Hudson O’Neal
Racing is a way of life for Hudson O’Neal. The 19-year-old Dirt Late Model rising star has been involved in the sport for his entire life through his father and has been driving race cars himself for almost half of that time. During his time in the sport, the son of the legendary Don O’Neal has experienced the highest of highs by winning some of the sport’s premier events along with the lowest of lows when his SSI Motorsports team shut down at the end of the 2019 season leaving him briefly without a ride.
Soon after finding himself out of the driver’s seat, longtime chassis builder and family friend Tader Masters stepped forward to offer the young racer the opportunity to drive the MasterSbilt Race Cars house car for the 2020 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series campaign.
The second generation driver says that the transition to his new ride is going even better than he could have ever expected.
“It’s been excellent so far,” O’Neal declared in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “We’ve all worked really well together and I’ve been impressed with how quickly we’ve grown to work with each other. It’s been really good for all of us so far.”
While the car has not necessarily been perfect in the two test sessions and their only feature to this point, O’Neal believes the No. 71 team is making strides in the right direction. These tests included time spent on the track prior to the opening weekend for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, GA.
“We had a rough first practice night then we came here to practice on Thursday and we made some steps in the right direction,” O’Neal explained. “Hot lapping last night we weren’t very good to start with but we finally got to the point where I think we needed to be. We struggled with tightness in both test sessions so far but we were finally able too free it up last night in hot laps. That gave me a bit of relief even though we weren’t good since we had finally surpassed that tightness. Hopefully we can start working the right direction and have a good showing.”
Hudson O’Neal in the MasterSbilt Race Cars house car
O’Neal needed a provisional to start the lone feature held at Golden Isles on Saturday night after being involved in a heat race mishap earlier in the evening. The Martinsville, IN native went on to finish 18th in that 50-lap race.
Transitioning to a new team often comes with its share of difficulties. However, O’Neal’s move to the MasterSbilt ride has been aided by the fact that he has had a longstanding relationship with the chassis builder due to the fact that his father drove for that operation at one point in his career.
“Most definitely,” the 2017 LOLMDS Rookie of the Year replied when asked if the transition was going smoothly. “MasterSbilt has had a lot of success and they’ve done a lot in the racing world for a lot of people. I’m just excited to try to carry on that tradition. We’ve put this team together in about six or seven weeks. It came together a lot faster than I thought it would and a lot better than I thought it would. I’m excited to get the season started.”
O’Neal counts among his biggest wins the $20,000 ‘Clash at the Mag’ held at Magnolia(MS) Motor Speedway in 2018; the $15,000 ‘Jackson 100’ at the Brownstown Speedway in his home state in 2019; and the $15,000 ‘Big Daddy 60’ at Maryville, Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Speedway in 2019.
Hudson O’Neal in Smoky Mountain Speedway victory lane
With Don O’Neal not racing full-time in 2020, the younger O’Neal counts his dad as a great asset in terms of getting acclimated into his new ride.
“It’s huge,” he said of his father’s help. “He does a lot. Every time I have come in he’s been in my window talking to me about stuff and maybe something I could do better and something that I did good on. He’s a huge resource to have and it’s good to have him around to help the whole team improve.”
And more, his father and Tader Masters already have an understanding for each other’s mindset when it comes to preparing race cars.
Don O’Neal
“Just to have that relationship with him and with Tader because they worked so many years together and won a lot of races together, it’s nice that they have such a good relationship,” O’Neal stated. “Maybe dad can communicate with Tader a little bit better than I can because they’ve known each other for years. I mean, I’ve known Tader for years but they have worked together so much.”
When asked to compare his driving style with that of his LOLMDS champion father, O’Neal pointed to their similarities.
“I don’t know that it’s a whole lot different,” he answered with a smile. “Like they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree so hopefully we can have the success they did back in the day.”
At the end of the day, O’Neal is convinced that his new team will ultimately find success.
“I’m a very, very big believer that it’s going to work out whether it’s this year, next year, or three years down the road. I know we’re going to get there, I just don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
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