Since 2021, there have been nine races at Daytona and Talladega. Lucas Racing has won six of them. Two of them were first time winners. They haven't dominated Daytona as much, but they are easily in the hunt with the dominant speed they showed at both plate-races so far. Their qualifying program was below par, with Zach Michael and Timothy McDonnell starting on the front row. McDonnell gained the points lead after Nashville for the first time since 2021. He, John Tharp and Dan Johnston hope to continue their DNF-less streak for the season. Zach Michael earned his first pole of the year, lookin to cap it off with his first 2023 victory. He comes in 6th in the standings with consistent runs inside the top-half of the field. Look for the trend to continue on Friday night. Rick Jackson, McDonnell and Ryan Heuser will be among the favorite to win over the Lucas Racing brigade. Heuser comes in only 14 points back of the #22. Both are in excellent shape to make th chase, which is ten races away.
Lucas Racing Superspeedway Wins: 2021 Spring (Daytona) : Alex Crapser 2021 Spring (Talladega) : John Battista 2021 Fall (Talladega): Bink Lucas 2022 Spring (Daytona): Dalton Lucas 2022 Fall (Talladega): Alex Crapser 2023 Spring (Talladega): John Battista
Points Standings (After 17 of 36 Events) 1. Tim McDonnell: +329 (+2) 2. Ryan Heuser: +315 (-1) 3. Tony Pizzaro: +277 (-1) 4. Zakk Miller: +193 (+3) 5. John Battista: +187 (-1) 6. Zach Michael: +133 7. Rick Jackson: +134 (+2) 8. Logan Sheets: +127 (-3) 9. Jimmie Stevens: +83 (+1) 10. John Tharp: +27 (+2) --------------------------------------------------------- 11. Alan Nesfeder: -27 (-3) 12. Matthew Dominique: -37 (+2) 13. Dave Miller: -46 (-2) 14. Matt Raboin: -63 (+1) 15. Ken Pettit: -81 (+2) 16. Adam Crapser: -82 (-3) 17. Markell Murphy: -89 (-1) 18. Scott Jackson:
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We head off to the new second-half broadcast crew this week on the acclaimed NEXUS network. The Extravaganza Series was the second highest rated show on the channel last year behind the acclaimed "Pinecone Council", an excellent feat after replacing "Where's My Ash Tray". The ash tray fans have subsided and gave in to the new! Brad Capers, Steven Spock and Randy Orb will fill the booth once again, with Dale Rosendaul covering the pits. Orb will continue to bring his infamous jiffy pop and fresca to the booth. He spilled an entire can on the microphone last season and electrified the crowd from below. Let's see if he does it again.
The old man Bill Werkheiser is on the pole for the second straight year at the new facility. With young driver Molemar Diggs winning the Bonanza Series race at the old racetrack, perhaps the near-elderly Bill can win at the modern arena. He's got 300 laps to hold off the rest of the field and break the half-decade winless streak.
Cristian Torres suffers a blown piston on the grid as the rest of the field blows by. Joe Mersdorf and Adam Beresford make their first Extravaganza Series start, already passing their first car before taking the green. In the first 16 laps, Werkheiser would lead 13 circuits, sharing 3 with former teammate Dave Miller.
John Battista made a three-wide move entering turn-1 to take his first lead of the race. He, Werkheiser and Johnny Reed Foley swapped the top-spot several times before the #6 took the helm for the rest of the green flag run. Ken Pettit and Jimmie Stevens ended the pit cycle 1st and 2nd after a short-pit strategy.
Trae Larkin was having an excellent run in the 8th position before blowing a right-front tire in front of the field on lap 71. Tony Long ran into his rear, drifting into Johnny Reed Foley and squeezing Chauncey Redmond Jr. into the outside wall. Ben Geer pulverized the #3, with Matt Raboin ricocheting the Twinkie #29 into the path of Tony Pizzaro. Aaron Cummings, Dave Miller, Logan Sheets, Geno Sphere, Rob Scarberry, Mark Heron, Jonathan Skrabacz, Dalton Lucas and Alex Crapser all received damage attempting to avoid the accident. Pizzaro, Geer, Redmond and Lucas would all fail to continue.
Congestion on the ensuing restart created contact between Ryan Heuser and Adam Crapser, sending the #4 into a tailspin towards the outside wall. Crapser careened off the barrier and well into traffic, getting slammed by William Perry with Michael Henson directly behind. The #144 spun into the path of Johnny Reed Foley. Foley's front end was demolished, with Henson getting bodyslammed into a flip and landing with sparks along the outside wall. All four drivers would retire from the event.
Matthew Dominique led the field to the green in hopes of a long green flag run to weed out the damage. Ken Pettit re-took the lead immediately with he, Zakk Miller and Jimmie Stevens traversing the top-spot numerous times through lap 111. Pettit tries to end his winless streak, starting from the Atlanta spring race in 2019.
One car able to avoid both crashes without damage was Ryan Heuser, struggling outside the top-20 before the attrition rate set. Once he got through the carnage, Heuser became the fastest car in the field and flew by the top-10 with relative ease. By lap 112, he was the leader, losing it only once to Miller before his green flag stop.
Matthew Dominique attempted a short pit strategy, coming out with a three-second advantage over the #30 and #138 to steal the halfway bacon bonus away. Heuser progressed his way to the second position after passing the #25 with Ken Pettit pulling away, only to blow his engine and spin into the outside turn-3 wall. He would lose the points lead to Timothy McDonnell's buy-a-ride #02 after an eventual 33rd place finish.
Ken Pettit has absolutely dominated this event, leading a race-most 120 laps by the end of the day. He would stay up front through lap 200 before losing it to Zakk Miller in the pits after the Heuser accident. He would gain it back a lap after the restart, meandering through cars at the tail-end of the lead lap to lead the field by lap 222.
An accident between Alex Crapser and Markell Murphy brought the caution out one final time on lap 270. The ensuing restart saw Rick Jackson in the second position. He had been among the last of the cars to pit after every green flag stop, sacrificing tires for fuel mileage all race long. By the end, Rick stayed in sequence to prove he had the fastest car in the field all along.
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Bill Werkheiser wins his second-straight pole at Nashville Superspeedway, going 2 for 2 at the facility since it's inception last year! The inaugural Bepis 400 at saw six drivers lead 30 laps or more, with John Tharp coming across as the winner. Tharp will start 28th, looking to replicate his 33rd-to-1st venture. The most notable performance was Ken Joynt's first career top-5. Sadly he will not participate in the 2023 event after a qualifying accident with Timothy McDonnell. The two drivers ahead of McDonnell in points are Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro. Heuser will grid 33rd, leading the points for the first time since Atlanta. Pizzaro will grid 34th. McDonnell's CAT #22 won't grid at all. Instead, he will drive the #02 for Delta Sim Racing.
Points Standings (After 16 of 36 Events) 1. Ryan Heuser: +340 (+1) 2. Tony Pizzaro: +337 (-1) 3. Tim McDonnell: +281 4. John Battista: +152 (+1) 5. Logan Sheets: +148 (-1) 6. Zach Michael: +135 (+1) 7. Zakk Miller: +122 (-1) 8. Alan Nesfeder: +63 (+2) 9. Rick Jackson: +48 10. Jimmie Stevens: +17 (+1) --------------------------------------------------------- 11. Dave Miller: -17 (-3) 12. John Tharp: -30 13. Adam Crapser: -45 (+1) 14. Matthew Dominique: -50 (-1) 15. Matt Raboin: -65 (+1) 16. Markell Murphy: -121 (-1) 17. Ken Pettit: -150 18. Scott Jackson: -182 (+2) 19. Alex Crapser: -217 20. Johnny Reed Foley: -273 (-2)
With relative the help of the Extravagazna Series camera crew, Tim McDonnell and Caterpillar have bought out the #02 Delta Sim Racing ride, leaving Frank Womack on the sidelines in what would have been his Extravaganza Series debut. McDonnell was selected to race at Nashville with 18 cameras on his car, handpicked by the panel after his extraordinary late-spring stretch. Between Extravaganza, CFM Racing, Caterpillar and Chevrolet, they have combined to buy out the Lowe's #02 sponsorship for 4.8 million dollars for the one race effort. "I've never raced for a start up team since my own in 2009." said McDonnell. "We'll scrap for points and give them the best race possible. A top-20 is all we're looking for." Surprisingly, some of McDonnell's crew was been asked to take the week off, leaving Timothy with the crew Ziggy Moonglow has pitted with all season. This will be an interesting storyline.
Timothy McDonnell dropped from 4th to 19th position in his Nashville Duel. His last chance qualifier started with the #22 on the outside front row. The car was running perfectly, leading a race-high 19 laps in route to a possible victory and a $500,000 grand prize. Nobody expected what would happen next. The team with the second fewest engine failures since 2019 in 400-500 mile events went ka-put. Timothy was riding in second behind leader William "Tex" Perry entering turn-1 when his Volkswagen motor obliterated. He would get hit by Ken Joynt and spin to a stop, as the entire field flew by in astonishment. "We couldn't get the car right in the first race. That's what cost us." said crew chief Kenzou Yamada. This team comes in with the most dominant stretch in their entire tenure, earning seven straight top-10's and five straight top-3's, including three points-race victories and an All-Star Race win. At Nashville, they will sit at home for the first time. McDonnell will miss his first race since his rookie campaign in 2009. They are currently 281 points ahead of 11th in the standings. The recent hot-stretch will prove to be a necessary boon.
Extravaganza regulars Rick Jackson, Tim McDonnell, Matthew Dominique, Markell Murphy, Cristian Torres, Dan Johnston, William Perry, Tony Long and Rob Scarberry attempt to make the Extravaganza Series field for the Bepis 400.
A miracle lap by Indy Car driver Jogu Abushi puts him atop the heap on the start, leading the first two laps. His teammate Tim McDonnell flew by on the frontrstetch, staying up front for several circuits before Dan Johnston took the heap.
The #121 and Rick Jackson swapped the lead, with Dan seemingly having the fastest car in the field next to the #44 and #22. Ken Joynt would train the Allstate mobile to the front with William Perry in tow. Bonzanza Series regular Joe Mersdorf is running extremely well from behind.
Obliteration occured on lap 36. Tim McDonnell's engine exploded after crossing the start-finish line, getting tagged by Ken Joynt and taking both cars out. McDonnell would miss the field despite being third in points. Joynt will miss the field despite a miraculous run.
Cristian Torres and Rob Scarberry are suddenly directly behind the 15th-place cutoff they were struggling to reach before the caution. Both drivers would finish inside the bubble. Up front, Dan Johnston and Rick Jackson would make their way to the lead. Jackson would win the $500,000 grand prize after the leading the final five laps and cruising home to victory.
Bonanza Series regulars Joe Mersdorf, Adam Beresford and Tundra Cup Series driver Frank Womack will make their first Extravaganza Series starts next Friday after finishing inside the top-15. Congrats to Rick, crew chief Falco Lombardi and the entire Race-2-Win crew fo an excellent victory!
A horrendous crash in last month's Indiana 500 hasn't stopped Indy Car driver Jogu Abushi from maintaining ultimate glory. Abushi pulled off the qualifying lap of the century, winning the Extravaganza Series pole in a CFM Motorsports R+D car at 162.385 miles-per-hour! His teammate Tim McDonnell qualifies directly behind, hoping to see the one-off #52 Mello Yello Chevrolet hang on to make the Bepis 400 field. "NASCAR has Greg Sacks, we have Jogu." said McDonnell. "I'm going to pass him on lap one. It's up to him from there."
Five drivers outside the top-35 in points already qualified for the big show. Ben Geer, Mark Heron, Philip Parker, Steven Spears and Geno Sphere occupy five of the first 30 drivers that make the Bepis 400 field, all finishing 12th or better in their respective heats. Rob Scarberry, Markell Murphy, Rick Jackson, Cristian Torres, Tim McDonnell, Tony Long, Dan Johnston, Matthew Dominique, William Perry and Frank Womack take advantage of their owners points by pre-qualifying into the third and final transfer heat. They will face 32 of the highest heat finishers outside the top-35 in points, all arguably hungrier to make the Extravaganza field. One blown engine, one crash, one mishandling racecar..... could result in one week at home. Only 15 spots remain.
