KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Hudson O’Neal couldn’t have started his three-day weekend at the 21st annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals much worse. And he couldn’t have ended it much better.

Rebounding from a violent car-destroying wreck in Thursday’s preliminary program, the 25-year-old Martinsville, Ind., driver took command with 19 laps remaining in Saturday’s finale and routed the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series field to earn a $75,000 payday in one of Dirt Late Model racing’s crown jewel trophies.

“This is so special,” the 15th-starting O’Neal said in victory lane. “These are the races that you dream of having your name on, and to be able to add this one is so cool.”

O’Neal’s late-race domination — he pulled away to win by 8.386 seconds over runner-up Ricky Thornton Jr. — ended what was otherwise a lead-swapping thriller between Devin Moran and Jonathan Davenport, but it was all over after the ninth lead change on lap 57 with the hub-hugging O’Neal overtaking Moran.

"I knew I was really good and whenever I was racing with Devin, I didn't really feel like I was abusing my stuff down there,” O’Neal said. “Then they were having to run really hard out in the racetrack to keep up and I figured that they were going to get their tires hot and then maybe I could scoot away from them. I didn't think eight seconds I’d scoot away from ‘em.”

Thornton, the Lucas Oil Series points leader from Chandler, Ariz., grabbed the second spot with five laps remaining while Dresden, Ohio’s Moran, who led on four occasions for 21 laps, settled for third. Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., was fourth with Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., rounding out the top five at the half-mile Sprint Car Capital of the World.

Former race winner Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., led more than anyone — three times for 34 laps — but retired with terminal engine woes while running fifth on the 53rd lap, joining last year’s winner Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill. (lost power steering after 27 laps) in the infield pits.

While the back-and-forth between Moran and Davenport highlighted the first half of the caution-plagued race, O’Neal was creeping forward from his eighth-row starting spot, putting his SSI Motorsports No. 71 into the top five by lap 35. That gave O’Neal the opportunity to put Thursday’s massive wreck and Friday’s oil-line issues behind him with the weekend’s biggest prize on the line.

“Man, whenever you destroy a race car like that, it definitely hurts,” O’Neal said. “We put a lot of effort into that car to come to (Sept. 7’s) World (100) and to finish out, that was the car we were going to finish out our championship campaign with.

“That definitely was a morale killer a little bit, but we were able to unload this car the next day. The guys worked hard to get it ready and to be able to come back and have good speed last night — had a mechanical failure — and to be able to come from 15th tonight is so, so awesome.”

O’Neal was winded in victory lane after manhandling his car in the low groove at Knoxville, which proved to be the fastest way around late in the race.

“Man, running around that (inside) berm was so demanding,” O’Neal said. “It got so rough down there and I just kept telling myself, ‘Just breathe, breathe, breathe.’ ”

While O’Neal breathed, he suffocated the chances of anyone hoping to keep up with him.

Thornton was happy with second, saying that “obviously Hudson was a lot better than all of us” and noting that he’s often fast “any time it gets around a berm like that around the bottom.”

Moran couldn’t duplicate O’Neal’s winning line.

"We just got that bottom, started chunking out a little bit, and when it did, my nose was just too low and just kept on bouncing and bouncing. I just could not circle that bottom,” he said. “All in all, we'll take it. I really felt like we had a really good car for a long, long part of that race. I could move all around. Me and J.D. had an awesome race going on. It was so fun going with him, but obviously Hudson was the best car tonight. There at the end he did a great job.”

O’Neal’s victory made him the race’s 16th winner, the youngest winner and part of the first father-son combination to win at Knoxville. His Hall of Fame father Don O’Neal won in 2011.

“To be able to add my name right below my dad’s,” O’Neal said, “no words can describe it.”

Notes: Eight cautions slowed the action, four in the first seven laps. ... The first yellow appeared on the fourth lap when Chase Junghans slowed after getting into the frontstretch fence and catching contact from Chad Simpson. ... A lap-five yellow appeared when seventh-running Brandon Overton tangled with Bobby Pierce, slid into the backstretch wall and sustained race-ending damage. ... Jake Neal retired on the seventh lap and Tyler Erb spun on the restart. ... On the 29th lap, fifth-running Bobby Pierce, last year's winner, lost his power steering and retired (Ryan Gustin retired separately). ... Clay Harris slowed on lap 31 after a 24th-to-ninth charge. ... Carson Ferguson slowed on lap 45. ... Davenport's demise came on lap 54. ... The 49-minute feature was complete at 10:18 p.m. … Knoxville’s finale marks the cutoff for the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship, where the top four drivers in series standings have a playoff-style chase for the title over the final five events. … The series announced that the 22nd annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals are scheduled for Sept. 17-19, 2026. … Chad Simpson of Mount Vernon, Iowa, won the Malvern Bank East-West undercard feature, pocketing $4,900 for leading all but four of 22 laps.