Ocala Speedway
Instant reaction, analysis of Ocala's Lucas finale
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt.com staff reporter
Heat race action on Saturday at Ocala. (Heath Lawson)
OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 28) — Instant reaction and analysis from Saturday’s Wieland Winternationals finale on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Ocala Speedway, a $25,000-to-win points event won by Hudson O’Neal (RaceWire):
GIVE CREDIT: Before anything else, let’s commend the effort behind the scenes from track officials — namely owner Bubba Clem — just to ensure Saturday’s finale at Ocala got in. People are so quick to criticize, yet slow to acknowledge the good, or at least the silver lining, these days. For a moment, consider how Bubba and his crew busted their tails to give racers and fans the best on-track product possible following Friday’s rainout. Track officials were out there working and massaging the racing surface all day so fans and drivers wouldn’t go home empty-handed after more than 1.5 inches of overnight rain left the night in limbo. I get that there were a few ruts around the track that gave some guys fits, but it wasn’t anything alarming like you often see after a boatload of rain. Racing on a smooth-enough surface under those circumstances was commendable in itself. The track wasn’t dealt an easy hand. Not every night is going to be a home run. Yes, leaders had issues at times, but the eventual winners combined to lead just 83 of the 150 laps this week, meaning there were meaningful battles at the front nearly every night. Considering the circumstances, that’s plenty of entertainment.
OH WELL: Saturday’s race was Brandon Overton’s to lose, without question. If not for cutting down a tire while leading with 14 laps to go, the Evans, Ga., superstar knew he was headed toward his first Lucas Oil victory of the season. Instead, it wasn’t meant to be, leaving Overton to simply shrug it off with that hallmark grin of his and aw-shucks personality rather than dwell on the what-could-have-been. When I caught up with Overton afterward, you wouldn’t have known he had just lost out on $25,000 and valuable points toward what he believes will be a legitimate Lucas Oil title push this season. If anything, his unbothered reaction to Saturday’s unpleasant turn of events speaks to the level of ease he’s racing with right now. A year ago, a break like that likely would’ve bothered him. But more chances are ahead — starting this week at one of his best tracks, Golden Isles Speedway, where I expect to see him win at least once.
MIDAS TOUCH: Hudson O’Neal’s got that right now — the Midas touch. After Saturday’s triumph, he seemingly can’t do any wrong. And when he does, like Thursday’s heat race when he nearly “stepped on it,” as he put it, and wrecked himself in the closing laps, he course-corrects, brushes it off and pushes onward like a driver who knows things are falling his way. From the way he’s attacking the corners to the rapport within his crew — led by head wrench Jason Durham — the SSI Motorsports No. 71 team has all the pieces and momentum behind it to go on a rip-roaring run like Bobby Pierce did during his stretch of three straight 30-win campaigns. When a driver has complete confidence in his car and a crew that knows how to craft the feel around his needs, this is the result (see Stat of the Night for greater context).
CAREER NIGHT: I mentioned him earlier this week on After the Checkers, but one of the feel-good stories from the night was Brenden Smith finishing sixth — a career-best result on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, topping his previous best of ninth at Huset’s Speedway in July 2024. The Dade City, Fla., driver — who, by the way, came from 16th Saturday — told me Monday he felt he had top-five potential this week. It sounded bold at the time, but it speaks to the growing belief he has in his JCM Motorsports team. Nearly delivering on that gut feeling, so to speak, should only buoy Smith’s confidence early. Car owner Colten Miller’s No. 19m showed flashes of speed last season with drivers Spencer Hughes and Joseph Joiner, and Smith appears to be building on that foundation.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Hudson O’Neal is the second-quickest driver to reach seven wins before March since Brandon Sheppard piled up eight victories by Feb. 12 during his 22-win 2020 campaign. His fifth Georgia-Florida Speedweeks triumph also marks a new career high for the wintertime season-opening stretch. O’Neal now joins an elite list of drivers to win five or more Speedweeks events in a single season: Ricky Thornton Jr. (five in 2025), Sheppard (five in 2020), Josh Richards (seven in 2016; five in ’09), Billy Moyer (six in 2008; five in 1993, ’90 and ’89) and Don O’Neal (six in 2002).
