Neal began in motocross before moving into car racing in 1988 with the Ford Fiesta XR2i category. He won the British Group N Championship in 1990 and 1991, and co-drove a BMW M3 to victory in the 1990 Willhire 24 Hour race at Snetterton. He made his BTCC debut at Silverstone in 1991 driving for Pyramid Motorsport in a BMW M3, before joining Team Dynamics — run by his father — for 1992.
Neal won the BTCC Total Cup for independent drivers without manufacturer support in 1993. After a race-ending crash cut short his 1994 season, he returned to Team Dynamics in 1995 and became a recurring winner of the Independents' title, claiming it in 1995, 1999, and 2000. A particularly memorable moment came at Donington Park in 1999, where he won an outright BTCC race in a Nissan Primera — the first independent to do so in the modern era — earning him a £250,000 prize from series promoter Alan J. Gow.
For 2002 he drove a Vauxhall Astra Coupé for egg:sport, finishing third in the championship, before joining Honda Racing in 2003 for a season alongside Tom Chilton and Alan Morrison.
Neal rejoined Team Dynamics for 2004 with Halfords backing. In 2005 the team developed a Honda Integra from its road-going base — an unusual step for an independent team historically relying on ex-works machinery. The gamble was repaid when Neal won the BTCC drivers' title at the final round at Brands Hatch, finishing every single race in the points across a calendar that had expanded to 30 races per year; the first driver to achieve that in the modern era. Team Halfords also took the Teams and Independent Teams Championships.
He retained the title in 2006 in the same Honda Integra with a run of consistent finishes, clinching the championship with a fourth place in round 28. The BTC-spec Integra was no longer eligible for 2007 under new regulations, so the team switched to a Honda Civic. Despite winning a race early in the season, the SEAT and Vauxhall entries were generally faster, and a heavy crash at Brands Hatch left him briefly hospitalised.
In 2008 Neal raced for VX Racing, and while teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi dominated to retain his title, Neal took a win at Rockingham and finished fifth. He was fourth in 2009 before returning to Team Dynamics in 2010, now operating as Honda Racing. Despite losing out on the drivers' title to Jason Plato, he helped Honda take the Manufacturers and Teams Championships.
In 2011, with the Honda Civic running a new NGTC engine, Neal and team-mate Gordon Shedden fought a season-long internal battle. Neal claimed his third BTCC drivers' championship at the final round at Silverstone, again helping Honda to the Manufacturers and Constructors titles. He finished as runner-up to Shedden in 2012, a year that saw him win the first-ever race by an NGTC-specification car in the BTCC.
Neal remained with Honda through 2020, continuing as a front-runner into his mid-fifties. For the 2021 season he did not appear on the grid for the first time since his debut in 1991 after Team Dynamics lost Honda and GS Yuasa backing; Neal described the enforced absence as "not a retirement."
In 2001 Neal stepped across to the European Touring Car Championship with RJN Motorsport in a Nissan Primera, winning the final round in Portugal and finishing fourteenth in the championship.
Neal has competed at the Bathurst 1000 on four occasions, pairing with Steven Richards in 1997 and 1998 in a Nissan Primera and racing with Paul Morris in 2000 and 2008. He co-drove a Porsche 911 GT1 with David Leslie to third place in the 1998 British GT Championship race supporting the British Grand Prix. In March 2015 he drove a diesel Volkswagen Golf for Milltek Sport in the Mugello 12-hour race, finishing second in class, then won the Gerry Marshall Trophy at the Goodwood Members Meeting in a 1979 Chevrolet Camaro.
Neal's six Independents' titles remain a record in British touring car competition, reflecting his ability to challenge works-backed machinery with self-developed cars during the years before he secured manufacturer support. His triple drivers' championship haul places him among the most decorated drivers in BTCC history. Neal has also worked as a co-commentator with Martin Haven on Eurosport's coverage of the World Touring Car Championship and its successor series since 2010, bringing extensive analytical knowledge of the category to a broadcasting role alongside his racing career.