ELLISVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 21) — Donning a megawatt smile fueled by the elation of finally conquering the elusive All-Tech Raceway, a racetrack that’s been a thorn in his side, Hudson O’Neal couldn’t picture life as a racer being more gratifying than it is at the moment.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series kicks off its 2026 campaign Thursday-Saturday at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla., sending the national tour into a season that features a new-look, post-Daytona 500 Georgia-Florida Speedweeks and return to a traditional points format to determine the $250,000 champion.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 14) — Hudson O’Neal and Bobby Pierce’s spirited lead battle in Wednesday’s Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout appeared ready to serve up Dirt Late Model racing’s first head-to-head, down-to-the-wire showdown of the new season.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 11) — Hudson O’Neal wasn’t worried, but he had some concerns pacing the field during the second half of Sunday’s 40-lap Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout feature at Central Arizona Raceway.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Dec. 5) — Thursday’s opener of the Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals didn’t produce the typical cornucopia of controversy and mayhem that comes with racing at The Dome at America’s Center, right?

BROWNSTOWN, Ind. — Since the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series instituted the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship in 2023, the national tour has made tweaks to the playoff-style format.

The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship began with the so-called Big Four on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series taking a few lumps.

A statistical breakdown of the four eligible drivers in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heading into the five-race playoffs. The champion receives $250,000 with $200,000, $150,000 and $125,000 for the rest of the top four. (Drivers listed alphabetically with 2025 statistics and best career series performances at playoff tracks):

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Sept. 20) — Two forgettable preliminary programs — one downright awful, one just bad — sent Hudson O’Neal into Saturday’s Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals finale with little momentum. But one thing he didn’t lack was a positive attitude.

LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Aug. 15) — Drivers weren’t expecting to find a blazing fast track surface at Mooney Starr-promoted Batesville Motor Speedway on Friday’s preliminary night for the 33rd annual Nutrien Ag Solutions Topless 100 presented by Big River Steel.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finished its two-race swing in the Buckeye State on Saturday with the 60-lap, $25,000-to-win Freedom 60 at Muskingum County Speedway.

With this week's 31st running of the Dirt Late Model Dream taking shape at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, we're ramping up our coverage of the $100,000-to-win event that's streamed live on FloRacing.

The 33rd Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 presented by Missouri Division of Tourism is next up on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule at Lucas Oil Speedway, which pays a record $75,000 to the winner of Saturday’s finale. A pair of full-field $10,000-to-win features Thursday and Friday opened the weekend.

The 33rd Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 presented by Missouri Division of Tourism is next up on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule at Lucas Oil Speedway, which pays a record $75,000 to the winner of Saturday’s finale. Thursday's $10,000-to-win the Cowboy Classic opened the three-day weekend.

BROWNSTOWN, Ind.— While the teams of Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Jonathan Davenport are seemingly firing on all cylinders entering the spring season, Hudson O’Neal is trying to take some consolation Saturday at Brownstown Speedway that he’s not far behind.