One of the most competitive races of the season saw 77 lead changes among 19 different drivers. One team would dominate the show while another team saw itself up front during the final five laps of the event. We also saw Walt Flowers as competitive as ever in his return to competition.
Pole-sitter Tim McDonnell led his first laps right away, looking to dominate his second-straight spring Dover victory. John Battista and Ben Geer took turns at the lead early, leading 23 and 5 by the end of the event.
Lap 13 saw colossal mayhem for Steven Spears and the field. Zakk Miller attempted to dart down pit road and spun himself out, leaving the field in utter destruction. Michael Henson slammed Steven Spears on the drivers-side door, flipping him over several cars and into the upper catch-fencing. He would land violently in front of a massive pile of cars stopped on the frontstretch. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the incident.
After the crash, Tony Pizzaro became our new leader, leading 121 laps by the end of the event. Speaking of 121, Walt Flowers led his first laps of the season replacing the injured Dan Johnston, while Bill Wekheiser was beginning his most dominant race of the season in style.
Closer to the mid-race point, it seemed that whenever Rick Jackson or Tim McDonnell grabbed the lead, they were the only two drivers that could stay there for a while. Drivers were able to comfortably stay in line behind them while the field separated into several packs.
Donald Stewart and Tony Pizzaro took turns at leading the event, with Pizzaro looking like another car who could stay up at the front at will. On lap 149, Matthew Dominique blew up on the frontstretch. Brian Lowe slowed down dramatically, getting tagged by Randy Dobbins and sent towards the inside wall.
Jimmie Stevens led the halfway bonus before John Battista took over the top-spot. Before green flag pit stops, it was the #12 up front for several laps. Battista suffered a slow pit stop and fell behind, leaving Pizzaro, Rick Jackson, Bill Werkheiser and Jack Paynter as the only four in the lead draft.
After another round of green flag pit stops, Rick Jackson's excellent stop brought him alone up front. He pulled to a near 6-second advantage before a debris caution with 63 laps to go. He held off the field for 25 more laps before Johnny Reed Foley took over, with Bill Werkheiser flying to the front 3 laps later.
With 31 laps to go, Rick took the lead back. He, Tony Pizzaro, Tim McDonnell and Foley raced excessively for the lead. Rick and Tony's tires were destroyed by the 10-lap-to-go mark, both falling outside of the top-10 by the finish after an extremely dominant day. Tim and Foley continued on to battle for the victory.
Pizzaro had one final pass in the tank before falling into the cluster of doom. He held the top-spot for 10 more laps. For the final 6 laps, it was the Lucas Racing show. Both Alex Crapser and John Battista flew by Pizzaro in turn 1. Battista was the fastest car of the second pack during the mid-race run, and looked to squeeze by his teammate for his first victory since Charlotte of last year.
On the same lap, Battista made a bonzai dive entering turn three and eke'd under his teammate. The #39 easily made the pass and stayed several car-length's ahead for the final 5 laps. The rest of the field meandered for second as Battista took the flag in one of the qui
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It's official. Brodrick Wittmann will be sitting out for three weeks after this week's event at Dover Downs. His aggressive driving at Talladega caused two wrecks, with the Dan Johnston incident deemed premeditated and outwardly intentional. Extravaganza driver Ken Pettit referred to the incident as "pure lack of wisdom" and that "a penalty was necessary for the integrity of the series." Johnston's teammate Craig Lee quoted "Spiderman (Philip Parker) looked like Harrison James compared to that greased sandwich on wheels. If they need a better rep have Jared race the car." It remains unknown whether Twisted Metal Racing will announce a new driver for the upcoming weeks.
The once friendly confines of Talladega Superspeedway were unkind to many of the points contenders this week. The top-4 in points would struggle, while one driver would find himself in the battle for his life after a horrific backstretch accident. The tides are about to turn in Extravaganza 2020.
There was a ton of three-wide action early as to be expected. Tim McDonnell made the first three-wide pass for the lead before being overtaken by the QSM duo of Craig Lee and Ryan Heuser. John Tharp would lead most of his 19 laps led of the day early in the go.
Lap 23 saw Alan Nesfeder become the first casualty of the day, separating the pack into two groups while the rest of the field successfully avoided the mayhem. Ryan and Rick Jackson dominated as the two high-horsepower machines pulled away from the second pack.
John Tharp took the lead again on lap 33 and kept it until the first round of green flag pit stops. The first group of 19 cars already eclipsed 8 seconds on the second by this time, ensuring themselves that a good stop would keep them in a battle for the lead early.
Once stops were complete, Dale Rosendaul, Brandon Raines and John Battista's engine were out of the draft, leaving 15 left while the second pack grew stronger. Rick Jackson and Ryan Heuser would dominate again, leading over a third of the race's total laps by the end.
Things got more competitive after the second round of pit stops, seeing Dan Johnston take the lead in a three-wide move on lap 98. He would lead the field for three more laps until the first caution flag waved.
On the backstretch, Philip Parker got sandwiched between Aaron Cummings and Glenn Kaufmann on lap 99, spinning Glenn around before getting slammed by Johnny Reed Foley. Just after the restart, Tim McDonnell got spun and clipped Jimmie Stevens and Rick Jackson. Rick's car got smacked by Ben Geer ricocheting his car violently off the outside wall and straight into the path of Matt Raboin. Matt hit Rick straight on the drivers door, knocking him unconcious, though he was able to get out under his own power. With the #44 out, it left Ryan Heuser left to dominate the show.
Severe devastation occurred after a 174 MPH impact to the inside wall by Dan Johnston left the backstretch grandstands fans in horror. Contact from Brodrick Wittmann and Alex Crapser flew him through the infield without brakes, slamming the inside access-wall so hard that he flew back onto the racetrack at over 100 MPH. Dalton Lucas got smacked, and points leader Ryan Heuser knocked the entire rear side of the car off after more heavy contact with the #121. Dan suffered a major concussion, a broken left leg, fractures to his right clavicle and right scapula, three broken ribs and four broken front teeth in the accident.
Alex Crapser took his first lead of the day with 25 laps to go, squeezing by Jonathan Skrabacz for the spot. He led for 8 more laps before Dale Rosendaul and Zach Michael drafted by on the inside. Dale led for three more circuits before relinquishing the top-spot to Zach Michael.
With nine laps to go, Dale drove back by Zach on the inside lane with help from Matthew Dominique. He was poised to win his first race in over a decade after crossing the line first with 3 laps left. Zach then made another move on the inside of the frontstretch to re-take the spot. Coming out of turn 2, Dale made a successful cross-over maneuver to re-take the lead. The loss of momentum would hurt bo
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Dan Johnston underwent intensive surgery Sunday night after a devastating impact to the inside wall during yesterdays Extravaganza Series event at Talladega. Doctors implanted a steel pin into his left leg, with fractures to his right clavicle and right scapula. He also suffered from a major concussion, three broken ribs and four broken front teeth. Fortunately, no internal bleeding was found during Dan's examination. He was last seen awake and alert, talking to doctors and family members with a dismembered face. No word on if Dan will be able to race another lap in the 2020 season.
After a horrifying inside-wall impact to the front end of Dan Johnston's Allstate QuickSilver Motorsports #121 Chevrolet, Dan has been carried off to the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Serious condition. He is currently undergoing surgery with un-diagnosed injuries, though rib and head injuries appear to be the major concern. After the 174 MPH impact to the inside-access wall, his car careened mid-air back onto the racetrack and slammed into Dalton Lucas, coming to an immediate stop after slamming into the outside wall. Ryan Heuser then slammed into his stopped racecar, the final blow to a horrifying display of terror and dread. Dan is the first driver at Talladega to make impact with the inside and outside backstretch wall in the same crash, hitting both at 90+ MPH. We will await on his status as the night goes on.
Great reminder to inform all fans, that Harrison James Jr. has pushed heavily towards improving safety within the sport. Jeremy Pringle is also heading a safety committee which includes the heads of all manufacturers. Encouraging to hear after the intense trepidation. According to sources, Series Director Jeremy Pringle and driver Brodrick Wittmann were involved in quite the heated discussion after the race about the accident involving Dan Johnston. Wittmann was reportedly not happy with the conclusion that he caused the wreck, and claimed "hard racing" as the definite cause.
Ryan Heuser comes to a track where he has won at in his last three appearances. He is the odds on favorite with points leader "broken ribs" Pizzaro recording his second pole of the season, the first to complete the feat in 2020. We're expected to see some action packed racing in the quest to de-throne King Heuser.
Tony Pizzaro dominated the first 36 laps of the event before the ultimate disaster. Tex Perry blew up entering turn 3 and got hit by Michael Henson. Zach Michael failed to avoid the smoke, and in time, Pizzaro was in it as well, destroying his front end. He went on to finish 34th and out of the points lead.
Scott Jackson had an airborne excursion in turn 3 after contact with Randy Dobbins sent them both hard into the outside wall. For Randy, it would wind up being his third straight event outside the top-30. Scott rebounded to finish 15th and stay 5th in points.
John Battista took his first lead of the event on lap 59 after passing by Matthew Dominique, who took the lead after the Pizzaro incident. He led for the next 80 laps before slowing down for an incident. Ken Pettit flew by on the outside, leading for 12 laps before Ryan Heuser made a dash to the inside to take his first lead of the night. Last week's winner Jimmie Stevens led nine laps after staying out under yellow before Ryan took it back. On lap 203, Battista took it back and flew away.
John Battista was gone. He eclipsed to a 10+ second lead in 73 laps, an unheard-of margin at a short track these days. Ryan Heuser short-pitted to gain as much track position as he could. The 12 extra laps brought him within two seconds before Craig Lee and Michael Henson wrecked before pit stops were cycled. Battista and Heuser were the only drivers up front to pass then-leader Alex Crapser. Jimmie Stevens, Ken Pettit, Johnny Reed Foley and Craig Lee all went a lap down after being in the top-6.
Alex Crapser used severe pit strategy to grab the lead, just like he did last year before getting involved in a crash. The same exact thing happened. Contact with Zach Michael sent him flying into the outside wall hard, destroying the front-end of the car before getting pulverized by Kevin Corbat, destroying the rear. In conclusion, it was a wild ride that sent the #04 team packing with a 27th place finish.
More incidents occurred during the waning laps of the race. Tony Pizzaro had a bewildering impact with the outside wall after contact from Dalton Lucas off of turn 2. He went for a near-flip after squeezing Scott Jackson into the safer barrier as they played barricade to the rest of the field behind. Afterwards, Scott Drake went for a self-spin on the backstretch to bring out the 9th caution.
The wildest ride of the night commenced with 55 laps to go. Adam Crapser and Craig Lee tangled on the backstretch. Steven Spears smashed into the back of Adam's machine and spun into the middle of the racing groove. He then got annihilate by Jonathan Skrabacz on the passenger side, sending Spears for a series of barrel-rolls as the rest of the field went left, right and under to avoid the melee.
By the time the madness ended, John Battista was back on top with 50 laps to go. Johnny Reed Foley became the first driver to pass Battista for the lead head-to-head all night, swapping the lead three times and leaving Foley with the advantage with 20 laps to go. Battista's tires seemed to be falling off.
With 12 laps remaining, Battista had cooled off his tires enough to make one last charge. He dove underneath Foley in turn 3 and remained side-by-side for three laps before finally completing the pass. By this time, Ryan Heuser had flown through the field and caught the two leaders, flying by Foley and was on Battista's tail with 8 laps to go. For the next 7 laps, he would be planning for the right opportunity.
Coming into Bristol, it was Ryan Heuser on top of the points standings. His record stands tall here, as he looks to retain his momentum with another victory in the Bristol spring race. With a fourth championship possibly in the midst, it is scary to see the #138 back to his dominating self. Unfortunately, the tables would turn the opposite direction.
The event started with an engine failure at the grid by Matthew Dominique. His last place effort would push him to 12th in the standings. After the green flag waved, Zach Michael went for an inside wall excursion just a couple of laps in. Then it was Alex Crapser, Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro battling for the lead during the first 30 laps.
Miracle-man Kevin Corbat took the lead on lap 32 during his third start of the season. The Auto-Value Motorsports drivers certainly had their setup figured out, with Jimmie Stevens taking the spot on lap 63. Matt Raboin and Zakk Miller also took turns at the front. Miller would stay there for most of the next 115 laps.
After a Rick Jackson engine failure, John Battista and points leader Ryan Heuser made contact out of turn 4. Battista flew to the inside and back up the racetrack, getting clipped by Heuser again and slamming head-first into the outside wall. Brandon Raines got involved and spun down the racetrack, directly into the path of leader Zakk Miller. Miller slammed him hard, sending Raines for a violent flip and damaging the front end of the #28.
In a miraculous state of affairs, the #28 Oreo crew was able to repair the car to good-as-new status as Miller re-took the lead on lap 210. Donald Stewart and Cristian Torres led a few laps during the stint before points leader Ryan Heuser spun while exiting the pits. Ryan fell back to 4th in the standings after a 40th place effort when the day was done.
Not only did Zakk's crew help fix the front end of his racecar. They seemingly got him out of the pits first during every single stop. It was a herculean effort, helping Zakk lead over half of the laps in the event. It was a welcome turn-around after such a horrific start to the season.
Donald Stewart was in the lead on lap 317. By lap 318, a blow tire sent him to the pits. He would finish the race in 22nd place. Zakk Miller led the next 60 laps before Aaron Cummings charged to the lead with 120 laps to go. The two swapped the top spot a couple times before Cristian Torres and Adam Crapser charged to the 1-2 positions before green flag pit stops.
Towards the end of the pit cycle, David Butterworth smashed the pit wall after making contact with Philip Parker. Ben Geer, Zach Michael and Donald Stewart were the only four drivers not to make pit stops, putting themselves back on the lead lap. Jimmie Stevens was the only lead lap driver who was on pit lane before his pit stop, coming out as the first car with fresh tires. He would be our new leader. He and Aaron Cummings would fight for victory for the next 50+ laps.
On lap 469, John Battista and John Tharp made contact off of turn 4, sending the #39 around for the second time. Battista flew up the track into teammate Alex Crapser, while Tharp squeezed champion Tim McDonnell into the outside wall. Other than Crapser's 18th, neither of them would crack a top-30 finish.
Jimmie Stevens led for the next 25 laps with Aaron Cummings in hot pursuit the entire time. With two laps to go, Aaron blew a tire and came down pit road. It was about to be his best ever short track finish in his long dedicated career, but he wound up 12th. Zakk Miller would try to chase him down for the final two laps.
Extravaganza Series color-commentator Steven Spock has officially dismissed himself from predicting race winners. After guaranteeing the victories of Zach Michael and Craig Lee in the past two weeks, the drivers have unionized for Spock to continue his renowned commentating without the prophecies. Road racer and die-hard Extravaganza fan David Baldinger has quoted "Spock's foresight is as valuable as my oval racing. I hope he wishes the field victory when I finally make the show".
Zach Michael at Darlington:
"He's gone, there's no way, dude there's no way, he is flying, holy crap. Zach, he is gone. I will say it now folks, he has won this race, I mean there's no way, there's no way."
Craig Lee at Texas:
"Tell you what folks, 14 to go, I may just guarantee Craig Lee to win this race."
Fellow commentator Brad Capers, during the weekly "Caper Cafe's" segment, went to the Pit Row Cafe at Bristol, and made Spock "eat his words" with a face full of Caramel Cake.
It was a showdown of championship-like wreck-avoidance after the horrors of Darlington last week. Tony Pizzaro was able to race with two cracked ribs, a fractured right shin and a mild concussion. On the sidelines was Steven Spears, who won his one-week suspension case appeal on Thursday due to the incident and his history at Texas, but missed the show anyways.
Alan Nesfeder won the pole in convincing fashion, but lost the lead to Tony Pizzaro and Tim McDonnell on laps 7 and 8. Bill Wekheiser and Rick Jackson swapped the lead a couple of times before green flag pit stops.
Tony Pizzaro, Rick Jackson and Ryan Heuser led the entire 70-lap stint before another round of pit stops. By the days end, Pizzaro would lead 42, Heuser 34, and Rick a race-leading 119.
Lap 216 saw Tony Long and Mark Murphy make contact, sending the #15 A&W machine through a series of spins before getting clobbered by Dale Rosendaul. Both drivers' days would come to and end. Surprisingly, this was the first caution of the race.
The restart saw only 17 cars on the lead lap with 113 laps to go. Craig Lee and Tim McDonnell led the charge, but the rest of the field loomed near and ready to take some action.
After Tim and Craig got passed, it was a complete free-for-all. Between lap 236 and 272, Rick Jackson, John Battista and Scott Jackson swapped the lead eight times before the final round of pit stops. Battista went on to finish fourth. Rick and Scott finished 3rd and 9th respectively.
Despite the lack of yellows, the race stayed very close as six drivers stayed in reach of the victory. Unfortunately, the amount of green flag laps put on the engines ended Ben Geer and Mike Carroll's day just before the finish.
Craig Lee was the first to come in for tires on lap 277. Ten laps later, Ryan Heuser was the final driver to take four tires. The waning laps would decide which end of the spectrum would have the advantage.
Craig came out of the pits with a near-four second lead on the rest of the field, who was led by Rick Jackson. Eight other cars on the lead lap were attempting to follow his lead and find the right strategy to catch the #101.
The strategy became obvious by the time Ryan blew by Rick with 17 laps to go. He still had a 2.5 second gap behind his NOS teammate, but the four fresh tires made it easier to pass lapped traffic and find his was to the bumper with four laps to go.
Crossing the line with three laps to go, Ryan dove underneath of Craig and flew by for the lead in turn 1 with relative ease. From that point, it was a cruise-control drive for the victory, earning his first victory of the season and taking the points lead for the first time since his 2018 championship. Congrats to Ryan, crew chief Mustard Mahoney, and the entire Quicksilver Motorsports team for an excellent victory!
Rick Jackson blew a tire on lap 6 of the Rebel 400 last Sunday. He went 5 laps down to add to his already devastating season, doomed to end the race outside of the top-25 in points. It took him exactly 250 laps to gain all five of them back, an insurmountable feat that gave him an 11th place finish, tied for his best of the season. The old record was four laps back by Roscoe Riker during the 1985 World 600. It is safe to say that Rick Jackson is back and ready to dominate for his fourth series title.
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