8/12/2023
O'Neal third in North-South 100 at Florence Speedway
Hudson O’Neal led 59 laps on Saturday night before ultimately recording a third-place finish in the 41st annual Sunoco Race Fuels North/South 100 behind the wheel of his Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
“We were real good early in the feature and got to lead around lap 20 and led the next several laps. I just got a little too tight right there at the end. Really, in the middle of the race I was tight against the cushion as well. All-in-all we had a good run. We made progress during the weekend,” O’Neal shared. “I am looking forward to going to Batesville [Motor Speedway] next week. I am also looking forward to going back to the race shop and re-grouping after a long couple of months on the road.”
Fresh off a runner-up finish in the 36th annual USA Nationals, Rocket1 Racing and Hudson O’Neal returned to competition with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) at Florence Speedway (Union, Ky.) for a pair of prelims on Thursday and Friday culminating with Saturday’s Sunoco North-South 100 main event.
With the 61-car field divided in two on Thursday, O’Neal backed up the fastest qualifying lap in his group with an eight-lap heat race victory. Earning the pole for his preliminary feature, Hudson suffered a flat tire after setting an early pace for the opening 12 circuits. He rallied from the tail to finish 10th in the 25-lapper.
Vying for another $5,000-to-win preliminary top prize on Friday night, Hudson followed up a second-place showing in his heat race with a seventh-place run in the 25-lap prelim feature.
With results from Thursday and Friday setting the grid for heat races on Saturday, O’Neal outran Ryan Gustin in his heat to pick up the 10-lap victory.
Chasing a $75,000 payday in Saturday night’s 41st annual Sunoco North-South 100 finale, Hudson led laps 22-80 before ultimately crossing the line in third.
He trailed Bobby Pierce and Ricky Thornton Jr. to the checkers with Jonathan Davenport and Daulton Wilson completing the Top-5 finishers.
O'Neal and the Rocket1 Racing team remain second in the latest LOLMDS point standings.
Full results from the events are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
The team now heads to Batesville Motor Speedway (Locust Grove, Ark.) for the 31st COMP Cams Topless 100 with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS).
The weekend opens with a $5,000-to-win prelim on Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday
Hudson O’Neal picked up the mega event win in 2021.
For more information on the weekend, please visit www.BatesvilleMotorSpeedway.com.
Article Credit: Michael Boggs Photography
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