ELLISVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 21) — Hudson O’Neal wasn’t so sure about his chances in Saturday night’s 50-lap Wieland Winternationals feature at All-Tech Raceway when he saw Mark Whitener shoot to the lead on the fourth circuit.

Martinsville, Ind.’s O’Neal knew Whitener, a 45-year-old veteran from Middleburg, Fla., had the home track advantage.

“I really thought Whitener was gonna be really hard to beat,” the 25-year-old O’Neal said.

But O’Neal is proving to be one of the country’s hardest Dirt Late Model drivers to down this season, and his speed shined through again. He overtook Whitener for the top spot on lap 30 and controlled the remainder of the distance for a $15,000 triumph that marked his first of 2026 on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series but his division-best fifth overall.

Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., who entered the night tied with O’Neal for winningest driver status so far this season with four victories, never led a lap despite starting from the pole position but finished second. He grabbed second from Whitener on lap 41 and flashed under the checkered flag 0.804 of a second behind O’Neal.

Clay Harris of Jupiter, Fla., led laps 1-3 and finished third, securing his second podium placing in as many nights. Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., righted himself with a fourth-place run after two rough outings to start the Lucas Oil Series campaign and Carson Ferguson of Lincolnton, N.C., finished fifth for his second top-five result of All-Tech’s tripleheader.

Whitener, who led laps 4-29, swapped second several times with Overton after losing the top spot but fell to fourth on lap 42 when he caught the turn-four wall while battling with Harris. Three circuits later Whitener caught the same barrier even harder — riding it and nearly rolling over in fact — and slowed with right-front suspension and body damage to bring out a caution flag.

It was a bitter end for Whitener, who was credited with a 19th-place finish after looking so strong in pursuit of his first-ever Lucas Oil Series triumph.

“He was running that top really good and he was on the ragged edge, and I was just trying to pace myself,” O’Neal said of Whitener. “Then luckily I found this bottom down here (through turns three and four) in lapped traffic and it all worked out.”

O’Neal’s most anxious moment once in command came with the slowdown on lap 45 for Whitener’s problem. It wiped out his healthy edge on Overton and had him feeling vulnerable.

“Definitely didn’t want to see the caution,” O’Neal said. “I felt like I had a good race car, but the top getting into (turn) one was so far out there and I felt like it really opened me up to a slide job if if I didn’t get a good restart.

“So I just tried to focus on my restart there, make sure I kind of pinched that last (inside) tire (off turn four) and got as low as I could down this front straightaway and try and just get as much separation as I could.”

O’Neal mastered the final laps, keeping Overton several car lengths back en route to his 32nd career Lucas Oil Series victory and first-ever at All-Tech.

“I’ve never won here before, so it’s such a good feeling to win somewhere new,” said O’Neal, who owns two wins this season with the SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis he drove at All-Tech and three in the K&L Rumley Enterprises Longhorn machine he runs in selected events. “And with some of the switches we made with shocks and everything this year (going from Bilstein to Penske), it feels really good to get off (during) Speedweeks on a good note.”

Overton was satisfied with his runner-up finish, which sent him off to Feb. 24-28’s Lucas Oil Series stretch at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway holding the tour’s points lead.

“We’ll take it because this was gonna be our bad-week track,” said Overton, who has struggled in the past at All-Tech. “But we set fast time I think every night in our group, won two heats and two of the three nights we were on the podium, so I’ll take it.”

Overton failed to take advantage of his pole starting spot because he made a strategic error early in the race.

“I think I had a winning car tonight,” Overton said. “I just literally have been struggling so bad around the bottom (lane), the first couple of laps I tried to poke my nose down in there and just let them go around me on the top. So I just got my ass out there (running the outside lane) and just went for it (to climb from fourth to second).”

The 24-year-old Harris completed a superb weekend at All-Tech with his third-place finish, but he had to survive two near-disasters.

“I couldn’t run that top like them boys could,” said Harris, who tied his career-best Lucas Oil finish of second in Friday’s feature. “I hit the (inside) tractor tire with the tire, not the nose, at first, and it knocked the toe off and it ripped the steering wheel out of my hands, so I had to gather back up and get it back together. And then at the end there, on the last lap for some reason I decided to hit the tire again and knock (the left-front fender) completely off.

“We showed some speed and I’m looking forward to Ocala.”

Two caution flags slowed the race. Before the lap-45 yellow flew for Whitener, a caution was needed on lap 18 when Michael Leach spun exiting turn four.

Feature lineup

(50 laps)

Row 1: Brandon Overton, Clay Harris
Row 2: Mark Whitener, Hudson O'Neal
Row 3: Ross Robinson, Brian Shirley
Row 4: Daniel Hilsabeck, Garrett Alberson
Row 5: Devin Moran, Brandon Sheppard
Row 6: Carson Ferguson, Michael Leach
Row 7: Josh Rice, Max Blair
Row 8: Dillon McCowan, Chris Madden
Row 9: Brenden Smith, Kyle Bronson
Row 10: Cory Hedgecock, Dallon Murty
Row 11: Frank Heckenast Jr., Dan Ebert
Row 12: Ricky Thornton Jr., Cory Lawler

Consolation race results

(Varying distances; top three transfer)

First consolation: Brenden Smith, Cory Hedgecock, Frank Heckenast Jr., Tyler Millwood, Kale Green, Ricky Thornton Jr., Clay Stuckey, Cody Overton, Preston Luckman. Scratched: Jackson Hise, Tyler Wyant.

Second consolation: Kyle Bronson, Dallon Murty, Dan Ebert, Jadon Frame, Tyler Bruening, Blair Nothdurft, Justin Weaver, Cory Lawler, Adam Boyd, Ryan Payne, Freddie Carpenter.

Heat race recap

Brandon Overton cruised to lead all eight laps from the pole, winning the first heat race by 3.134 seconds over Ross Robinson, who trailed him the entire distance. Devin Moran and Josh Rice held serve in finishing third and fourth, earning starting spots in the night’s $15,000-to-win All-Tech finale. … Mark Whitener used a lap-five restart to take command from Daniel Hilsabeck and led the final four laps in winning the second heat by 1.641 seconds over Hilsabeck, who paced the opening four circuits. Carson Ferguson pressured Hilsabeck early before settling for third, with sixth-starting Dillon McCowan completing the top-four finishers. The night’s first yellow flag came when Preston Luckman spun from fourth on the fourth lap, sending Cory Hedgecock spinning to avoid; Hedgecock retired while Luckman continued to place seventh. … Second-starting Clay Harris commanded the entire way in winning the third heat by 0.429 of a second over polesitter Brian Shirley, who closely pursued him all eight laps. Fourth-starting Brandon Sheppard finished third with sixth-starting Max Blair grabbing the fourth and final transfer position into Saturday’s 50-lap main event. … Hudson O’Neal cruised to win the fourth and final heat race after leading all eight laps and taking the checkers 1.222 seconds over Garrett Alberson. Fifth-starting Michael Leach took third while Chris Madden overcame wall contact to hold on for the fourth and final transfer. Ryan Payne spun in turn two on the opening lap, triggering the race’s first stoppage; he continued to finish sixth. Freddie Carpenter and Jadon Frame tangled on the ensuing restart attempt with Carpenter making hard contact with the turn two wall and Frame making lighter contact before spinning to avoid; Carpenter called it a night while Frame rounded out the top-five finishers.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Brandon Overton, Ross Robinson, Devin Moran, Josh Rice, Clay Stuckey, Cody Overton, Tyler Millwood, Frank Heckenast Jr. Scratched: Jackson Hise, Tyler Wyant.

Second heat: Mark Whitener, Daniel Hilsabeck, Carson Ferguson, Dillon McCowan, Brenden Smith, Ricky Thornton Jr., Preston Luckman, Kale Green, Cory Hedgecock.

Third heat: Clay Harris, Brian Shirley, Brandon Sheppard, Max Blair, Kyle Bronson, Dallon Murty, Tyler Bruening, Justin Weaver, Cory Lawler, Blair Nothdurft.

Fourth heat: Hudson O'Neal, Garrett Alberson, Michael Leach, Chris Madden, Jadon Frame, Ryan Payne, Dan Ebert, Adam Boyd, Freddie Carpenter.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 17.135
2. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 17.218
3. Ross Robinson (7), Georgetown, Del., 17.346
4. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 17.422
5. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 17.593
6. Preston Luckman (77), Coos Bay, Ore., 17.610
7. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., 17.690
8. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 17.699
9. Clay Stuckey (15), Shreveport, La., 17.706
10. Brenden Smith (19m), Dade City, Fla., 17.748
11. Jackson Hise (388), Ocala, Fla., 17.798
12. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 17.802
13. Tyler Millwood (31), Kingston, Ga., 17.807
14. Cory Hedgecock (79), Loudon, Tenn., 17.821
15. Cody Overton (15k), Evans, Ga., 17.871
16. Kale Green (4), Pelion, S.C., 17.955
17. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 17.969
18. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 18.027
19. Tyler Wyant (24), Oil City, Pa., no time
Group B
1. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 17.325
2. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 17.346
3. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 17.525
4. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 17.536
5. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 17.573
6. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 17.580
7. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 17.635
8. Freddie Carpenter (c4), Parkersburg, W.Va., 17.741
9. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 17.826
10. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 17.952
11. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 17.987
12. Jadon Frame (81F), Winchester, Tenn., 18.009
13. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 18.033
14. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 18.100
15. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, 18.107
16. Ryan Payne (12R), Pennsboro, W.Va., 18.204
17. Blair Nothdurft (76n), Renner, S.D., 18.365
18. Adam Boyd (6B), Riverview, Fla., 18.367
19. Justin Weaver (32J), Clear Spring, Md., no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
1:30 p.m. - Pits closed and cleared
2 p.m. - Pits reopen
2:30 p.m. - Registration and tech opens
3 p.m. - Grandstands open
3:30 p.m. - Outreach service
4:30-5:15 p.m. - Driver autograph session (midway)
5:15 p.m. - Registration and tech closes
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- 604 Crate hot laps (consolation entrants)
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Crown Vic group qualifying
Opening ceremonies
- 604 Crate consolations (10 laps)
- 604 Crate hot laps (feature entrants)
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Crown Vic heats (6 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- 604 Crates (40 laps)
- Late Models (50 laps)
- Crown Vics (20 laps)