Hudson O’Neal has won races this year for two of Dirt Late Model racing’s most accomplished car owners, Mark Richards and Kevin Rumley.
Now the reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion owns the keys to one of the most dominant Dirt Late Model rides since the start of last year.
Late Wednesday night O’Neal spoke out for the first time since SSI Motorsports owner Todd Burns revealed Tuesday that he’s bringing back the 23-year-old to the Morgantown, Ind., operation formerly spearheaded by reigning DirtonDirt.com Driver of the Year, Ricky Thornton Jr.
O’Neal, who’s sixth in Lucas Oil Series points as he pursues a second straight championship, will debut in SSI’s Longhorn Chassis with his usual No. 71 during the national tour’s July 11-13 tripleheader at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo.
“Sunday evening I received a phone call that I couldn’t pass up,” O’Neal started in a Facebook post Wednesday. “Todd Burns called and stated he had let Ricky go that afternoon, and he would like to team up moving forward. As this is exactly what me and my team needed, I had a lot of to-dos before accepting. I wanted to make sure my sponsors, team, and family were on board as all of us has put a lot of time and effort into creating my own deal.
“Being an owner it was really rewarding, but financially and equipment-wise, it was a no-brainer to partner up with the SSI team. I am very thankful and fortunate Todd and Vickie want me back wheeling a blue SSI No. 71 car. They helped me start my career in 2015 in Crates and have been nothing short of supportive through the years.
“I think a lot of them and their family, and I’m super excited to be back.”
RELATED: Why Ricky Thornton Jr. Signed With Koehler Motorsports
The Martinsville, Ind., native entered the Super Late Model ranks driving for Burns in 2016 and developed into one of the sport’s top prospects with SSI before his release late in the ’19 season. Thornton joined the team full-time May 2020 and amassed more than 60 victories in the Anthony Burroughs-prepared machine over his ultrasuccessful four-year tenure.
In a deep-dive story from DirtonDirt.com’s Kevin Kovac, Burns said “we thought about starting a two-car team” with Thornton and O’Neal potentially at the wheel “but there were some issues that didn’t work out.
“It didn’t work out, and that’s OK,” Burns told Kovac. “But I don’t want something written up about Hudson coming in here and undermining, because that was absolutely not the case. In fact, when I made the phone call to Hudson after the fact (releasing Thornton on Sunday), I mean, he had to think about (the ride offer). He didn’t jump at the chance right off the get-go on Monday. He had to think things through before he made a decision.”
Sub-Surface of Indiana, Big River Steel, Dyno-One, Wheeler Metals, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, O’Neal Salvage, Merrill Bonding, Bobcat of Batesville, Bob & Tammy Burton, Paragon Speedway (IN), USSSA of Indiana, Bilstein, Sunoco, High Performance Lubricants, West Side Tractor Sales, and Longhorn Chassis are among O’Neal’s partners.
