OCALA, Fla. — Hudson O’Neal took over the lead on lap 37 after race-long leader Brandon Overton suffered a left-rear flat tire, and led the remainder of the race to win the $25,000 Wieland Winter Nationals 50-lap feature Saturday night at Ocala Speedway.
It marked O’Neal’s second straight win at Ocala as he led Devin Moran, Tim McCreadie, Jonathan Davenport and Drake Troutman across the finish line.
Overton grabbed the lead at the start of the race with O’Neal, Troutman, and Brandon Sheppard in pursuit. Looking for his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win since last May at Circle City in Indiana, Overton maintained a two-to-three car-length advantage as the top four ran within striking distance during much of the first 15 laps.
The top four remained unchanged until Overton slowed under caution with a flat left-rear tire, sending him to the pits. O’Neal inherited the lead, and Sheppard moved past Troutman for third on lap 37.
Sheppard then advanced to second before suffering a right-rear flat tire with 40 laps complete. Moran moved into the runner-up position as he and sixth-starting McCreadie attempted to chase down O’Neal over the final five laps. However, O’Neal pulled away, crossing the finish line 1.474 seconds ahead to earn his nation-leading seventh win of the season.
The victory marked O’Neal’s 37th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph.
“I’m speechless right now. I don’t even know what to say. What an amazing start to the year for this SSI Motorsports team,” said O’Neal. “We have to give credit where credit is due to Kevin Rumley and Longhorn Chassis, who have helped us along the way. It’s so awesome to be in this position. When I crossed the finish line, the first word that came to mind was ‘speechless.’ I just try to give glory to God and do the best we can every day. It wouldn’t be possible without all of you fans, these amazing racetracks, and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series giving us a great place to race.”
Moran finished second after starting fifth, continuing his streak of top-10 finishes at Ocala. He has never finished outside the top 10 in LOLMDS competition at the Bubba Clem-promoted facility.
“It was a good points night. The 71 car is just a little bit better than we are right now,” Moran said. “He can get to the front quicker than we can. I’ve got to figure out why the only two heat races we’ve won this year, we’ve gone on to win the feature that night. We just need to work on our early-night package and start up front more often.”
McCreadie rounded out the podium.
“It stayed pretty tacky the whole time. Hats off to Bubba and his guys — they could have easily written it off and quit because it was such a big purse. I don’t think anybody would have blamed them, but they worked hard, and I hope we did it justice for everyone tonight. It was about all you could get tonight.”
Wieland Winter Nationals Feature Finish (50 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $26,200
2 – 5 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $11,100
3 – 6 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $6,000
4 – 9 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $4,000
5 – 1 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $3,500
6 – 16 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $3,400
7 – 11 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,500
8 – 25 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $900
9 – 8 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $3,300
10 – 18 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,800
11 – 7 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $2,000
12 – 20 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $1,900
13 – 17 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $2,500
14 – 15 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,400
15 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,300
16 – 22 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,500
17 – 2 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,300
18 – 21 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $2,200
19 – 14 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,500
20 – 10 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,200
21 – 23 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $2,200
22 – 12 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $1,500
23 – 19 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,200
24 – 13 – 12M – Ryan Montgomery – Fairmont, WV – $1,500
25 – 24 – 79 – Cory Hedgecock – Loudon, TN – $2,200
