Hudson O’Neal
Often times a track promoter might hope drivers do not mention the race track during their post-race interviews. Typically when competitors do mention the racing surface it is to point out its flaws. However, that was certainly not the case on Wednesday night at the conclusion of the action at Marshalltown Speedway in Iowa. The podium finishers were nothing but complimentary of the Iowa facility as they spoke from the front stretch following the $22,022-to-win FloRacing Night in America event held on the clay oval.
Wednesday’s race marked the first time Super Late Model machines had been on the quarter-mile track in almost a decade.
Hudson O’Neal was the winner and immediately offered positive comments about the track in his post-race interview with Blake Anderson of FloRacing.com.
“The race track raced unbelievable,” O’Neal declared. “We raced all over this thing. I couldn’t see behind me but my guys were giving me a pretty close signal so it had to be a pretty good race behind me. It was a good race for the lead.”
In fact, it was an excellent race for the lead as well as back through the field. Thirty laps into the fifty-lap affair, O’Neal took the lead away from Iowa native Ryan Gustin but not before ‘The Reaper’ would put up a hard fight for the position. At the same time, the likes of Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar, Tim McCreadie and Tyler Erb were going at it for the remaining top-five positions.
Brandon Sheppard
Sheppard joined O’Neal in offering praise for the track in his post-race comments. He actually complimented the entire region, not just the one track.
“Anywhere this side of the Mississippi seems like it’s got some badass race tracks, or this close to the Mississippi, I should say,” Sheppard pointed out. “For whatever reason, these Iowa tracks and these Illinois tracks and everywhere around here are just badass and this is another one that just produced really awesome racing all night long. The track was, you couldn’t ask for much more, they didn’t have to work on it hardly at all, and it was perfect for the feature.”
Competitors typically enjoy racing on tracks that produce multiple grooves for them to race on.
“That was a really fun race and a heckuva race track, hope we get to come back soon,” the four-time World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series champion added. “Marshalltown Speedway is awesome.”
Another former World of Outlaws champion, Mike Marlar, rounded out the podium finishers and also lauded the track. The Tennessee native who is the only three-time winner of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals at the famed Knoxville(IA) Raceway which has led him to have a fondness for tracks in the ‘Hawkeye State’.
“It was a fun race,” Marlar said. “This is one awesome race track. We raced all over it, it was cool coming here. All these Iowa race tracks, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad one. They’re all really good race tracks and it shows every time we come up here. We’ll keep coming if they keep having them.”
Please consider also reading:
Hudson O’Neal fights off challengers for FloRacing win at Marshalltown
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