What won the race: Hudson O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., outdueled Jonathan Davenport early then held off late challenges from Brandon Overton at Atomic Speedway to capture Thursday's $12,000 ninth annual Buckeye Spring 50 feature. O'Neal led the first lap and the final 24 to notch his third consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Series victory and snag the series points lead. Moving into Lucas Oil Series points lead, O'Neal notched his fifth overall victory of 2023 following four Georgia-Florida Speedweek triumphs.

Quotable: “What a race man, that cushion was really treacherous and I made a bunch of mistakes on it, but it was just so big and built up on the wall, it was real forgiving. You could make a little mistake and it not hurt you,” said O'Neal, who has 20 career Lucas Oil victories. “To be able to come back after a long break, you know we’ve had speed and that break was killing us, sitting around and we were ready to get going.”

Key notes: Fourth-starting Brandon Overton closed to within a car length of O'Neal in the closing laps, finishing 0.303 of a second back. ... Mike Marlar overcame contact with Ricky Thornton Jr. to finish third; The contact drew the race's only caution on lap 11, when Thornton slid into Marlar as he was moving down the track in turn three. Thornton rebounded from the spin to finish 11th. ... After winning the $10,000 Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions sprint car feature earlier in the night, Kyle Larson advanced 10 positions and finished fourth. ... Jonathan Davenport led laps two through 26 before fading to finish fifth. ... A deck-height violation cost Tyler Erb a victory in the second heat, but he rallied from 17th to sixth in the feature. ... Camaron Marlar started and finished seventh, earning his best career series result. ... Tim McCreadie gained eight spots and completed the top 10. ... Thursday's feature, the opener of a weekend tripleheader for the Lucas Oil Series, lasted 19 minutes, with 16 competitors completing 50 laps.

On the move: Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., who earlier Thursday announced he and teammate Boom Briggs plan a full-season Lucas Oil run, started 22nd and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: O’Neal’s Rocket Chassis has a Durham Racing Engine and sponsorship from Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Gunter’s Honey, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing Co., Petroff Towing, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage & Recycling, Performance Grading, Slavic Shirts & Decals, Sunoco Race Fuels and Rocket Preowned Motors.

Points chase: After Atomic: 1. Hudson O’Neal (1,410); 2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (1,375); 3. Brandon Overton (1,365); 4. Tim McCreadie (1,245); 5. Jonathan Davenport (1,225); 6. Max Blair (1,180); 7. Devin Moran (1,160); 8. Tyler Erb (1,125); 9. Daulton Wilson (1,115); 10. Earl Pearson Jr. (1,065).

Current weather: Clear, 50°F

Car count: 42

Fast qualifier: Jonathan Davenport

Time: 13.071 seconds

Polesitter: Hudson O'Neal

Heat race winners: Hudson O'Neal, Earl Pearson Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton

Consolation race winners: Tyler Erb, Tim McCreadie

Provisional starters: Devin Moran, Spencer Hughes, Ross Robinson, Logan Roberson, Rod Conley

Next series race: May 5, Ponderosa Speedway (Junction City, KY) $12,000