2022 Season Now Complete; Preparations Underway for 2023
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (11/07/22) – Rocket1 Racing and their new pilot, Hudson O’Neal made their debut together over the weekend at the NGK NTK World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Concord, N.C.)
During the course of the three-race weekend O’Neal notably registered both a fifth-place finish and eighth-place finish aboard the Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
“It was a great weekend for our team to get to know Hudson (O’Neal) better and for him to get a chance to work directly with us as we look ahead to a big 2023,” said Rocket1 Racing co-owner Mark Richards in regards to their debut together at the Dirt Track at Charlotte. “It’s hard to believe that the 2023 season will be here in basically two months. As a team we are very excited for next year, and our preparations are already in full-force. We want to thank all of our great marketing partners, who make our program possible, and we look forward to seeing everyone at Speedweeks.”
Rocket1 Racing returned to action on Thursday afternoon with Hudson O’Neal debuting behind the wheel of the Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil No. 1 Late Model for the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Concord, N.C.) .
With the massive field of 70 Late Models divided into two groups, O’Neal stopped the clock second-fastest in his group before grabbing the third-and-final transfer spot in his heat race. Starting the $15,000-to-win preliminary feature in 15th, Hudson worked his way into the top-10 by the halfway point of the 40-lapper but lost ground in the final five circuits to finish 13th.
For another round of prelims on Thursday afternoon, Hudson outdueled fellow front-row starter Dale McDowell in his heat race to pick up the eight-lap victory. With $15,000 on the line in the feature, O’Neal inched forward one spot in the 40-lap affair to register a fifth-place finish. He followed Tanner English, Shane Clanton, Chris Madden, and Mike Marlar across the line.
With point standings from prelims placing him on the pole of his heat race on Saturday, O’Neal dashed to an eight-lap victory, promoting him into the redraw. Receiving the second-starting position for the $25,000-to-win World Finals finale, Hudson set the pace for the first 27 circuits before surrendering the top spot to Jonathan Davenport.
Late in the race, O’Neal suffered body damage which relegated him to an eighth-place finish in the 50-lapper.
Full results from the weekend are available at www.WoOLMS.com.
The 2022 season has now drawn to a close for Rocket1 Racing. In 97 events the team scored 10 wins to go along with 43 Top-5 finishes and 73 Top-10 finishes.
For the latest team news and notes, please visit www.Rocket1Racing.com.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunters Honey, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts & Decals, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage & Recycling, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Edelbrock, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, Maxima Racing Oils, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Safecraft, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest information on Rocket1Racing please visit the team website at www.Rocket1Racing.com as well as their social media channels at www.facebook.com/Rocket1Racing, www.twitter.com/Rocket1_Racing, and www.instagram.com/rocket1racing .