Top-3 Recap | Lucas Oil Late Models at Muskingum County Speedway
Top-3 Recap after Saturday's Lucas Oil Late Model Series feature at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio.
Video Transcript
But ladies and gentlemen, he's gonna make his way back out eventually, and it is official, from 15th, your winner here tonight at Muskingum County Speedway, $25,000, the biggest win of his career.
How about it, Zanesville?
Let him hear you.
He's coming back out.
It's gonna be Max Blair.
Well, I'll tell you what, DJ, they might wanna open his merch trailer back up.
Bill, get the merch trailer opened back up.
Let him hear you, Musky.
Oh, man.
Chris Moore, we're gonna send it down to you, and it is gonna be a very, very happy Max Blair pulling into Lucas Oil Victory Lane.
Yeah, a very popular winner if there's ever been one.
You saw him stop.
His crew guys stopped pushing the 111 when he drove by the 20 RT at the Longacre Scales, good buddies, he and Ricky Thornton Jr. are, and gave him a thumbs up and a lot more, I'm sure.
Don't forget, a full fireworks show to follow the 50 laps of fireworks we just got.
And you guys have made a point of it, 15th to first under green flag conditions.
The restarts, he didn't need them.
He got them all on his own.
Max Blair, your winner tonight at Muskingum County.
Why wouldn't you be excited?
Happy birthday, America, and congratulations, Max Blair.
Max, congratulations, man.
You've been knocking on the door, and seems like all year you've started the night not as good as you want to be, and you're as good as you can be at the end of the night.
Tonight, a whole nother level, and you got to fourth, and you saw the top three ahead of you.
Did you think you had any chance to run them down like that?
Not a chance.
I, I was like, well, that's a hell of a run, you know?
15th to fourth, this is pretty cool.
And I was like, "You know what?
Maybe we'll get a yellow, and I'll get a shot at it."
And then we went about three more laps, and I was like, "Holy cow," like, "They're not even in lap traffic, and I'm running them down pretty quick," so Oh, man, I can't believe it.
It's awesome.
Biggest win of your career?
I've won Yes, by far.
I've, I've won another race that paid the same money, but by far the biggest win of my career.
Really sucks my wife and kids ain't here.
I'm quite sure they were screaming at the TV there them last few laps when all them cautions kept coming out.
But, man, I wish they were here to, to get to do it with me.
It's, I'm k- I'm kind of out of breath and speechless.
Tell me about those late yellows though.
I mean, there's a little bit of rain falling, and w- you get all the way to the lead with no yellows.
Then you finally get two with, with one lap to go.
What's going through your mind during that whole process, which ended up being almost 10 minutes or so?
Well, when I took the lead, I knew I was a good bit better, you know, than they were.
I, I didn't wanna catch them lap cars.
I felt like I didn't need to, and then I seen Shirley brake and, or had a flat or something up there, and I was like, "There is no way this is gonna happen."
And, when I mean, I just, if you could think it, I thought it under them yellows.
I had vibrations.
I could smell grubber.
I had all kinds of And then I finally, I was just like, "You know what?
It doesn't matter.
I'm gonna race it no matter what happens here," so Well, man, I, I can't believe it.
It's awesome.
I gotta thank my dad.
you know, this is, this is what we've been trying to do for 20 years now, and, we just did it.
Feels great.
I can't thank him enough.
You know, I, I tell people all the time, and it really is the truth, man, we're just a couple Saturday night racers out here doing our best trying to figure it out, so, maybe we're doing something right, right?
But I gotta thank all my sponsors.
number one, I gotta thank Brad Mallory with Centerline Motorsports, and Jason and Courtney with, with Riggs Fiber.
without them, without them four, I wouldn't be doing this, that's for sure.
They're, I can't thank them enough for the amazing opportunity they've given me, for believing in me, and, having my back when I suck really bad.
And, you know, we qualified terrible, heat race terrible.
Nobody gets down.
Nobody's telling me what I'm doing wrong or what I need to do better.
We just put our heads down, and we work, and we, we got better.
And, but all of my sponsors, Centerline Motorsports, Riggs Fiber, C&J Dairy, Murphy's Logging, Virgili Iron and Steel, Tavern 618, The Gable Inn, Andy's Towing, Deer Lakes Bowl.
Just, I know I'm missing people.
Willie's World, Close Racing Supply, Longhorn, Vinny, VG, he's, he's here tonight, so that's cool, and, Presto Racing Stables, Bish Heating and Cooling.
My crew, Skyler, he works his butt off for me, and I really appreciate that.
And I'm gonna quit talking now, because everybody's tired of listening to me, but I can't thank everybody enough, all the fans, all the M- the Morans, Lucas Oil.
It a dream come true.
I was planning on driving home tonight, but sorry, Brandy and, McClain and Hayes, I probably won't see you till, like, noon tomorrow.
Congratulations.
Enjoy this one.
Yes, sir, I'm gonna.
Max Blair, how about it, ladies and gentlemen?
A Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner.
How about that?
Well, Chris is gonna make his way over on down the front straightaway and grab a word with second and third, and he's got a, believe, a winning 50/50 ticket from Savannah Moran down there.
And if you have that winning ticket, you will take it to, the main office.
Chris, go right ahead.
Yeah, it's worth $1,700.
It is a bluish-green ticket, 427571.
Again, a bluish-green ticket, 427571.
Worth $1,700, 427571.
If you have it, head to the main office back behind the grandstands.
And yeah, I'll hustle up o- over here to Devon Moran.
Again, don't forget, after these interviews in victory lane in the Big River Steel Podium, we will have a full-on fireworks show.
But Dad owns and manages the racetrack, and this is a full-on family affair.
And well, you were oh-so-close.
If the 111 didn't have it all together tonight, this might've been your night.
What was it like, your third, third, third, and all over Clay and Huddy never got away from you guys?
Had to be a lot of fun in that 50 laps.
Yeah, it was.
You know, I used to love coming here because it was my home track.
Now I love coming here, 'cause this is a badass racetrack.
My dad and them guys do a great job, and, and we always have an amazing crowd out here, for sure.
Let me hear it, guys.
Come on.
Dang it, man.
I thought I had a chance, you know?
congratulations, Max Blair.
You know, he's been really close all year.
He's had a really good race car, and, he got the job done.
I thought it was Clay back underneath of me there, because I just got by him, and then he went by me.
I was like, "Oh, shit, he's, he's I'm not beating him tonight."
So, just a, all around, a, a good race, a good weekend.
bummer all them guys kind of chickened out and didn't come race with us, but I guess, all the outlaw guys saw what happened last time we were here other than, than Bobby and Nick.
So, wish they could've been here, but, missed out on a good race and a good weekend.
And, yeah, let's go watch a fireworks show.
All right, there you go, guys.
Gauntlet thrown down to the outlaws, guys, but a good night for Devin Moran.
Wow.
One more.
Hudson O'Neal led the most laps here tonight, 46.
He will maintain the points lead as we head to 34 Raceway Thursday night, Chris.
Yeah.
Thank you, James.
Huddy, I just You led a lot of laps.
Did you have any idea the 111 was coming like that?
Ah, I was dying really hard there at the end.
I, I knew somebody had to be coming, and, and if, if they weren't, they were dying just as bad as I was.
You know, there's always that one guy that comes on at the end of the race, and I was just kind of a sitting duck.
We went pretty soft on tires, and I just didn't have much left at the end, and, and we just really weren't very balanced at the end.
We'll go back and, and work at it a little bit, and, see if we can't get better the last 10 laps of that race.
But all in all, man, we had a great race car.
Just felt like we lacked a little there at the end, but you'll have that every once in a while.
So, yeah.
thank you to Jason, Riley, Kyle, Logan, all my guys, my wife, Tessa, Todd and Vicki Burns, SSI Motorsports, and everybody that's a part of this, number 71 race car.
Wheeler Metals, Merrill Bonding Company, Big River Steel, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, Snowco Race Fuels, O'Neal Salvage and Recycling, Penske Racing Shocks, Longhorn Chassis, O'Neal Contracting, and, USSSA Fastpitch, Longhorn Chassis.
Everybody that's a part of it.
We'll, keep going, man.
We, we're just disappointed, but that's, that's racing, and, that, that drives you to work a little harder, and we'll, do that, and hopefully we'll have a good west swing next week.
All right.
There you go, guys.
A disappointed Hudson O'Neal, but the silver lining for the 71, he opens that point gap a little bit more over the one of Brandon Shepherd, who's been coming hard here lately.
Tell you what, they're all gonna have to keep an eye on that 111 here pretty soon as well, as he's been incredibly consistent all year long.
