Mark Whitener led the most laps during the Saturday night finale at All-Tech Raceway with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but ended up in the fence with five laps to go after slipping back to fourth.

With 20 laps to go Hudson O’Neal was able to use the lap car of Brenden Smith as a pick to roll the bottom around 3 and 4 and get underneath Whitener who ran the top and got bottled up behind Smith exiting the corner. 

Less than 10 laps later and he found himself in a dog fight with Brandon Overton, who eventually took the spot with nine laps to go. While they were battling Clay Harris was able to close in and was able to take third on the same lap down the back stretch.

The entire night went completely downhill with 5 laps left in the race. Whitener got into the wall and nearly jumped it in turn four causing significant damage to his right front suspension.

Whitener first explained to FloRacing’s Michael Grigsby what happened that allowed him to fall into the clutches of Hudson O’Neal, “I was trying to get my spoiler away from my tire so I could get more up there by the fence. I got some experience around this place so I was just trying to get my right rear tire in the mud and it kept biting me. I would come off and then I would be down the straightaway right on the fence and I was catching the fence with my right front and I just knocked my spindle off. And then I was just doing everything I could to hang on, you know.”

“And I was still fast,” he continued. “I could charge the corner and then I would baby it off. I knew it was going to be just a matter of time. I was kind of watching and I could see them guys inching up on me.”

“Listen, I gave it everything I had. I ain’t won one of these races. I’ve been trying. It’s just hard. These guys are really good. They don’t make mistakes. And if I’m running one line, they’re running another. I don’t know if I got my tires hot. If I had to do it over again I pry would have calmed down a little bit. It happens. It’s heartbreaking for this little team to be leading a race like that and lose it because I put it into the fence,” Whitener said.

As for the wreck, he shared, “I was just driving a little hard. The room for error was very minimal. So close to the wall. Literally, it felt like a slot car. You had to touch the wall and get off of it. For the experience I got around here I knew I should have calmed down and I tried to, but when I knocked the spindle off when I let off the gas the car just wanted to slide and so if I kept throttle in it, it would go. So I just drove it for everything it was worth.”

Whitener then shared that he likely wouldn’t make the opening races of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series trip to Ocala as he gets his cars repaired. He indicated he had lapped out a motor, knocked out the front end of his car, and his son knocked the front end out of his car as well.

“We gonna go home and regroup,” Whitener said. “I’ve knocked the whole front end off that car. My son knocked the front end off his car. I’ve tore everything I’ve had up this weekend, but I had a blast doing it.”

“Probably, no Ocala for a few days. We need to regroup and get these things rebuilt. We going to still give it hell. We won’t quit,” he concluded.

Whitener finished 10th, 6th, and 19th with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series during its opening weekend at All-Tech Raceway. He currently sits 13th in the Series points.

NEXT: Ricky Thornton Jr. And Koehler Motorsports React To Disappointing Start At All-Tech Raceway