All-Tech Raceway
Off to hot start in 2026, for O’Neal, life is good
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
SSI Motorsports in victory lane at All-Tech. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
ELLISVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 21) — Donning a megawatt smile fueled by the elation of finally conquering the elusive All-Tech Raceway, a racetrack that’s been a thorn in his side, Hudson O’Neal couldn’t picture life as a racer being more gratifying than it is at the moment.
“It’s a lot of fun, racing and my life right now, a lot of fun,” the Martinsville, Ind., superstar said Saturday following his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of 2026, a $15,000 triumph. “I’ve never really enjoyed racing more than I do right now.”
The 25-year-old is officially off to the best start of his career, leading the nation with five victories as the only driver to triumph at every track he’s competed at so far: Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Ariz.; Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.; and now All-Tech.
He’s backed by a robust four-man SSI Motorsports race-day crew led by veteran head wrench Jason Durham along with Kyle Daily, Logan Scott and Riley Sheedy. When he’s not racing with the Todd and Vicki Burns-owned SSI unit, O’Neal runs select events with Longhorn Chassis engineer Kevin Rumley, soaking in additional valuable input while driving Rumley’s vaunted No. 6 machine as his Durham-managed No. 71 team stays fresh and ready for his return.
Not to mention, he’s a married man now, having tied the knot with longtime partner Tessa in an October ceremony officiated by Rumley. Life is good.
“I have such a healthy relationship with the 6 car and the 71, it’s all love. Everyone wants each other to do good,” O’Neal said. “It’s really, really awesome just to be part of and be in the situation I’m in. Very blessed in that aspect.
“It’s been a great start to the year. I have a great group with Kyle, Riley, Logan. Have probably one of the best crews in the pit area. Such a healthy relationship with everybody. Looking forward to the rest of Speedweeks. This puts a good stamp on it, for sure.”
O’Neal wasn’t the flashiest driver all week at All-Tech, nor did he enjoy a mistake-free four-day stay. He backslid from the pole twice: in Thursday’s feature where he finished third and in Friday’s heat, where he also finished third, which started him 12th in that night’s 40-lap feature.
But by Saturday, O’Neal put it all together. He carried over his qualifying speed from Thursday when he set overall fast time and paired it with the race pace he showed Friday by charging from 12th to fifth. The result was a complete, buttoned-up performance Saturday in which he pressured early pacesetter Mark Whitener to the point that the Middleburg, Fla., driver made enough mistakes to relinquish the lead to O’Neal on lap 30 of 50.
Essentially, O’Neal matched Whitener’s pace through the first half of the feature along the half-mile’s top side, then waited for the bottom groove to come in, knowing how treacherous the line against the wall can be, before making his move.
“I was just pacing. It was so top-dominant there for the longest time,” O’Neal said “(Whitener) was running on the edge, caught the fence down here a couple times, but, man, he was tough to beat. He was gonna be tough if it stayed around that top. Luckily, in lapped traffic, unfortunate for him being the leader, I got to try that bottom one time down in three and four. And it stuck and drove a little better that time.”
Beyond an uplifting support system, what changed for a driver who entered the week with a career average finish of 11.6 at the track? A revamped Georgia-Florida Speedweeks schedule, with opening Lucas Oil events now contested after the Daytona 500, created room on the calendar for additional testing.
There’s no way, O’Neal figured, he would’ve ended up in victory lane Saturday, much less strung together three consecutive top-five finishes, without an abundance of laps and a full commitment to figuring out the temperamental half-mile during an hours-long test session earlier this winter.
“We had a great week. We probably contribute a lot of that to testing,” O’Neal said. “My boys worked really, really hard, trying to give us a good piece. If you would’ve been here for the first hour and a half of us testing here, we were ready to jump off the bridge. Just kept working at it, little by little, and kept getting a little better. And that was kind of the same story this week, too.
“We ran third the first night, but felt like we needed to be better to be able to compete with them guys. We got a little bit better last night, and then finally felt like we had the starting position to be able to capitalize on it tonight. Our race car was really good.”
O’Neal emphasized that “it took every single lap of it — every single lap — to finally feel where we’re comfortable and find a baseline.” By his estimate, he logged more than 200 test laps, an investment that, for SSI, amounts to roughly a fifth of a motor rebuild.
“It takes owners like Todd and Vicki Burns to understand that sometimes you got to go and do it. You got to get it out of the dirt. If people would’ve seen how we started off our testing here and at Ocala and stuff, they’d understand what I’m saying. We just struggled for a long time. But we kept at it, kept at it … and it’s so rewarding.”
When O’Neal charged from 15th to win last September’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals in the regular-season finale, he appeared to solidify his status as a Big Four title contender entering the Lucas Oil playoffs. But his trajectory took a sharp nosedive soon after, producing finishes of 22nd, 17th, eighth, 21st and 26th across the five-race playoff stretch.
In reality, O’Neal was effectively out of contention following the opening playoff weekend at his home track Brownstown Speedway, where he twice ran into problems inside the top five. A non-factor weekend at Pittsburgher and the Dirt Track World Championship only compounded the disappointment.
Last year’s sour ending, if anything, prompted O’Neal and SSI to test with greater urgency and intent, while also striking up a partnership with Penske Racing Shocks, a move clearly paying dividends.
“We were a little worried, but we put our noses to the grindstone and tested hard,” O’Neal said when transitioning toward 2026. “As hard as probably I’ve ever tested. And we just grinded it out. That’s about all I can say. We’ve ran everything, and tried a lot of things. We just have a good little package right now.
“We’ve gotten a lot of support from (Penske). They’ve been testing with us and everything. I think that’s a big plus in itself. Then obviously Jason Durham has been doing this a long time. He’s one of the best crew chiefs ever in this sport. I think me and him communicate very, very well. From the time we started together last year, I felt like we always been on the same page and communicated well. It’s very good.”
Now O’Neal’s on pace for his finest season yet, perhaps on his way to topping his career-high 14 victories in 2023 with Rocket1 Racing.
“Like I said, I enjoy racing right now more than maybe I ever have, as far as being out here on the road and joying who I’m around,” O’Neal said. “My guys are great. I can’t say enough about how good all my guys are. And how good they get along, how enjoyable it is to be out here.
“And after the race be able to hang out, eat dinner, it’s just so great. Hats off to all those guys. My job is easier than theirs is a lot of times. I get all the credit. And I really shouldn’t because they’re the heroes. Appreciate all them.”
