EAGLE, NE (May 14, 2026) – Current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Indiana charged from the seventh starting position to capture his fifth Series victory of the 2026 season Thursday night during opening night of the Malvern Bank High Bank Heist at Eagle Raceway. O’Neal collected $10,000 for the win, which also marked his 13th overall dirt late model victory of the year. Ricky Thornton Jr., who started 15th, earned Hoker Trucking Hard Charger honors as he rallied to finish second. Brandon Sheppard, fresh off last Saturday’s victory at Fairbury Speedway, rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third after starting 10th. Max Blair finished fourth, while Jonathan Davenport completed the top five. Brandon Overton led the opening 17 laps of the 40-lap main event before Garrett Alberson briefly took over the top spot for three circuits. Overton regained the lead on lap 21 and appeared poised for victory until O’Neal began closing rapidly in the closing stages. O’Neal completed the winning pass exiting turn four on lap 30. Overton remained second until lap 34, when a flat left rear tire forced him to the hot pit. After changing the tire, Overton returned to finish 16th after leading 27 laps. The win marked the 39th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of O’Neal’s career and his second triumph at Eagle Raceway, having also won during the Series’ inaugural visit to the track in 2024. “I felt like we were pretty good all night,” O’Neal said in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. “The top was dominant early, and it was hard to make time on the bottom. Once the track started moving around, though, I felt really good down there. Overton was definitely better around the cushion, but once the bottom came in, I just tried to stay patient and wait for my opportunity.” “We finally got a restart where I could get underneath him, and then he had the misfortune with the flat tire. On that last restart, my carburetor stumbled a little bit and I thought everybody was going to pile into me. I’m sorry if anybody got caught up in that.” Thornton, who unloaded a backup car after issues surfaced during hot laps, charged from the eighth row to finish just 0.616 seconds behind O’Neal. “I love this place,” Thornton said. “We had trouble with the primary car in hot laps, so we unloaded this one and probably overdrove in qualifying, which made for a long night. But we passed a lot of cars, and the car felt really good.” “Restarts really dictated where you needed to be. I knew Max (Blair) wasn’t going to the top, and if JD left the top open, I was going for it. I got a really good run and just tried not to get stuck following Hud around the bottom.” Sheppard continued his recent momentum with a third-place finish after charging forward from 10th. “Honestly, I felt like we had a really good race car the whole race,” Sheppard said. “I just made a couple wrong moves early—stayed too high too long, then stayed too low too long before halfway. Once everyone started moving around, I could really roll the track and move wherever I needed to. We had a really fast race car tonight.” O’Neal’s winning SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and backed by Big River Steel, Wheeler Metals, Merrill Bonding Company, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Lineal Contracting, Seven Spurs Ranch, Sub Surface of Indiana, Beeman Lumber, Indiana USSSA Fast Pitch Softball, Dicky’s Doghouse, Lucas Oil Products, Penske Racing Shocks, and Sunoco Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Brian Shirley, Devin Moran, Kyle Bronson, Garrett Alberson, and Dallon Murty. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Malvern Bank Presents High Bank Heist | Night 1Thursday, May 14, 2026Eagle Raceway | Eagle, NE Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brandon Overton | 13.7022 secondsFast Time Group B: Garrett Alberson | 13.7017 seconds (Overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 5. 6-Clay Harris[4]; 6. 04-Tad Pospisil[6]; 7. 19M-Brenden Smith[7]; 8. 71M-Mike Morton Jr[8] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 18-Chase Junghans[3]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 3. 93L-Cory Lawler[1]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[6]; 6. 35D-Dylan Sillman[7]; 7. 45D-Dan Battaglia[8]; 8. 15-Clay Stuckey[2]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 4. 11-Josh Rice[3]; 5. 13-Dallon Murty[6]; 6. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[5]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 8. (DNS) 10-Junior Coover
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 111-Max Blair[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[5]; 6. 14S-Collen Winebarger[6]; 7. 15C-Curt Schroeder[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 13-Dallon Murty[2]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[4]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[1]; 4. 99 18-Jesse Sobbing[6]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 6. 04-Tad Pospisil[5]; 7. 14S-Collen Winebarger[8]; 8. 15-Clay Stuckey[15]; 9. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[10]; 10. 19M-Brenden Smith[9]; 11. 35D-Dylan Sillman[7]; 12. 15C-Curt Schroeder[12]; 13. 71M-Mike Morton Jr[13]; 14. 45D-Dan Battaglia[11]; 15. (DNS) 10-Junior Coover Malvern Bank Presents High Bank Heist | Night 1 Feature Finish (40 Laps):Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 7 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $10,1002 – 15 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $5,5003 – 10 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $3,5004 – 4 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,7005 – 6 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $2,5006 – 9 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $2,3007 – 12 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,2008 – 8 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $2,1009 – 2 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,05010 – 17 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $2,00011 – 11 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $1,60012 – 18 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,50013 – 14 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $1,20014 – 16 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $1,00015 – 22 – 4 – Tad Pospisil – Norfolk, NE – $95016 – 1 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $92517 – 21 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $90018 – 24 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $87519 – 20 – 99-18 – Jesse Sobbing – Malvern, IA – $85020 – 19 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $82521 – 13 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $80022 – 23 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $90023 – 3 – 18 – Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – $80024 – 5 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $800 Race Statistics Entrants: 31Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Brandon OvertonMD3 Lap Leaders: Brandon Overton (Laps 1-17); Garrett Alberson (Laps 18-20); Brandon Overton (Laps 21-30); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 31-40)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Garrett AlbersonWieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 0.616 secondsHellraizer Jacks Cautions: Blair Nothdurft (Lap 20); Josh Rice (Lap 30); Brandon Overton (Lap 34); Dan Ebert (Lap 34 restart); Chase Junghans (Lap 37)MyRacePass Series Provisional: Daniel Hilsabeck; Brenden SmithFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon SheppardPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Max Blair, Jonathan DavenportBehrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon SheppardPEM 4th Place Feature: Max BlairDiversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Jonathan DavenportWilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Devin MoranWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Cory LawlerVelocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Josh RiceXS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Tad PospisilHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Advanced 13 positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Brandon Overton (27 Laps)Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Hudson O’NealO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Dillon McCowanPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Overton | Lap 3 | 13.921 secondsFK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Daniel HilsabeckVictory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Garrett AlbersonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason DurhamARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Tyler Bruening | 13.728 secondsTime of Race: 25 minutes 46 seconds Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 2945 – $146,2002 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2855 – $154,9993 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 2780 – $107,1004 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 2695 – $88,2505 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 2650 – $62,6756 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 2650 – $58,9007 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 2410 – $43,9008 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2405 – $46,6759 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 2325 – $36,37510 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 2300 – $38,17511 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 2285 – $48,42512 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 2235 – $37,85013 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 2185 – $36,37514 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 1955 – $23,40015 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 1920 – $22,87516 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 1895 – $24,12517 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 1735 – $15,225 |
