track’s test sessions and talked about how the racing surface has changed over the years.
“It is definitely a lot different than last time I raced here,” O’Neil said before adding, “there was no wall, it had a lot of banking in (turns) one and two, a transition there. Everything is a little bit different about it, the wall makes a big difference in the way they shaped it. It’s all new to me.”
He's certainly not alone in getting accustomed to the more rounded track layout after (promoter) Brad Whitfield and his team renovated the Pinal County Fairgrounds facility.
“It has a sensation where you’re turning all the time, basically, is what it feels like,” O’Neil said. “It does get pretty narrow, then it opens up a little bit. Then coming out of (turn) two it kinda comes back at you. But we’ll see once there’s other cars on the track, too.”
While noncommittal about his 2026 racing plans, O’Neil would like to make another trip to the Southeast like he did last season in connection to veteran dirt racer Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn.
“Last year we built a new modified out there and that’s about the time we got this Late Model, so we worked out of Jimmy's shop there,” O’Neil said. “Thanks to him, he gave us a place to work out of, otherwise we would’ve really been screwed.
“We haven’t really talked about (the 2026 schedule) a whole lot, but I believe we’re gonna race out of his shop this year and just kinda run some regional stuff. Maybe the Hunt the Front Series, I’m not sure yet. If not, then for sure we’ll run some of the bigger shows like Eldora and some of that fun stuff.
“We’ll just kinda see where funding is at and how we’re doing, all that stuff,” he added. “We’ll probably know a lot more after this Wild West Shootout, what we got left.”
O’Neil’s focus is not only centered around his racing efforts, but includes his wife, Brittany and 5-year-old son, Miles. Juggling family life amid racing isn’t easy.
“We raced last year less than I ever have and that’s OK. It hurts you racing and driving-wise, but spending more time with the family is important.
“I definitely don’t want to leave them,” O’Neil added. “We’re trying to decide if we’re gonna go full bore and move (east) and have him go to school out there cause being gone months at a time really sucks, for sure.”
Despite his infrequent Late Model competition in recent years, O’Neil enters Central Arizona action with the same attitude and mindset as he would for any other event.
“We don’t go anywhere without wanting to win, for sure,” O’Neil said. “Realistically, I really want to get some top-fives. I think running good for us would be top-fives, that’d be really good and hopefully we can do that.
“We have a really good team behind us, a lot of great sponsors here. A lot of family and friends that are coming out to watch and being this close to home. It’s pretty neat for sure.”
