My grandmother was a The Player fan! In 1970, her pacemaker lost it's charge after watching him crash in the 1970 Rebel 400. "We just bought our first television." said grandma. "I turned the knob and saw Wild World of Sports! Suddenly, his car split in half in the living room." After several prayers, The Player walked out of the car with a minor limp. "Banjo Matthews saved my life!" exclaimed The Player.

Lucas Racing continues their stride! Four top-eights for Alex Crapser and John Battista since Darlington, putting them second and third in the standings after eleven events. Points leader Markell Murphy earned a top-10 finish at Kansas despite failing to lead a lap. He will start sixth for the Russ Charneski 500. Crapser earns the pole, with Battista mired in 32nd. Pizza Hut 400 Winner Ken Pettit jumps to 11th in points, in-line to pass the injured Johnny Reed Foley. It will be the "Marley Man's" first top-10 appearance since 2024 if he can pull off the feat!

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Qualifying Results

Ken Pettit eyes the prize! Extravaganza's "Rastaman" becomes the oldest winner in 2026, hoping to re-duplicate his Kansas effort in the Russ Charneski 500. The #8 Bob Marley Chevrolet finishes well at Texas, racking up consistent top-10 performances since his victory in 2017. He will start 27th. Pole-sitter Alex Crapser tries for a fifth-straight top-8 finish! He comes in only 52-points back from leader Markell Murphy; both finishing inside the top-half of the field in every event. Logan Sheets ended his streak with a 25th-place finish at Kansas, leaving the #47 and #04 as the only two. Amazingly, eight other drivers have yet to drop out of a race! Watch to see if John Battista, Zakk Miller, Craig Lee, Timothy McDonnell, Donald Stewart, Bink Lucas, Jimmie Stevens and John Tharp can continue their fortune.

History was made last week! Six drivers with double-digit numbers beginning with "0" attempted to qualify for the Pizza Hut 400. Alex Crapser, Ziggy Moonglow, Trae Larkin, Mark Heron, Doug Spark and Larry Lack each filled out their entry form, with Heron and Lack failing to make the show. This week, the #06 Caterpillar Volkswagen made the Texas field, hoping to fair better than Dong Sup Park and Rhamondre Diggs during their first campaigns. Larry Lack replaced Doug Spark in the #03 E3 Pontiac Bonanza ride in 2025, re-sponsored to Lanco. He currently stands 18th in Bonanza Series points, hoping to further his credentials with a top-30 finish in the Russ Charneski 500!

Friday, May 16th, 6:00 ET

The mid-America travel starts now! From Kansas to Texas, we will witness wheat fields, cattle and barbecue of the Gods! The Ozark's provide excellent cuisine, pouring butter on pork loins, brisket, and even ravioli. Molemar Diggs went to the famous Jack Stack Barbecue, buying The Pitmaster Meal for $73.99. "The pulled pork was fantastic. It might've given me the spark to rebound my season!" His leftover meat will be nailed to the dashboard for good luck in the Pizza Hut 400.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

A free P'Zone for all 200,000 spectators! Some eat it with marinara. Some dip it ranch! Some carry their own concoctions, consuming tabasco and worcestershire sauce like an engine consumes 5W-30. Former Pizza Hut driver Logan Sheets starts fifth, hoping to extend his top-20 streak to eleven. Pole-sitter Craig Lee climbed into the top-10 in points after two-straight top-6's, leading the 45-car promenade to the green! Lee would hold pace through lap 22, handing the top-spot to teammate Ryan Heuser.

The #101 NOS Energy Chevrolet re-takes the lead on lap-33! Dakota Wilkins, Tony Pizzaro, Ken Joynt, John Battista and Rick Jackson catch up to the duo, hoping to end the Quick-Silver dominion. The #12 "Fenway Frank" Fusion would lead it's sixth-straight event on lap-51, crossing the line under the first caution flag of the night. Mike Carroll goes for a spin in the 38th position, sliding against the turn-1 wall after contact from Ziggy Moonglow. He would crwalt to an eventual 43rd place finish. Johnny Reed Foley's stand-in Doug Spark was just ahead of the accident, escaping the first trial of his new AC-Delco opportunity.

Tony Pizzaro, John Battista, Craig Lee, Steven Spears, Ken Joynt, Donald Stewart, Timothy McDonnell, Rick Jackson, John Tharp and Zach Michael occupy the top-10 for the lap-57 restart! the #20 Coca-Cola Mustang meandered through the pack to take the lead on lap-93. Miracle-man Michael Henson followed him through, hoping to lead his second event in three races, while earning his first top-10 finish in 2026. Michael, Henson and Pizzaro would dominate the remaining stint.

Doug Spark destroys the wall! A hard luck crash for the #03, smacking the turn-1 barrier after contact with Matt Raboin. They were battling for the 35th spot. Spark careened into the racing groove, getting smacked again by Rob Scarberry, with both cars coming to a stop. Both drivers suffered a destroyed front end, and more bruises than a dropped prune. Third-place in points Dakota Wilkins had just pitted, dropping the #77 Rockies Chevrolet down a lap. He would finish 39th, dropping to sixth in the standings.

After the restart, Zach Michael continued his dominance, leading the Halfway Bacon Bonus with 40 cars still on the lead lap. Ken Pettit took the helm with 112-to-go, driving from 37th to the front in just over 100 circuits. "This is the best set of tires we've had since Bristol!" exlaimed crew chief Slim Horton. Which Bristol race he was referring to is unclear. Speaking of "reefer", the Bob Marley #8 continued it's stride through the next round of fuel stops.

Pettit and John Battista pulled away from the field! The Wendy's #39 took the lead with 83-to-go, pulling off a masterful pit stop to keep in range with the "Rastaman". The two raced side-by-side for several laps, pulling away from the remainder of the field. By lap-200, Battista took the top-spot outright. A 55-race winless streak came to a halt last week at Talladega. Two-in-a-row would be euphoric, putting the "Dave's Quadruple" Chevrolet into severe Championship contention!

Battista and Pettit propel to a four-second advantage! By the 40-to-go mark, Zach Michael and Tony Pizzaro decreased their gap in half, with Chaun ... Read more »

Qualifying Results

Alex Crapser closes the gap! His victory at Bristol jumped him from eighth to fourth in the standings, finishing top-half of the field for a ninth consecutive week. After his fourth place finish at Talladega, he now stands runner-up, just 73-points behind leader Markell Murphy! While his teammate John Battista tours each of the twenty Wendy's franchises in the greater Kansas City area, Crapser and Murphy went to lunch themselves! The Paparazzi ran rampant; like two former presidents dining at the same dining table. They both enjoyed Caesar Salad and lamb chops, with a king crab stuffed with spumoni for dessert! Crapser asked Murphy why he didn't order a drink. Murphy exclaimed "I can only drink Red Bull." Crapser nodded with recognition.

Markell Murphy continues his stride! Both he, Alex Crapser and Logan Sheets finished top-half of the field in every race so far. At Kansas, the pistons will rattle like paint cans, leaving the fans to wonder whether all three can finish the 400-mile excursion and continue their streak. Last year's Cinderella winner William Perry will start in the tenth position, hoping to rebound from his disastrous accident at Chicagoland just one year ago. Mudhole Motorsports teammate Scott Jackson replaced him in the #70 for the remainder of the campaign. He's the only driver to race in every Kansas event since the Speedways' inception in 2002. With 79 career wins, perhaps the 2026 Pizza Hut 400 will be his final glory.

Friday, May 8th, 6:00 ET

John Battista finally prevails! His 55-race winless streak came to an end last week at Talladega; seeing the victory lane confetti for the first time since Richmond in September of 2024. Wendy's released a new deal in honor of the occasion: Five Baconator combo meals for just $39.39 in honor of John Battista! May the arteries be with you.

Reigning two-time Extravaganza Series Champion Johnny Reed Foley survived a devastating accident on lap 89 of Friday's DieHard 500. He was immediately taken to the Baptist Health Citizens Hospital trauma center, swollen and bruised from the abdomen up, and down! The liquid inside the oil gauge burned his face after the firewall flew off. His collarbone and ribs were fragmented. His lungs are filled with smoke after breathing ignition fumes. His steering wheel was shaped like a pretzel. Needless to say, he will be out for the Pizza Hut 400. CFM Motorsports decided to put Doug Spark in the AC-Delco Championship ride for the foreseeable future. "Let's see how the boy does." says flagship driver Timothy McDonnell. Bonanza Series driver Larry Lack will replace Spark in the Overspeed Rennsport Caterpillar Volkswagen, re-numbered to #06 in honor of his favorite driver growing up, Bill Werkheiser.

It took a few seconds, but Johnny Reed Foley remembers them vividly. He recalled every harrowing second of Friday's Lap-89 accident at Talladega Superspeedway. He was never knocked out. His radio transmitter flew through an infield camper, fearing the worst from crew chief Ronnie Pressley. He heard everything Pressley said, detecting the concern rising in Pressley's voice. He was hiding his pain well, not limping or hobbling, but clearly in dismay. He was walking somewhat stiffly, getting up to leave his hospital bed news conference to buy a Choco Taco from the local vending machine. He groaned from the pain. "It's been so long since the last bad one, you forget how morbid it feels.'' Foley said. "It's painful. I've had some tough hours since yesterday. I'm sorer this morning than I was after the flips.''

Foley described the crash in chilling detail:

"When the car turned abruptly upside-down, I knew it was going to flip,'' Foley said. "When the roof hit asphalt for the first time I knew I was in trouble. I saw a red flash. It looked like the #46, and then there was smoke. Another car flipped on top of mine at the same time. It was probably Matt (Raboin). I closed my eyes after that. When I woke up, the car stopped and smoke was running under the dash. Wires were burning! The dashboard was knocked upwards, and my legs were parallel to the front sway bar. Part of the valve cover flew onto my lap, with ignition coils glittered across the cockpit. The glycerin inside one of the dashboard gauges had squirted onto my chin, burning it profusely. Needless to say, it was a bad accident."