After the Checkers
O'Neal's solid '25 start signal of best season?
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Hudson O'Neal (71) works under Mark Whitener (5). (Chris Anderson)
ELLISVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 21) — Instant reaction and analysis from Saturday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season finale at All-Tech Raceway, a $15,000-to-win Wieland Winternationals event won by Hudson O’Neal (RaceWire):
SUPREME CONFIDENCE: He wasn’t the flashiest all week at All-Tech. He didn’t deliver the most dominant performance, nor did he command the most attention. But Hudson O’Neal was among the steadiest — hanging around the front long enough all week to be there Saturday when it mattered. For a driver who typically struggles at the All-Tech half-mile, O’Neal showed few signs of weakness with his SSI Motorsports team across three nights, finishing third, fifth and, of course, first. O’Neal’s only blemish all week was a first-to-third backslide in his Friday heat all because of a sluggish initial start. But O’Neal’s hindrance last year, qualifying, emerged as a strength. A year after setting quick time just three occasions with the series, O’Neal went fastest on opening night at All-Tech, then backed it up with second-quick marks in Group B on both Friday-Saturday. That didn’t develop by happenstance. It was the product of a winter’s worth of preparation, spearheaded by crew chief Jason Durham, who finally had a full offseason to mold SSI Motorsports into his vision instead of piecing things together on the fly after coming aboard midyear. O’Neal said Saturday he logged at least 200 testing laps at All-Tech, Ocala and Golden Isles over the winter — and didn’t leave either place without a firmer grasp of a baseline package. With his nation-leading five victories already this season (see Stat of the Night below), two with SSI, O’Neal has unlocked a new level of confidence that could translate to a sixth, seventh or perhaps even more wins before Speedweeks concludes. For a driver who’s shown all the talent over the years, yet hasn’t had that true breakout campaign, perhaps this could be the year O’Neal evolves into a 20-race winner, maybe even 30-race victor, should he maintain this pace.
HE GAVE IT ALL: Mark Whitener immediately knew: “If I had a do-over again, I’d probably calm down.” After giving everything he had Saturday in pursuit of his first Lucas Oil Series feature win — in his uncle’s memorial race at his home track — the Middleburg, Fla., driver quickly reckoned with the reality that he’d pushed too hard, too early. Despite pacing the opening 26 laps, Whitener felt the pressure O’Neal lurking behind. With a razor-thin margin for error, he wrung everything he could from his self-funded No. 5 machine, inching higher and higher toward the wall — until he finally went over the limit. “Knocked the spindle off and I was holding on at that point,” Whitener said. “I knew it was just a matter time.” Still, Whitener could live with how Saturday ended. If he was going to fall short, he preferred doing so knowing he’d pushed to the limit rather than leaving anything on the table. “Listen, I gave it everything I had,” he said. “It’s hard. These guys are really good. They don’t make mistakes.”
BREAKTHROUGH BREWING: Nearly two months into the season, Clay Harris has emerged as the way-too-early favorite for Most Improved Driver of the Year. Yes, his breakout has come at only one track so far — All-Tech — but “impressive” hardly does justice to the leap from midpack tour driver in 2024-25 to a legitimate Speedweeks contender. When Harris went for broke while running second Thursday night, he shrugged off the resulting DNF and made it clear he’d be back. “This is the most excited I’ve been for a season,” Harris said Thursday, crediting a surplus of equipment for the optimism. Instead of nursing a single engine as he did through Speedweeks last year, Harris arrived this trip with six powerplants at his disposal, a luxury that’s allowed him to race on the offensive attack rather than conservatively. That breakthrough victory could come this week at Ocala.
BACK ON TRACK: Garrett Alberson could finally smile again. After three trying days at All-Tech — including a Wednesday practice night cut short while diagnosing car gremlins — the Roberts Motorsports team finally looked like itself again Saturday. A switch to the team’s secondary car proved to be the needed reset. After taking provisionals and finishing 13th and 14th on Thursday and Friday, Alberson’s fourth-place run Saturday allows the team to take a breath once more and finally settle in, rather than continue fighting metaphorical fires. “Now we have to go do the same at Ocala,” Alberson said.
TIME TO REGROUP: Ricky Thornton Jr. and Koehler Motorsports are making an impromptu return trip to their Mount Airy, N.C., race shop following a disappointing week at All-Tech, trying to regroup ahead of Ocala Winternationals. The Chandler, Ariz., driver bent the frame on his primary car after slapping the wall in time trials, forcing the team to unload a backup. Thornton ultimately relied on a provisional and managed only an 18th-place finish after starting 23rd. With no obligation to contest non-points events Tuesday-Wednesday at Ocala, the team may not return until Lucas Oil points-paying races resume Thursday. They’re hoping this is the reset they need.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: With five victories already, Hudson O’Neal is officially off to the best start of his Dirt Late Model career. The 25-year-old reached four wins by the end of Speedweeks in both 2023 and 2024, but the fastest he’d ever gotten to five in a season was May 4, 2023. The last driver to reach five victories this quickly was Bobby Pierce, who did it by Feb. 12, 2024 — a season that ended with 34 victories.
