ROSSBURG, Ohio — The siren that called all drivers to staging for Wednesday’s main attraction at Eldora Speedway — the conclusion of the the 28th Dream postponed from June — had sounded, but all that didn’t pertain to Daulton Wilson, who immersed himself in a moment he’s awaited most his life. 

Sure, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series rookie failed to qualify for the $128,000-to-win crown jewel, thus making him eligible to compete — and ultimately win — in one of the three 20-lap Chasing the Dream features designed for drivers who haven’t won at least a preliminary event at Eldora.

But for Wilson, winning the $5,000 event didn’t matter if it was deemed of lesser significance or not. He just won something at Eldora, and came out on the jubilant end of a riveting battle with Ashton Winger in doing so.

“This is a dream come true for me,” Wilson said. “I’ve had a great opportunity this year with James and Justin (Rattliff), the entire group. To get it done here is really special.

“To get to stand on that stage, it doesn’t matter if it’s for $5 or $500,000. It’s still a dream come true to stand up there and be part of this deal here. We’ve worked our butts off this year, and we’ve been close. But to actually get it done, and get it done here, is really special.”

Wednesday’s victory against a split-field of 23 cars was Wilson’s first trip to victory lane since last November when he won the $7,500 Prelude to the Finals at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C.

To end the near year-long drought — which hasn’t been from a lack of effort, but due to Wilson’s heightened competition as a national-touring newbie — he needed stave off a hard-charging Winger.

The two drivers traded a series sliders down the stretch, and for a moment, it appeared Winger’s momentum around the top would propel him by Wilson. Over the final 10 laps, Winger erased Wilson’s straightaway lead via a go-ahead slider for the lead with four laps left.

But Wilson dug deep and turned away Winger’s last slide job attempt by protecting the bottom of turns one and two with three laps remaining.

“Ashton’s raced here several times, and has been coming up here several years. To outrun him is really special, but there’s nobody that’s just not no good anymore,” Wilson said. “There was 20 other guys in the field, and we outran them. This is definitely special for us.”

Wednesday’s performance now gives the 24-year-old his 10th top-10 finish the last 21 races — a stretch started since he placed eighth at the Firecracker 100 at Pennsylvania’s Lernerville Speedway — and off the heels of a ninth-to-fifth drive two weeks ago at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.

Over the first 23 races of his rookie Lucas Oil Series season, Wilson managed only two finishes inside the top-10.

“Before Port Royal last week, we felt like we had a really good car,” Wilson said. “We went to Port, and it was very maneuverable. We felt like this car was pretty good. We worked on it just a little bit, but not like anything crazy. We feel like have a good car right now. We’re just going to continue tweaking on it a little nit and try to keep it in one piece. Hopefully the consistency will come now, and hopefully some more wins.”

Wilson hoped that he’d have at least one win under his national-touring belt by now, especially after leading most of the Lucas Oil Series race at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park on July 1. But Ricky Thornton Jr. went on to win that night as Wilson backpedaled from the lead with 20 laps left to finish fifth.

“I felt like we let one slip away a few weeks at Portsmouth,” Wilson said. “You just kind of wonder, did my one (win) slip away? To come back here …”

Wilson couldn’t finish his sentence because a crew member from a fellow touring competitor shouted his name in passing, then giving Wilson a thumbs up to emphasize his praise.

“It’s really cool to see the support from all these guys. You race with them, run up and down the road. It’s really special; this right here.”

Now Wilson locks in on qualifying for his first World 100 come Saturday night. But before that could possibly happen, he’ll need to get through preliminary action Thursday and Friday unscathed.

“We just need a little bit of luck,” Wilson said. “The car’s had some decent speed. But we have to draw the right numbers and catch the right breaks, and keep our nose clean. I think if we do that, we’ll be fine.”