Hudson O’Neal won the Buckeye Spring 50 on Sunday Night at Atomic Speedway in Waverly, Ohio for his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of 2021.
For the first time in his career, the 20-year-old Indiana native is atop the series points standings.
O’Neal became the third and final leader of the race after he took the lead on lap nine from Devin Moran. He held off Tim McCreadie to win by .563 seconds. Moran came home in third followed by Blairsville, Georgia’s Jonathan Davenport in fourth and Kyle Bronson in fifth.
Kyle Strickler started on the pole and took the lead at the start of the race as drivers were running two and three-wide around the 3/8ths mile high-banked track. Strickler led until Moran took over the point on lap five. The top three of Moran, Strickler, and O’Neal battled for the lead when Strickler suffered a right rear flat tire, forcing a caution flag with 19 laps complete. Strickler exited to the pits, which meant that no driver on the series tour this year has won from the pole.
A caution at the halfway mark set-up a long green-flag stretch of racing for 22 laps until a lap 48 caution set up a race to the finish. O’Neal was able to break away on the restart, and that was enough to send him to victory lane for the ninth time in his career.
O’Neal has now joined Tyler Erb as the only two-time winner so far in series competition this season, having won at East Bay back in January.
“I can’t thank these guys enough for their work on this race car,” O’Neal said. “We had one of the University of Northwestern Ohio students on board with us this weekend. Thanks to my family and everybody involved with the race team. This car was awesome from the start. I know McCreadie was all over me a couple of times and all it was going to take was one mistake and he would get by me.”
Jimmy Owens, Tyler Erb, Josh Richards, Zebulon, Georgia’s Shane Clanton, and Mike Marlar rounded out the top 10.
For more information on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Atomic Speedway – Waverly, OH
Buckeye Spring 50 – March 21, 2021
| Pos | Start | Car # | Competitor | Hometown | Pay |
| 1 | 3 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $13,050 |
| 2 | 8 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $7,050 |
| 3 | 2 | 9 | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $4,550 |
| 4 | 5 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $2,800 |
| 5 | 6 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $3,550 |
| 6 | 25 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $3,800 |
| 7 | 10 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $3,250 |
| 8 | 14 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $3,300 |
| 9 | 18 | 25 | Shane Clanton | Zebulon, GA | $3,100 |
| 10 | 12 | 157 | Mike Marlar | Winfield, TN | $3,050 |
| 11 | 7 | 81E | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $1,600 |
| 12 | 9 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $2,450 |
| 13 | 16 | 20RT | Ricky Thornton, Jr. | Adel, IA | $2,250 |
| 14 | 13 | C9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | $1,100 |
| 15 | 4 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $1,850 |
| 16 | 22 | 71R | Rod Conley | Wheelersburg, OH | $1,000 |
| 17 | 24 | 14R | Jeff Roth | Bentonville, AR | $1,000 |
| 18 | 29 | 21K | Kirk Phillips | Ashland, KY | $1,000 |
| 19 | 26 | 16R | Rusty Griffaw | Festus, MO | $1,000 |
| 20 | 21 | 14G | Joe Godsey | Edinburgh, IN | $1,000 |
| 21 | 20 | 20B | Todd Brennan | Zanesville, OH | $1,000 |
| 22 | 17 | 19R | Ryan Gustin | Marshalltown, IA | $1,000 |
| 23 | 27 | 28C | Tyler Carpenter | Parkersburg, WV | $1,000 |
| 24 | 23 | 29 | Clint Keenan | Pataskala, OH | $1,000 |
| 25 | 1 | 8 | Kyle Strickler | Mooresville, NC | $1,000 |
| 26 | 19 | 4G | Kody Evans | Camden, OH | $1,000 |
| 27 | 28 | 20TC | Tristan Chamberlain | Richmond, IN | $1,000 |
| 28 | 15 | 21 | Billy Moyer, Jr. | Batesville, AR | $1,000 |
| 29 | 11 | 11R | Josh Rice | Verona, KY | $1,000 |
