8/26/2023
Hudson O'Neal tops LOLMDS foes in Rumble by the River thriller at Port Royal
Hudson O’Neal rallied on Saturday night to bank the $50,000 victory in the fourth annual Rumble by the River aboard in his Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
He took the lead with six laps remaining on his way to the mega win at Port Royal Speedway. One night earlier he picked up a $5,000 preliminary feature win.
“It’s awesome. I had to get up on the wheel. I was just so tight against that cushion I was afraid to run it. It just came down to the last ten laps, and I knew I had a shot at it if I could run it hard enough if I could get enough of a run down the straightaways,” O’Neal shared in Victory Lane on Saturday evening. “The crew gave me a great race car all weekend. We were able to get back into Victory Lane last night, and I knew coming into today we had a great piece we just needed to play our cards right. I just want to thank all those guys and everyone who supports this team.”
Following the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) on an eastern swing that kicked off at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, Rocket1 Racing and Hudson O’Neal invaded the half-mile oval on Thursday for the 2023 edition of the Melvin Joseph Memorial.
Starting the $18,049-to-win A-Main in the 13th position via a fourth-place run in his heat race, O’Neal was up to the sixth position early in the feature before a flat front tire forced him pitside. After rejoining the tail of the field he muscled forward to register a ninth-place finish in the 49-lap affair.
On Friday the team entered the opening night of the Rumble by the River at Port Royal Speedway (Port Royal, Pa.), and Hudson swept his 26-car preliminary group to pick up his 11th win of the season and a $5,000 payday. He followed up the fastest time and a heat race win with a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap feature.
Rolling off from the pole position for his heat race on Saturday, O’Neal outdueled Michael Norris in the eight-lapper to secure a front-row starting spot for the main event.
After setting a consistent pace for the first half of the race, Hudson stole third with 10 laps remaining and went on to overtake Mike Marlar for second three circuits later. Powering ahead of Jonathan Davenport for the lead on lap 45, O’Neal fended off Marlar and Davenport after a handful of late-race restarts en route to his second win in as many nights and $50,000 prize.
He recorded his sixth LOLMDS triumph of 2023 ahead of Marlar, Davenport, Matt Cosner, and Brandon Overton.
Hudson continues to sit second in the latest LOLMDS points.
Full results from the events are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
A pair of LOLMDS events await Rocket1 Racing this week. Action opens on Saturday at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park with the $15,000-to-win River Days Rumble before shifting to Tyler County Speedway (Middlebourne, W.V.) on Sunday for the 55th annual Hillbilly Hundred, which posts a $30,000 to win feature.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson image
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