Alex Crapser, Ken Pettit and Zakk Miller come into Darlington in a dead-heat for the Extravaganza Series title! Each driver has scored a victory, 100+ laps led and combined for 29 of 30 finishes inside the top-30. All three failed to start inside the top-15, with points contenders Johnny Reed Foley, John Battista and Dakota Wilkins hot-lapping their way towards the front of the grid!
The moon is full enough to heat the racetrack, forcing drivers slide for the entire 400-mile distance. Jeremy Hebel earns his first career pole, lacerating the asphalt with a 28.021 mile-per-hour lap with Michael Henson on the outside! Neither would lead the first lap, with Matt Raboin narrowly edging out Hebel to earn the first bonus points of the race.
Johnny Reed Foley and Craig Lee both made attempts at the top-spot, with the #101 power-housing his way to the point on lap 17. Rookie of the Year leader Molemar Diggs spins out, slapping the outside wall and into Ken Joynt. The #41 Pittsburgh Steelers Chevrolet spun around once and continued forward, bringing out the first caution flag.
Last week's winner Dakota Wilkins found himself atop the heap after pit stops, leading his third-straight event with Ryan Heuser, Michael Henson, Dave Miller and Chauncey Redmond Jr. ready to pounce. A three-wide maneuver for Miller was deemed unsuccessful, giving Heuser the advantage on the high-side to keep the second spot. The #138 took the lead on lap 32, handing it to teammate Miller five laps later.
Quick-Silver Motorsports and Lucas Racing occupied the top-four positions, with Adam and Alex Crapser creeping towards the front. Points leader Alex took the lead on lap 54, dominating the remainder of the run before a check-up on pit road. This handed Adam, Dave Miller and Alan Nesfeder the advantage.
The #90 Marlboro Chevrolet blows a right-rear tire! The leader now stood in the 44th place, ahead of only Tony Pizzaro and John Battista's engine failure. Everyone else remained on the lead lap by the halfway point, handing Alan Nesfeder the Halfway Bacon Bonus with Adam Crapser, Logan Sheets, Rick Jackson and Zakk Miller directly in tow.
Points leaders Crapser, Miller and Pettit all crab-walked their way to the front despite their mediocre starting spots. Miller and Pettit all battled deep inside the top-10, with Crapser dropping to 14th after a myriad of bad pit stops. Up front, Alan Nesfeder and Adam Crapser pulled to a near four-second advantage over the field with 85 laps remaining.
Ryan Heuser breaks a camshaft with 60 laps to go, dropping from 19th to 28th in the standings after a 44th place finish. Darlington hoped to be the tide-turner for he and John Battista, both going winless for the first ten races in 2024. Both finished outside the top-43; the first time the top-2 winners in the previous season would finish that low in Extravaganza Series history. Geno Sphere also lost an engine, dropping his average finish to 32nd while remaining 40th in points.
Alan Nesfeder's crew missed the signal to come in during the Heuser caution! The race dominator is forced to pit the ensuing lap, leading 106 circuits to finish 28th and end his three-race top-10 streak. The benefactor was Rick Jackson, leading his first laps on the night after an immaculate pit stop by the Crown Royal crew!
The lapped car of Cristian Torres scraped the outside wall exiting turn-2, forcing Jackson to lift and hand Miller the advantage on the inside! Adam Crapser took the top-spot with 48 laps-to-go. He, Miller, Jackson, Johnny Reed Foley, Logan Sheets and Ken Pettit rode in a six-car conga-line for the victory! Miller made several attempts to pass Crapser, with the last one costing him two spots. Foley and Pettit made it by the #30, continuing to race for second before Pettit took the position. The #8 Bob Marley machine closed towards the Packer man, looking to steal his first career victory away after five-years of emphatic frustration. Crapser could not hold him off, handing Pettit the lead with 20 laps remaining and never looked back.
Blazin' Pedals Racing strikes again! Jeremy Hebel becomes the first 2024 rookie to win the pole, clocking at nearly 27-seconds in his first official timed-lap at the facility. He enters the Rebel 500 140 points behind Molemar Diggs, both finishing a lap down at Talladega and ending Molemar's top-7 streak. Michael Henson will start on the outside, hoping to score a top-10 finish for the struggling Shake N' Bake Racing organization. Atop the points, neither of the top-4 in the standings will start inside the top-15! Points leader Alex Crapser has been prophesied by Steven Spock to become the first "20-30" man in modern Extravaganza (20 top-5's, 30 top-10's). With 46 racecars, a top-10 at Darlington will prove the toughest.
Rattle Snake Drake won the first Rebel 400 in 1952. Scott Jackson has won a record five, including his "blow and go" victory fifteen years ago! He will start 41st, still looking for his first top-20 start for the struggling W.A.S.P. Motorsports. Teammates Bill Werkheiser and Geno Sphere both enter outside the top-35 in points, each having to qualify their way into the field. This could be Werkheiser's second-to-last attempt at the "rustic" facility, hoping to turn around his campaign and make the Southern 500 in September. A pair of 8th place finishes at Atlanta and Bristol for Scott Jackson are the only highlights of the 2024 season, with a clear horsepower advantage compared the big guns of Extravaganza. If any racetrack can break the slide, this is it.
First Ten Rebel 400 Winners 1952: Rattle Snake Drake 1953: Raymond Hale 1954: Dick Seymour 1955: Wimpy Brown 1956: Raymond Hale 1957: Solitaire Swede 1958: Half-Dollar Motley 1959: Solitaire Swede 1960: Wimpy Brown 1961: Buddy Griswald Friday, May 3rd, 6:00 ET
Nine different winners during the first nine events! The vitriol of Talladega could produce a tenth, with horsepower, pit stops and avoiding casualty the primary recipe for victory lane! Ryan Heuser stands on the gas as pole-sitter, leading the first 46-car field of the season!
The Lucas Racing brigade caught the slipstream early, drafting with Ryan Heuser in a 1-2-3 punch at the front. Jimmie Stevens and Chauncey Redmond Jr. broke up the bash, working with points leader Zakk Miller and Johnny Reed Foley to pass the lead-trio. The "AMPIO" #2 stood atop the heap for 20 laps, as memories of their early season struggles dwindle into the abyss.
Chauncey Redmond Jr. took the lead outright on lap 32. He, Stevens and Heuser would dominate the remaining run, going 52-laps before the first fuel stop. "AMPIO's" teammate Bink Lucas and Steve Inkman fell to the engine bug early, both dropping outside the top-20 in points.
The entire field took fuel around the lap-50 mark with Matthew Dominique coming out on top. He and Markell Murphy raced defiantly for the top-spot before a Johnny Reed Foley push put the #47 in the lead. 18 cars still remained in the lead draft, with points leaders Zakk Miller, Ken Pettit and Alex Crapser seven seconds back after attempting to stretch their gas mileage.
Timothy McDonnell and John Battista both lost a lap early, one after pit contact and the former with a left-rear puncture. Rod Weston, Trae Larkin, Geno Sphere, Zach Michael, Ken Joynt, Mark Heron, Jeremy Hebel and Tony Long also lost a lap before the half-way mark. Markell Murphy and Matthew Dominique continued to dominate the remaining stint, with the Red Bull #47 earning the Halfway Bacon Bonus.
Murphy and Dominique came out 1-2 after the second stop, with Logan Sheets, Cristian Torres and Johnny Reed Foley suddenly in the fray. Adam Crapser, Scott Jackson and Geno Sphere would blow smoke after 100-straight laps of green flag action. Jimmie Stevens, who dominated the early portion of the event, lost a lap after a mortifying pit stop lost them the draft.
Dalton Lucas and Trae Larkin collide on the backstretch, collecting points contenders Ken Pettit and John Battista! Lucas and Molemar Diggs slid into the infield grass and up the turn-3 banking, with David Butterworth gyrating into the path of Bill Werkheiser. John Tharp was also involved, possibly ending his streak of nine top-20's to begin the year. He, Pettit and Miller would continue, with Lucas, Butterworth, Werkheiser and Battista heading to the garage after the accident. Still, 37 cars remained for the final 60 laps.
The Red Bull #47 continued to dominate after the restart, leading the field through lap 32 before Cristian Torres and Johnny Reed Foley took the point. Foley, Donald Stewart and Craig Lee each swapped the lead as we headed for the final round of green flag stops. Markell Murphy, Johnny Reed Foley and Matt Raboin came in the earliest, exiting the pits in-line with the pack and continuing their momentum.
Craig Lee runs out of gas with 28 to go! Teammates Logan Sheets and Matthew Dominique battle ferociously at the front, but came in to pit earlier than they anticipated after the #101's misfortune. From there, Alan Nesfeder, Matt Raboin, Dakota Wilkins, Donald Stewart and Alex Crapser joined in for the final seven-lap breakaway to the finish!
Logan Sheets made a bonzai move underneath Raboin to take the top-spot away with 6 laps to go! He pulled to a tectonic advantage with draft help from lapped traffic, handing Raboin, Crapser and Dakota Wilkins the slipstream of the century entering turn-1 on the penultimate lap! Wilkins made a three-wide move underneath the trio. He was successful, with help from Alan Nesfeder from behind. The two raced side-by-side for the entire white flag lap, with draft help from both sides and no direct challenge from behind!
For the first time in Extravaganza Series history, three teams will enter a race with a four-car stable. CFM Motorsports powers down with Kevin Corbat at Doug Spark making the show, adding to Timothy McDonnell and Johnny Reed Foley's powerhouse organization! All of Team Danger Zone and Lucas Racing's entries also make the field, with the latter dominating the restrictor-plate races over the past half-decade. John Battista hopes to win his first race of the year after an outside-pole lap, with Donald Stewart in third hoping to lead his first circuit of the young season. Fall Talladega winner Ryan Heuser edged Adam Crapser out at 46.679 seconds, taking his 10th try to finally earn his first pole-position in 2024! 46 drivers enter the race, with 37 hoping to make it 10 different winners in the first 10 events!
Points Talladega Winners Since 2020 2020 Spring: Alex Crapser 2020 Fall: Matthew Dominique 2021 Spring: John Battista 2021 Fall: Bink Lucas 2022 Spring: Tony Pizzaro 2022 Fall: Alex Crapser 2023 Spring: John Battista 2023 Fall: Ryan Heuser *greenindicates Lucas Racing driver
Steven Spears benefits from the 46-car entry list to make the show at Talladega! This is icing-on-the-cake for Team Danger Zone, coming off two-straight victories during the short track stretch and inheriting the series points lead! Zakk Miller has never been atop the Extravaganza Standings until today, only seven points ahead of Superspeedway ace Alex Crapser. Zach Michael finally clinches the top-10 with a dominating victory at Martinsville! Markell Murphy has shown speed all season, winning from the pole at Rockingham and leading 66 laps at Bristol. So far, they are the only team to score multiple victories with three, and the only team to earn poles with multiple drivers before Ryan Heuser today. They have absolutely dominated in the laps led category, running first in 785 of the 3,119 laps currently run. For the first time since Richmond, all four teams will be in the field in attempt to add to their 2024 domination.
Molemar Diggs stands out! An unbelievable fifth-straight top-7 finish puts the #41 Steelers Chevrolet well atop the Rookie of the Year heap! An ongoing battle, clouting from the rear of the field all season to earn immaculate finishes. Molemar's started 37th or worse five times, finishing sixth at Texas and Martinsville despite the handicap. He currently stands 5th in the standings, leading all of Extravaganza in top-10 finishes!
2024 Top-10 Finishes 1. Molemar Diggs: 6
2. Zakk Miller: 5
3. Alex Crapser: 5
4. Ken Pettit: 4
5. Johnny Reed Foley: 4
Jeremy Hebel and Steve Inkman finished 2nd and 12th at Martinsville, encapsulating themselves inside the top-20 in points in what could be the strongest rookie crop in Extravaganza history! Inkman has four top-15 finishes despite an average starting spot of 34th. He's also one of only three drivers without a DNF on the season. Hebel's second-pl
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Joe Mersdorf's death and a campfire mishap send shockwaves around Martinsville Speedway. Both Geer-5 entries are adorned with Mersdorf's logo, and the inferno has dissipated to ash. It's time to go racing! Tony Pizzaro earns his first pole of the year, with points contenders Zakk Miller and Ken Pettit starting outside the top-15.
A field of 43 rampaged across the start-finish line! Drivers Jonathan Skrabacz, Geno Sphere, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Rob Scarberry, Michael Henson and Jimmie Stevens look for a top-25 finish to keep their full-time status in line. Up front, Pizzaro holds off Bink Lucas, Matt Raboin and miracle-man Rod Weston, earning his first career top-3 starting spot.
Bink Lucas took the lead away from Pizzaro on lap-92, ensuring his status as top-dog at Lifesaver Racing. Teammate Jimmie Stevens plowed his way from 35th to 18th, hoping for both drivers to earn a top-10 result. Just 25 laps into Bink's domination, his engine shattered, sending flash-waves of engine debris onto the racetrack. He would finish 42nd on the day, with Dalton Lucas suffering the same fate just 36 laps in.
Among the casualties included William Perry, Dan Johnston and Dave Miller, all suffering from the engine bug. Perry would end his streak of top-10 finishes, with Johnston's inverted Bret Saberhagen impression (top-20's in even-numbered races; bad finishes in odd-numbered races) still in tact. Miller dropped from 5th to 8th in the standings with his 39th place effort. Pizzaro continued to lead throughout, with a consistent top-5 of Matt Raboin, Alex Crapser, Jeremy Hebel and John Tharp.
A flat tire dropped Pizzaro to the back after a Rick Jackson and Mark Heron crash brought out the caution. Matt Raboin led the field to the green, failing to clear the two lapped Solomon-Tark entries with rookie Jeremy Hebel and Alex Crapser ready to pounce. Hebel took the advantage on lap 204 prior to a plethora of accidents.
A crash between good friends David Butterworth and Donald Stewart began the constellation of carnage. The halfway-point blues saw five accidents; three involving three-time Champion Timothy McDonnell. He would manage to finish 32nd despite the devastation, finishing the race in a tin lizzie. Drivers who failed to survive were early-race dominator Tony Pizzaro, Mark Heron and Logan Sheets.
The lead shuffled between Hebel, Molemar Diggs, Jimmie Stevens and Dakota Wilkins during the carousel of caution flags. Zach Michael came out the victor, inheriting the top-spot before the next green-flag stint. Stevens managed to lead the halfway bacon bonus, leaving Donald Stewart, Logan Sheets, Rob Scarberry, Geno Sphere, Jonathan Skrabacz, Rod Weston and Ziggy Moonglow as the only drivers without a lap led on the season.
Zach Michael pulled to a 1.5-second advantage over Jimmie Stevens before lapped-traffic clogged the passageway to victory. Rookie's Jeremy Hebel and Molemar Diggs passed the #2 "Ampio" entry and caught Michael with 150 laps-to-go. Hebel made the pass, with Michael and Diggs battling maniacally for second place before green flag pit stops.
The Coca-Cola pit crew put Zach Michael back on top, with Jimmie Stevens passing both rookies en route for his second stint at the lead. Both he and Hebel would pass Michael just before a Jonathan Skrabacz spin brought out the caution. Nobody could make in it on fuel from here, leaving crew chiefs to strategize the timing of their final stop.
Zach Michael pulverized underneath Stevens and Hebel within 10-laps of the restart, inheriting his best set of tires and taking the lead with 90 laps-to-go. Hebel and Matt Raboin kept within two-seconds of the #20, with a short-pit strategy from Stevens pulling him just a few car-lengths behind. The final stops finally cycled through. Michael would pull away from the pack as the field stayed green, earning the victory in Burger King Whopper style!
Zakk Miller sneaks within 10 points of Ken Pettit for the Championship lead! His victory at Bristol put him on the win column for 2024, leading the series in laps led after averaging 85 in the last three events. Up front, Tony Pizzaro and Bink Lucas will lead the field to the green with Rick Jackson, Ryan Heuser, Timothy McDonnell and Dave Miller starting 35th or worse. If they go down a lap early, the grandfather clock will vanish into the hellfire.
One night after Joe Mersdorf's fatal accident, the Geer-5 Racing team remains undecided on their status for the foreseeable future. Rumors had Cristiano De Sa to drive the #54 Statler Brothers entry for Talladega, but proved no merit. Teammate #55 Jonathan Cheeseman will continue his bid for the Championship in honor or Mersdorf's memory. Donald Stewart and Ben Geer will have his #54 racecar on their quarter-panel's for the Extravaganza Series event. He will be buried on the Beit Olamim Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin on Thursday.
Jimmie Stevens makes the show after having to qualify for the Virginia 500, winning the 100-lap pre-qualifier! The #2 Ampio Lifesaver Racing team has finished better than 31st in only three events so far, entering Martinsville 36th in points. Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser and Alan Nesfeder earned top 5-'s at Texas, Richmond and Bristol to gap themselves out of the hole and re-earn their provisional status. "Speedy" hopes to do the same. He'll start 32nd. Counterpart Steven Spears will miss his second-straight event after finishing second-to-last in the qualifying race.
A bonfire mishap causes a campground holocaust! Fire went ablaze after a man sprayed REPEL into his campfire, eventually throwing the entire 12-pack in a fit of rage! "It was worse than my mom's eye-lid operation" said an anonymous source. "We told Dwayne not to do it, but he consumed his eighth Genuine Draft popsicle and there was no stopping the man!" The race will be Genuinely postponed until further notice.
An enormous blow to the hearts of stock car racing. Just one night after leading the most laps in the Martinsville Busch Bonanza stock car race on Friday, "Smokin" Joe Mersdorf was killed in a highway accident near his home in Cumberland, Virginia while returning from a sponsorship appearance at the Appomattox courthouse. Mersdorf turned 36 last Wednesday, finishing third in the the 2023 Busch Bonanza Championship and was a leading candidate for the title in 2024. He watched the race from Glenn Kaufmann's motor home, driving a Toyota owned by the former Extravaganza Series independent. "He was going east on highway 60, steered into a curve and apparently lost control," said Kal Buckner, a Virginia state trooper. "Apparently he was traveling at a high rate of speed, went sideways and couldn’t correct it." Coincidentally, Buckner attended the North Wilkesboro race in which Mersdorf finished 6th last fall. Mersdorf's sliding truck was struck on the driver’s door by a westbound car. The driver of that car Janet Duffy, 68, of Lynchburg, Virgina, was also killed. The accident occurred at about midnight, according to police. John Hidley of Conover North Carolina, Mersdorf’s car chief and jackman, was injured and was taken to the Centra Lynchburg Medical Hospital for treatment. Glenn Kaufmann, a multi-car team owner and former Extravaganza Series regular who owns Geer-5 Motorsports, picked up Mersdorf after his success at Motor Mile Speedway. He began competing in the Late Model SCUM (Super Crown Ultra Modified) Division just four years ago, winning the Championship for Kaufmann in 2021. "This is an enormous shock and is a loss we will feel even more in the days and weeks to come." said Kaufmann. A memorial service will be held Wednesday at Motor Mile, the site of Mersdorf's finest racing accomplishments. He won two track Championships there in 2015 and 2016. Although originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Mersdorf maintained a residence and racing shop in Farmville, Virginia and also owns a gas station there. "Joe was one of the most promising young drivers in the Extravaganza Series pipeline, so from that standpoint it’s a terrible loss for everyone who enjoys the sport,” said Dalton Lucas, owner of Lucas Hauling and the Bonanza Series teams for Rhamondre Diggs (#41) and Ronaldo Scott (#40). "Personally, it really hits hard because his cousin is one of my best friends in racing, and I know how badly he and the rest of the family are hurting right now. Someone that young, it’s a real tragic situation." Glenn Kaufmann, in addition to managing Mersdorf's career, was crew chief on the car since Bob Watkins left the team during the offseason. "I've always tried to hire the best people I can get for the team." Kaufmann said recently when asked about the #54 team. "I didn’t have much choice with Joe, but he’s turned out pretty good."
