Hudson O’Neal and Ricky Thornton Jr. have been the talk of dirt-track racing of late, so it’s only fitting they hogged the limelight once again in their one-two finish Monday at Eagle Raceway on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Readers and observers growing jaded by the O’Neal and Thornton saga might want to accept the fact the reigning Lucas Oil Series champion (O’Neal) and the tour’s points leader (Thornton) aren’t leaving the headlines anytime soon. | RaceWire

It only took until the second race aboard their new rides for them to go head-to-head for the win, a lead-swapping battle in which they combined to pace all 40 laps and took each other down to the wire at the third-mile oval with O’Neal edging Thornton for the victory.

As a sportsman who advocates for entertaining yet respectful racing from his competitors, Lucas Oil Series director Rick Schwallie appreciated what he saw Monday from O’Neal and Thornton.

“I can speak a lot about this. First and foremost, those guys raced really well together tonight and showed respect for one another out there on the racetrack,” Schwallie said. “That was great to see. First thing I said at the checkers was, ‘Good racing up front. Good, clean racing up front.’ They raced each other hard, but they raced each other good.”

The teams of O’Neal and Thornton would like nothing more than to settle into their new situations and move on from being asked about the transition that shook the Dirt Late Model world. But SSI crew chief Anthony Burroughs put it best saying, “I don’t want to talk about it, but it’s real life things,” and “we’re big boys,” implying that he doesn’t mind being asked about the recent shakeup as long as it’s within reason.

“I just wish people could pump the brakes on all the drama and let us go out and race,” Burroughs added. “Just enjoy the show that we put on. Because this is our lives.”

To Burroughs’s point, O’Neal and Thornton are now keen on generating organic headlines through their on-track competitiveness rather than fabricated intrigue from those who, as Burroughs remarked, “get behind computer names” wanting “to talk and make accusations … say this, this, and this.”

Although they didn’t ask for it, what can be agreed upon between O’Neal and Thornton is that they’re main characters in an entertainment-driven sport.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. One guy hates it. The others love it,” the 23-year-old O’Neal said when asked about how he’s been caught in the middle of one of the biggest stories of the year. “I’m the one on the hate end of it. Not the hate end that I got the opportunity, but the hate from the way it’s been put out there.

“I can speak for myself and Mr. (Todd) Burns, (the SSI owner). I know Mr. Burns has the best of intentions at heart. I think he thinks the world of Ricky. It’s unfortunate the way it’s all worked out. At the end of the day, like you said, it’s drawn more fans. That’s been good.”

O’Neal admits he’s “been a little bit of the villain, I guess,” but it’s a role "we’re going to embrace” as he tries to prove his worth all the more driving for a team that’s now won 51 features since the start of last year.

“We’re going to see if we can’t convert some people (into fans) as we go,” O’Neal said. “We’re going to do the best we can and be as humble as we can. And do our best. We’re just trying to win the next one.”

As for Thornton, he understands adversity and unexpected developments are what ultimately spur more interest in the sport beyond the sheer racing product like Monday’s battle with O’Neal on Monday.

“That’s kind of how it works. Anytime there’s a big upset or anything like that, usually people pay attention,” Thornton said. “It sucks that it was me, but at the same time, I’ve had a lot of really good people reach out. In the grand scheme of things, I think we’re going to be just as good, or better, as what we were. Just thankful to be paired up with Bobby (Koehler) to make sure we have everything we need to get through the year and be as competitive as ever.”

A question that Thornton answered Monday at Eagle: Is it weird to be competing against the blue-colored SSI machine that elevated him to superstar status in the sport?

“I’ve always looked at it like it’s another car. It doesn’t matter who’s in it … it’s another car you have to outrun,” Thornton said. “We were just a little short tonight. I didn’t feel like we had the best car, but I felt like we were as equal as he was. There’s still a lot of stuff we can do to be better in the feature. … It shows how good this program this already is.”

O’Neal also answered that question, just from a different perspective: Is it weird for him to be racing his predecessor for the win?

“We talked on the front straightaway and spoke today. Obviously it’s a little weird,” O’Neal said. “But I think as time goes we’ll get over it and we’ll be just fine. I don’t think, on the inside, there’s many problems. It’s just the media and the outside noise and the fans. If you ask him, it’s probably that, too, and that it’s no big deal. If not, then I don’t know. From the inside looking out, it doesn’t seem that big of a deal. It’s just the outside making it look that way.”

Schwallie, of course, said that all the high-profile ride swapping has “kept it interesting,” but he’s led to believe, “all in all, it isn’t completely healthy for our product.”

“Our product, people need to be used to the characters involved, the people on the field out there,” Schwallie said. “We have 20,000 programs we give away for free. And driver profiles in those are wiped out.”

Schwallie spoke that comment through a laugh, but there’s truth to what he’s saying because “none of our programs are right.”

The race fan inside Schwallie raises another side of the O’Neal and Thornton saga that’s poised to keep the Lucas Oil Series entertaining in the coming months, especially as the two drivers become more acquainted with their new teams.

“I think a lot of people would’ve speculated after the split who had the secret sauce: Was it Ricky or the race team with Anthony? I think they answered it (Monday),” Schwallie said. “Ricky is a really good racer. And obviously that was the best team in racing last year. I don’t think anybody would deny that. Ricky is obviously a very good racer. Obviously he’s learned a lot from a really solid race team. And I think Anthony and that team is going to make Hudson really good, too.

“Hudson is a champion, so he’s capable of doing this as well. It’s a lot of fun to watch on the racetrack. It’s a lot of fun to watch in front of us as the race is going on, the fan reaction. Everybody’s picked a side on it. That part is good.”