While Hudson O'Neal told Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series announcer James Essex about his first victory of the season Wednesday in Davenport (Iowa) Speedway's victory lane, second- and third-place finishers Brandon Overton and Mike Marlar stood nearby, rehashing their battle that saw O'Neal lead nine laps, Overton 11 and Marlar 20 on the wide quarter-mile oval.

Their conclusion? "This is a badass racetrack," Overton said.

That was not only the conclusion of the lead-swapping drivers but also the big crowd that enjoyed the national tour's first visit to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds since 2005 for a thrilling event that saw Martinsville, Ind.'s O'Neal lead the final eight circuits for a $10,000 triumph.

"We all raced right there the whole race," said O'Neal, who also outran Overton at the track last year for a victory in MARS Racing Series action. "It was awesome man."

Evans, Ga.'s Overton was glad the midweek event gave him another chance to compete at the track that saw him mixing it up with O'Neal and Marlar virtually all race long.

"It's hard to go anywhere and race like this, so just want to thank the guys for for bringing us back and Lucas Oil ... man, it's a really fun place and it's refreshing for sure," the runner-up said.

VIDEO: Hear from the podium finishers after Wednesday's thriller at Davenport.

Winfield, Tenn.'s Marlar, who led half the 40-lapper while mostly running the high groove, credited promoter Ricky Kay and his family for doing "an awesome job with this racetrack."

Added Marlar: "I think we were three-wide (at halfway) and three-wide on three (laps) to go. So it was pretty good. I know me and Hudson was. I'm sure Brandon was right in there, too. The racetrack was unbelievable. It came and went the whole race, (the) top (groove), bottom and middle, all over it. You can't ask for much more than that."

Marlar's longtime racing buddy Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., was the only driver to break up the three-car duel up front — he briefly held the third spot at the midway point — but he couldn't quite keep up with the triumvirate.

"I restarted good (at lap 20) and got under O'Neal there and then I just missed my marks about three or four laps in a row, and that killed me. Then I tried the high side a little bit, and that killed me even worse," Owens said. "I was happy to bring this Longhorn home with a good fourth-place finish tonight. I felt like if we'd have had a few more laps in that traffic I maybe could've maneuvered around 'em a little bit."

Fifth-finishing Spencer Hughes of Meridian, Miss., who started sixth but slipped back early after getting over the wall-less track's banking, never got close enough to get in the mix up front. His crew members told him he missed a good race.

"I really don't know if they ever put on a bad one here," Hughes said. "Any time we get to come here and race, it's one of my favorite places we ever go to, so I'm glad we got to come out here and race."

O'Neal was especially glad in breaking through on the Lucas Oil Series for the first time in 2022 after six victories last season. He came to the right place to do it.

"Davenport, Iowa, this small quarter-mile, man, every time we come here, it's just unbelievable," O'Neal said. "This is a second time me and Overton have battled it out here, so we're really really looking forward to it. I wish they had 10 more races here."