CONCORD, N.C. -- They call up-and-coming racer Neal Dulin "Real Deal Neal".  He showed everyone why he's earned that nickname on Sunday at Virginia's Dominion Raceway, recovering from an early race pit stop that sent him back to 24th position to finish second in the INEX Legend Car World Road Course Final, and clinching the 2025 INEX Legend Car Road Course National Championship in the process.  

The 15-year-old started ninth in the 24-car main event, and quickly found himself in trouble when he got clipped on the opening lap and had to go to the pit area for repairs.  He came back out far behind the field and proceeded to put on a drive that had everyone watching, going from 24th to sixth in just eight laps, and continued to drive smartly as he passed his way to the runner-up finish.  

He may have missed winning the battle, but he ultimately won the war, as his finish was strong enough to clinch the national championship for Semi-Pro on the road courses. That had been his priority when he entered the race. 

"Oh, man!  That was one heck of a drive," the smiling Dulin said post-race.  "After my team from 860 Motorsports changed my right front tire, I had to restart from pit road.  That put me about 100 yards behind the field.  I just went to work.  I passed my way to sixth place in eight laps, and then tried to use my head from there.  I cannot thank God, everyone at 860 Motorsports, my family, Dulin Mechanical, Trane, and all of my supporters enough for all they do for me.  This weekend didn't start very well, but I will remember that drive in the feature for a long time, and we got the championship for our team. We will celebrate this one with smiles on our faces."

Asked about the challenges presented by the changing weather conditions and the multiple batches of tires on qualifying day, Neal explained, "That was definitely rough.  We had a top-three car in the dry, but it just turned to junk for qualifying in the rain.  No matter what I did, the tires just wouldn't grip.  Some people were faster than me in the rain, but were five seconds slower than me in the dry.  The whole rain tire game is potluck.  The difference between a good set of tires is over two seconds in dry conditions and 15-20 seconds in the rain.  Unfortunately, we were given a bad batch, so that really had us scrambling, and that's why we only qualified ninth. Had we been able to start further up, we may have won the race.  But we really wanted the championship, and we got that.  And we got second in the race even after having to rally from the very back of the field. Our team never gave up, and neither did I.  You have to just keep racing and stay focused. We did that, and it paid off, and I am really thankful for that.  Maybe it's even sweeter for how hard we had to work to get it."