Hudson O’Neal of Hope earned his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national championship after a thrilling end to decide the title in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship, presented by ARP.

O’Neal and his race team were honored at the series awards banquet in December at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The industry record $200,000 for winning the point championship title went to O’Neal after he slipped past Devin Moran in Turn 4 on the final circuit of the 100-lap finale at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, back in October.

O’Neal earned the championship title based on his second-place finish in the season finale, the highest finishing driver among the Big River Steel Big Four. Moran finished third, while Ricky Thornton Jr. finished eighth and Jonathan Davenport finished 10th in the final rundown at Eldora Speedway.

O’Neal becomes the youngest driver to etch his name in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series history and only the eighth different driver to win the prestigious title since 2005.

He ended his 2023 campaign with six victories, 32 top-five finishes and 44 top-10 performances. That consistency kept the 23-year-old inside the Big River Steel Big Four all season long.

“As far as the race went, I don’t think it could’ve got any better for the championship,” O’Neal acknowledged after capturing the title that his father, Don, won in 2014. “You know, you hate to see that Ricky had bad luck early in the race and J.D. break like he did. But at the end of the day, we were all on the same racetrack, and it’s just part of it, I guess — bittersweet sometimes.

“You think about the way it all went down, two of them broke and the race was pretty good for the championship,” he said. “We’ll take it, and it doesn’t make it any less important to me. We still won the championship. We proved all year that we had a good car, and we were just able to take advantage of it in the last race of the year.”

O’Neal was humbled following the ultra-successful season of his young career, where his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series earnings alone crossed the half-million-dollar threshold.

“Man, I’m so fortunate,” he said. “Anybody who can do what they love for a living and be successful at it is a blessed person, a blessed man, and I’m for sure blessed. If it weren’t for my family and everybody that’s here — Mark Richards, Steve Baker — for believing in me and everybody that came before Mark and Steve (like former car owner) Todd Burns, Craig Sims, Roger Sellers, MasterSbilt Race Cars, if it weren’t for each and every one of them, I wouldn’t be standing where I am today. Every one of them played a role in my upbringing today to be able to win a Lucas Oil championship.”

Moran’s late-season success earned him the final spot in the Big River Steel Big Four after narrowly edging out Tim McCreadie and Brandon Overton in the final bonus round at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. He ultimately finished second in the point standings in 2023, a career best on the tour for the Dresden, Ohio, driver.

Thornton finished third in the final championship standings, followed by Davenport and McCreadie rounding out the top five. The top-five drivers in the final standings each earned more than $300,000 in total earnings in 2023 with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, another record in the dirt late model industry.

For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, visit lucasdirt.com.

Blair named top Lucas Oil rookie for 2023

Max Blair of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, earned the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2023.

Blair’s rookie season with the tour took him to 29 different venues, most of which he was visiting for the first time in his career. He was able to claim his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory June 23 in his home state at Lernerville Speedway. Additionally, he finished inside the top five on five occasions and recorded 24 top-10 performances.

“We came out of the gate strong at Speedweeks,” Blair said. “After that, it was an up-and-down season for us. We had some good runs but were a little more inconsistent than I had hoped for this season. Regardless, it’s been a fun year with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. We’ve made some great memories. I want to thank my dad. I couldn’t do any of this without him. A huge thanks to everyone at Briggs Transport and all our great sponsors for making this possible. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Blair received an industry record $20,000 at the championship awards banquet Dec. 9. Additionally, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year will receive multiple product awards from various motorsports manufacturers, valued at more than $10,000, bringing Blair’s total earning in cash and product awards to more than $30,000 for winning the Rookie of the Year title in 2023.

Lucas Oil Late Models 2024

The highly entertaining Big River Steel Chase for the Championship, presented by ARP, is returning in 2024.

The next evolution of the Chase for the Championship will put an even greater emphasis on the final four drivers. The round-by-round format will continue to award teams cash prizes at four different intervals throughout the season. However, bonus points will not be awarded after each round.

The Big River Steel Big Four will now be settled at the 20th annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals on Sept. 21. From there, the four championship contenders will battle for the 20th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series national championship at the remaining seven races of the season.

The modified title format is already driving up purses for the new season. Sept. 28’s Jackson 100 at Brownstown Speedway and Oct. 5’s Pittsburgher now pay $50,000-to-win, both up from $30,000-to-win in 2023, simply because those crucial events are now part of the seven-race chase for the title.

“It’s seven points events, and if we have a rainout along the way, it is what it is. We think that’s a unique group of racetracks,” series Director Rick Schwallie said. “Brownstown’s a small place. Pittsburgh’s a bigger place, dry-slick usually. East Bay is wildly different than both of those. And then headed to Eldora. In that group of racetracks, the cream will rise to the top. And that’s how we’re going to crown our champion.”