Defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Hudson O’Neal made a three-wide pass for the lead on lap 22 and led the remaining 31 laps to score his second straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the week on Tuesday night at Shelby County Speedway.
The first national touring late model race ever held at Shelby County was one to remember as three different drivers took turns leading the Kosiski Family 53. O’Neal prevailed by 3.503 seconds over Ricky Thornton Jr. who put on a late race charge that stalled out with three laps to go to finish second to O’Neal for the second night in a row.
Garrett Alberson, who joined O’Neal and Thornton as race leaders rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Devin Moran was fourth and Jonathan Davenport rounded out the top five.
Thornton started from the pole and led the first 14 laps until Alberson powered around on the outside to take over the top spot after starting sixth. Alberson was in front for four circuits until O’Neal snuck to the inside of both Alberson and Thornton to take the lead on lap 22.
A caution with ten laps to go wiped out the healthy lead that O’Neal had built up over Thornton and Alberson. On the restart Thornton ran the top side of the track as he stayed with O’Neal but ran out of steam with less than five laps to go.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 29th time in his career, O’Neal earned his fifth series win of the season.
“I started right around that bottom and then Garrett was making that middle work there for a minute. I got a little bit nervous about it and I’m sure the top came into it at a certain point, and I just didn’t know where to be on the racetrack. I was just guessing where to run. It just feels awesome to come out here and be able to drive these guys’ race car. It’s been a long week and I continue to try and represent these sponsors the best I can.”
Thornton maintains the series points lead heading to Huset’s Speedway this weekend for the Silver Dollar Nationals.
“I think the fans loved it,” said Thornton commenting to the packed grandstands on hand for the event. “I felt pretty good around the bottom for a while. We worked so hard trying to get our stuff where we could get off the corner. We changed the right front a little bit and think it was the wrong call. I knew on the restarts I wasn’t that good around the bottom so I figured heck I might as well start sending it around the top. I felt like I had a good pace up there. I screwed up there once getting into one and about the destroyed the thing, so I thought I had better go back to the bottom. I let him [O’Neal] get away and his lead kept growing so I went back to the bottom.”
Alberson had the Roberts Motorsports car in contention for the win as he came home in third.
“These guys are the best in the country you know so to be close and right there with them is great. I was hoping there for a little bit that our tires were the right deal. I probably just needed to do a better job of driving that bottom more disciplined because those guys could do a little better than I could. I ran that top a few laps too long when I didn’t need to. I hurt my tires a little more than I should have, but we held in there it was a good solid top three.”
The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Wheeler Metals, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, West Side Tractor Sales, Dyno One Inc., Merrill Bonding Company, Bobcat of Batesville, Bob and Tammy Burton, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Paragon Speedway, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, and Indiana USSSA Fast Pitch Softball.
Completing the top ten were Daulton Wilson, Max Blair, Clay Harris, Blair Nothdurft, and Brandon Sheppard.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Kosiski Family 53
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Shelby County Speedway – Harlan, IA
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 13.507 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Devin Moran | 13.499 seconds (overall)
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 3. 111-Max Blair[3]; 4. 04-Tad Pospisil[4]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 6. 51-Logan Seavey[6]; 7. 10-Junior Coover[7]
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 80-Allan Hopp[7]; 5. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 6. 15-Jason O’Brien[6]; 7. 157-Mike Marlar[2]
Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 1-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 5. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 6. 25C-Chad Simpson[6]; 7. 93-Cory Lawler[7]
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 93F-Carson Ferguson[3]; 4. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 5. 43S-Derrick Stewart[4]; 6. 35D-Dylan Sillman[7]; 7. 53-Andrew Kosiski[6]
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 2. 99B-Boom Briggs[1]; 3. 43S-Derrick Stewart[4]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 5. 51-Logan Seavey[5]; 6. 25C-Chad Simpson[6]; 7. 35D-Dylan Sillman[8]; 8. 93-Cory Lawler[10]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[9]; 10. 15-Jason O’Brien[7]; 11. 53-Andrew Kosiski[12]; 12. (DNS) 157-Mike Marlar
Race Statistics
Entrants: 28
Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-14); Garrett Alberson (Laps 15-18); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 19-21); Hudson O’Neal (22-53)
Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’Neal
Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/a
Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/a
Margin of Victory: 3.503 seconds
Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: n/a
Series Provisionals: Mike Marlar; Cory Lawler
Fast Time Provisional: n/a
Series Emergency Provisionals: n/a
Track Provisional: n/a
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Garrett Alberson
Penske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Garrett Alberson, Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport
Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Mike Marlar (Advanced 12 Positions)
PEM 4th Place Feature: Devin Moran
Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Max Blair
Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Drake Troutman
MD3 Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (32 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’Neal
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Clay Harris
Coltman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Drake Troutman (Lap 40 | 14.072 seconds)
Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Garrett Alberson
Miller Welders Hard Luck Award: Jimmy Owens
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Hudson O’Neal)
ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn Chassis
Dirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Blair Nothdurft (13.4536 seconds)
Time of Race: 23 minutes 24 seconds
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series PR
