Hudson O’Neal picked up his first win of 2023 at East Bay
A number of top contenders suffered troubles on the first night of the Wieland Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park that paid Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points while Hudson O’Neal made the most of his night by scoring his first win since taking over in the driver’s seat of the Rocket Chassis house car.
The Rocket Chassis driver from Martinsville, Indiana earned $10,000 for his efforts at the Gibsonton, Florida track in a race shown live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 63 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A Results- 1. Brian Shirley(14.924), 2. John Henderson, 3. Chase Junghans, 4. Dennis Erb Jr., 5. Jack Riggs, 6. Max Blair, 7. Mark Whitener, 8. Kyle Bronson, 9. Mason Zeigler, 10. Ross Bailes
Group B Results- 1. Hudson O’Neal(14.903), 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., 3. Shane Clanton, 4. Tim McCreadie, 5. Brandon Sheppard, 6. Garrett Smith, 7. Aston Winger, 8. Devin Moran, 9. Tyler Bruening, 10. Jensen Ford
Heat 1 Results: 1. Dennis Erb Jr., 2. Ross Bailes, 3. Brian Shirley
Heat 2 Results: 1. John Henderson, 2. Kyle Bronson, 3. Garrett Alberson
Heat 3 Results: 1. Max Blair, 2. Mason Zeigler, 3. Daulton Wilson
Heat 4 Results: 1. Hudson O’Neal, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Jensen Ford
Heat 5 Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Earl Pearson Jr., 3. Devin Moran
Heat 6 Results: 1. Shane Clanton, 2. Garrett Smith, 3. Jimmy Owens
B-main 1 Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Kenny Collins
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Chase Junghans, 2. Ashton Winger
B-main 3 Finish: 1. Tanner English, 2. Ross Robinson
Feature Re-cap: Brandon Overton pulled his machine into the pit area and retired from the race with an electrical issue.
At the start of the 40-lap feature it was O’Neal who went to the front of the field with Dennis Erb Jr., Thornton, Henderson and Blair trailing. However, a lap 2 caution for Bronson slowed the pace.
On the lap 2 restart Thornton moved into second while Blair jumped to fourth. Thornton then moved in to challenge O’Neal for the race lead. Erb, Blair and Clanton filled out the remainder of the top-5.
The top-3 cars ran in tight formation as they began to close in on slower traffic by lap 9 but a yellow flag waved one lap later for the slowing car of Sheppard. On the lap 10 restart, Thornton slowed with a mechanical problem while Bailes and Moran were, at the same time, involved in an incident.
O’Neal continued to lead on the lap 10 restart with Blair, Erb, Smith and McCreadie making up the rest of the top-5. At the race’s halfway mark, O’Neal continued to lead but Blair was keeping the front runner in his sights as Erb also closed in. But that action would be halted just as the leaders were about to encounter slower traffic a caution for the slowing car of Henderson interrupted the action.
O’Neal built a lead of just over one second with 10 laps remaining as Blair and Erb pursued. The leader found himself fighting with slower traffic which gave Blair a chance to close.
Although the race for the lead did tighten near the end, it was O’Neal who would hold on to claim his first win with the Rocket Chassis house car team.
Feature Results: 1. Hudson O’Neal, 2. Max Blair, 3. Dennis Erb Jr., 4. Garrett Smith, 5. Tim McCreadie, 6. Jimmy Owens, 7. Shane Clanton, 8. Tanner English, 9. Garrett Alberson, 10. Tyler Erb, 11. Ashton Winger, 12. Jensen Ford, 13. Kyle Bronson, 14. Brian Shirley, 15. Jonathan Davenport, 16. Mason Zeigler, 17. Earl Pearson Jr., 18. Chase Junghans, 19. Ross Robinson, 20. Tyler Bruening, 21. Daulton Wilson, 22. Wil Herrington, 23. Spencer Hughes, 24. John Henderson, 25. Ricky Thornton Jr., 26. Ross Bailes, 27. Devin Moran, 28. Brandon Sheppard, 29. Kenny Collins, 30. Brandon Overton
Please consider also reading:
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.
