Hudson O’Neal of Hope won the FLO Racing Night in America Late Model event on Wednesday at Brownstown Speedway.
Submitted photo
It was a special homecoming for Hudson O’Neal of Hope on Wednesday night at Brownstown Speedway when he stormed to the $20,000 Castrol FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota victory.
O’Neal powered past Jonathan Davenport for the lead exiting Turn 4 on the 20th circuit and never looked back on his way to the victory.
“For me, there’s nothing like Brownstown Speedway. Anytime that I can come here and be in any type of race car is just so special,” O’Neal said. “It just took until lapped traffic (to get the lead back). It looked like he got a little loose in lapped traffic, and I started kinda working and maneuver my line a little bit to find where I was gonna be a little bit better to get back by him.”
From the pole position, O’Neal led the first circuit before fourth-starting Jonathan Davenport used the high line of the ¼-mile oval to take the lead on the second lap. The 2021 series champion maintained the top spot until Lap 20, when O’Neal powered back to the lead.
Once out front, Hudson enjoyed a comfortable advantage taking the checkered flag 1.949 seconds in front of Tanner English, with Tim McCreadie, 17th-starting Devin Moran and 11th-starting Ross Robinson completing the top-five finishers.
The victory was the first of the year for O’Neal on the tour and his fifth all-time.
Exiting round No. 6 of the season at Brownstown Speedway, defending champion Bobby Pierce holds a 27-point advantage over Ricky Thornton Jr. for the point lead. Daulton Wilson, Jason Feger, Spencer Hughes, Tim McCreadie, Devin Moran, Carson Ferguson, O’Neal and Garrett Alberson round out the current top 10 in the standings.
In Pewter Hall Super Stock feature action, Zach Sasser of Bedford followed by younger brother Isaiah Sasser took home the win. Zach Sasser and Isaiah Sasser finished first and second for the second race in-a-row. Zach Sasser led all 20 laps of the feature event. Following the Sassers at the finish was Lee Hobbs, Trey Chastain and Derek Groomer.
Cain takes fourth straight at Brownstown
It was Schaefer Photo and Custom Designs Night at Brownstown Speedway on Sept. 21 with over 120 cars on hand for the evening.
Tyler Cain of Seymour parked in Victory Lane for the fourth straight time in P3 Graphix Indiana Late Model Series Pro Late Models. Steve Peeden took the early lead and looked to be the car to beat. A caution on Lap 18 bunched the field and wiped out Peeden’s advantage. Cain now running second, took over the lead with five laps to go and went on to get his seventh win of the year. Peeden, Rohn Moon, Tyler Neal and Dustin Nobbe rounded out the top five.
Zach Sasser of Bedford recorded win No. 3 in Pewter Hall Super Stocks. Isaiah Sasser and Colton Sullivan swapped the early lead before Sullivan took over and extended his lead. Sullivan had mechanical problems just past halfway, and second place-running Zach Sasser inherited the lead. Zach Sasser went on to score the win ahead of Isaiah Sasser, Tanner Chastain, Tucker Chastain and Greg Amick.
In Crossroads Truck Equipment Pure Stocks, Preston Carr of Underwood scored win No. 4 for the year. Josh Turner, A.J. Wilson, Brent McMillan and Carr all battled in the early part of the feature, with each driver leading at some point. Carr eventually took over the lead for good to get the win. McMillan, Wilson, Keaton Streeval and Hunter Perry completed the top five.
Matt Cranmer of Memphis recorded victory No. 6 in Crown Vic features for the year. Kenna Day led the field to green and took the early lead. Matt Cranmer from his seventh starting spot worked his way to the front and took over the lead near the halfway mark of the event. Cranmer’s win came ahead of Todd Cain, Kenna Day, A.J. Clark and Geremy Hays.
Curtis Roccia of Columbus went back-to-back in the hornet division, scoring his second win in a row. Cordell Moore led the first 13 laps before Roccia took over the lead with seven laps to go and recorded his third win of the year out of the past four hornet events. Moore, Jeremy Shemwell, Josh Hallett and Preston Righthouse trailed at the checkers.
Jackson 100 postponed
The 45th Annual Jackson 100 scheduled for tonight at Brownstown Speedway has been postponed due to the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
This week in racing history
From 40 years ago in 1984 at Lawrenceburg, Randy Kinser won the sprint car feature over Brad Marvel, Leon Thickstun, Danny Milburn and Willie Rice. Gary Herbert won the late model feature over Matt Gilardi, John Holt, Ed Eschmann and Willie Klepper. Terry Eaglin won the sportsman feature over Dave Rouse, Jeff Caudill, Sam Johnson and Greg Davis.
From 30 years ago in 1994 at Brownstown, Danny Smith won the sprint car feature over Randy Kinser.
From 20 years ago in 2004 at Twin Cities, Scott Graham won the late model feature over Brad Barrow, mark Barber, Shawn Negangard and Dan Sturgeon. Ernie Niemoeller won the pure stock feature over Randy Gilland, Dennis Knotts, Steve Walp and Seth Hull. Jamie Berry won the mini stock feature over Justin Burdette, Derrick Higbie, Todd Acton and Justin Walters.
From 2004 at Terre Haute, Justin Marvel won the sprint car feature over Hud Cone, Scott Hatton, Kent Christian and Danny Holtsclaw.
From 20 years ago at Kokomo, Jon Stanbrough won the sprint car feature over Kent Christian, Bryan Clauson, Casey Shuman and Bill Rose.
Upcoming local racing schedule
Oct. 5: Brownstown Speedway – Season Championships – super late models, crate late models, super stocks, pure stocks, hornets and crown vics. For more information, visit brownstownspeedway.com
Oct. 5: Paragon Speedway – Season Championships – sprints, super stocks, bombers, hornets and modifieds. For more information, visit paragonspeedway.com
Oct. 11: Lawrenceburg Speedway – USAC Sprints. For more information, visit lawrenceburgspeedway.com
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected]
