ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Hudson O’Neal started sixth. He passed race leader Jonathan Davenport on lap 44 to win the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing Freedom 60 on Saturday night at Muskingum County Speedway.
O’Neal’s third series victory of the season paid $25,000 from a purse of over $82,000.
Davenport crossed the finish line in second, just 0.515 seconds behind O’Neal, but he failed post-race tech when his droop limiter chain was not tight, which moved him to 25th place in the finishing order.
Garrett Alberson, who finished third, moved up to second in the final rundown. Brandon Sheppard, the previous night’s winner at Atomic and the leader for the first 8 laps of the 60-lap main event, rounded out the podium.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 32nd time in his career, the 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion returned to victory at Muskingum County for the second time. He held off a slider by Davenport in the closing laps to secure the win after Davenport led from laps 9 through 43.
“That was the advantage of not being out in the lead like Jonathan was. I was able to kind of drive some lines there, and I found that bottom,” O’Neal said. “At first, whenever I tried, it didn’t quite have the speed to drive all the way to the lead, but as that top slowed down, I got a little better. This car was amazing. Hats off to Jason Durham and my crew; they gave me an outstanding race car, making all the right decisions on tires and everything else things.”
“I was really good at getting into third place and being able to get out there and come back down the hill. It was awesome; everything played out right tonight. I was able to drive up through there in the heat race, and having a good starting spot in the feature was the main thing for us. I appreciate all of the fans who came out tonight, and the Moran Family and Muskingum for giving us a great race track to race on.”
Alberson ran as high as second during the race after a side-by-side battle with Sheppard for several laps.
“I had a very small balance issue, but our car was really close, and I am so proud of these guys. We have been working our butts off trying to develop a longer run program. We are really close. I am sure the battles (with Sheppard and O’Neal) hurt us, but Hud was really good; he just kind of worked over that bottom on me and did his job. I am just really happy to be here. I hate it for JD; I don’t know if it was a mechanical failure or what it was. That’s a tough deal, but I guess it happens to all of us at some point.”
Sheppard, who earned his first series win of the season 24 hours earlier at Atomic Speedway, stayed in the hunt for most of the race and finished third.
“I definitely felt like I was battling with someone for most of the race. I was pretty much the same all the way across the track. I was just a little bit snug. The track was super slick tonight, it was awesome, and I thought it put on a great show for all of these fans. This new car has been phenomenal since we unloaded it.”
The finish:
Hudson O’Neal, Garrett Alberson, Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Thornton Jr., Daulton Wilson, Nathon Loney, Donald McIntosh, Brandon Overton, Logan Zarin, Carson Ferguson, Matt Cosner, Dan Ebert, Spencer Hughes, Tripp Gerrald, James Dennis, Devin Moran, Daniel Hilsabeck, Cory Lawler, Caiden Black, Todd Brennan, Freddie Carpenter, Cory Workman, Clay Harris, Shane Greco, Jonathan Davenport.
