Don O’Neal
Clint Bowyer Racing has announced that longtime driver Don O’Neal will miss multiple races due to an injury suffered prior to the running of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event held at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC on June 14th. O’Neal regularly campaigns CBR’s No. 5 car on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as well as in other selected events. The Martinsville, Ind. racer currently ranks 10th in the LOLMDS standings.
O’Neal has not won a feature race in 2019 but has recorded a total of ten top-5 results across all the series he has competed in.
The team owned by NASCAR star Clint Bowyer released the information on Tuesday afternoon. Here is the text of that message:
“Clemmons, N.C. (June 25, 2019) – Clint Bowyer Racing (CBR) driver Don O’Neal will miss an extended period of the Lucas Oil Late Model Series (LOLMS) schedule to recover from an off-track injury suffered at Gaffney, S.C. O’Neal will undergo surgery this week, and then begin the recovery process.
“Don O’Neal has been a longtime member of the CBR family, and we are cheering him along for a speedy recovery,” said CBR owner Clint Bowyer. “I know Don is disappointed in this setback, but he’ll be back very soon.”
At this time, CBR is formulating a plan to field the No. 5 DeKalb/Crawford Outdoor Rocket during O’Neal’s time away, with an announcement soon to follow. The No. 5 will continue to compete in the 2019 LOLMS Championship
O’Neal, a mainstay on the LOLMS and 2014 Series Champion, hopes to make his return in eight to 12 weeks.”
O’Neal won the 2014 Lucas Oil championship while driving for Bowyer. He has won 45 features on the LOLMDS tour and has collected scores of other victories throughout his career including crown jewel triumphs in the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway, two North-South 100’s at Florence Speedway, the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway and the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway.
Don O’Neal’s No. 5 machine
O’Neal suffered the knee injury while assisting his crew in preparation for the Grassy Smith Memorial at Cherokee.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is scheduled to contest a pair of races this weekend. On Friday night the tour will take on the high banks of the Tazewell(TN) Speedway and will move to Kentucky’s Florence Speedway on Saturday evening.
*Clint Bowyer Racing has announced that Mike Norris will replace Don O’Neal in the driver’s seat of the No. 5 Rocket until the veteran driver is ready to return to action.
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.
