4/15/2023
Podium finish in XR Spring Thaw 100 at Bulls Gap
Hudson O’Neal piloted the Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model to a third-place finish in Saturday’s $100,000-to-win Spring Thaw at Tennessee’s Volunteer Speedway.
Hudson ran second for much of the mega finale before crossing the finish line in third behind Dale McDowell and Mike Marlar.
“Yeah, it’s not too bad. Anytime you can be standing on this front straightaway you can consider it an OK night,” O’Neal said after the race. “Obviously we want to be a little bit better. We want to be out there where Dale is or even one more spot where Mikey is. We had a good race car, just lost it a little bit there the last 30 laps.
“I started to get a little free through turns one and two, and that let them get by me,” O’Neal added. “Then I got to the top and thought I’d make a run. I slid Mikey once and had some more opportunities to capitalize and I would make a mistake, or not get the launch I needed to. I don’t know, man. I’m very, very pleased with this Rocket Chassis. We had a great week here, and a great couple weeks here. We’ll take third and see if we can’t build upon it.”
With Mother Nature shortening the two-day event into a single day, Rocket1 Racing and Hudson O’Neal returned to Volunteer Speedway (Bulls Gap, Tenn.) on Saturday afternoon for the XR Super Series-sanctioned Spring Thaw 100.
Drawing 60 Super Late Models, O’Neal topped his 30-car field in time trials before streaking to a 10-lap heat race victory.
Earning the pole for the $100,000-to-win A-Main, Hudson faded two spots in the 100-lap affair to register a third-place finish. He chased race-long pacesetter Dale McDowell and Mike Marlar to the checkers.
Full results from the event are available at www.XRSuperSeries.com.
This week has four races on the docket for the team. On Tuesday and Wednesday a pair of $23,023-to-win Castrol FloRacing Night in America slates are on tap at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) and Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway. Rocket1 Racing is the defending miniseries champion.
From there Hudson O’Neal and Rocket1 Racing resumes their pursuit of the 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title with a $12,000-to-win race at Tri-City Speedway (Pontoon Beach, Ill.) on Friday and a $15,000-to-win program at Macon (Ill.) Speedway on Saturday.
For more information on the week’s agenda, please visit www.FloSeries.com and www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Michael Moats image
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