2/16/2024
O'Neal and Rocket1 Racing Compete at Volusia
Hudson O’Neal took his Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Rocket1 Racing / Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model into battle last week at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.
Hudson and the Rocket1 Racing team rode a rollercoaster of experiences during the week’s festivities.
“We were looking forward to getting back to Volusia (Speedway Park) last week after winning there back in January. However, we battled through an up-and-down week. I feel like just about every night we had a good car, but the cards just didn’t fall our way in one aspect or another. This team kept digging though, and now we’re ready to return to Lucas Oil (Late Model Dirt Series) action this weekend at Golden Isles (Speedway),” O’Neal said.
Coming off five-straight nights at East Bay, Rocket1 Racing and Hudson O’Neal trekked to Volusia Speedway Park (De Leon Springs, Fla.) on Tuesday to kick off the 53rd annual DIRTcar Nationals.
After Mother Nature postponed Monday’s opener midway through the event, O’Neal followed up the fastest time in his 23-car group on Tuesday with a heat race victory. Starting the feature in fourth, Hudson was collected in a melee that was triggered by a slowing competitor on a lap-17 restart. The ensuing damage led to an early exit for Rocket1 Racing.
With the 48-car field divided into three groups on Wednesday, Hudson advanced four spots in his 20-lap preliminary to finish fifth.
During the same night for Monday’s make-up feature, O’Neal steered to a fifth-place finish, which came behind Bobby Pierce, Tim McCreadie, Cade Dillard, and Devin Moran.
For the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series sanctioned program on Thursday, Hudson challenged for a position in the Top 10 early in the feature before ultimately crossing the line in 17th.
Starting Friday’s $16,000-to-win A-Main in 12th via third-place finish in his heat, O’Neal climbed five positions to register a seventh-place finish.
Saturday’s 53rd annual Federated DIRTcar Nationals finale fell to wet weather.
Full results from the events are available at www.DIRTcar.com and www.WoOLMS.com.
O’Neal and Rocket1 Racing resume the 2024 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) campaign this Friday and Saturday. The opening round posts a $10,000 winner’s check, while Saturday’s finale is headlined by a $20,000-to-win feature.
Hudson is currently second in the latest LOLMDS points, just five points removed from the top spot.
Full information on the upcoming weekend’s events can be found at www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Josh James image
