Craig Lee closes to 22 points behind Ken Pettit with just five races to go! The NOS Energy #101 Quick-Silver Chevrolet broke the 200 mile-per-hour barrier for the first time in Extravaganza Series history! 202.881 miles per hour in a caution-free race at Talladega pushed him into next year's Big Bud Shootout and All-Star Race after a victory from the pole. This week, he's on the pole again in hopes of duplicating the effort, and passing Ken Pettit for the lead in the Championship standings! Here are the results for the top-3 drivers since Darlington in May:
The Rookie of the Year battle continues! A 6th place finish at Talladega for Molemar Diggs pushes himself ahead by 175 points over Jeremy Hebel. Steve Inkman earned a top-20 result as well, hoping to cap the season off by qualifying for the final five events. Rod Weston earned his third-straight top-20 finish, earning six on the season despite failing to qualify for thirteen events. Tony Gunk will watch from the sidelines, with Kelpo still on board for 2025.
Points Standings (After 31 of 36 Events) 1. Ken Pettit: - 2. Craig Lee: -22 (+2) 3. Johnny Reed Foley: -56 (-1) 4. Zakk Miller: -88 (+1) 5. John Tharp: -102 (+1) 6. Zach Michael: -124 (+1) 7. Ryan Heuser: -147 (-4) 8. Timothy McDonnell: -206 (+1) 9. Rick Jackson: -240 (+1) 10. Alex Crapser: -284 (-2)
Alabama stands strong! 300,000 fans produce a buzz over the 2.6-mile facility, rooting for their favorite driver to dominate the slipstream! Ken Pettit comes in 16 points ahead of Johnny Reed Foley for the lead in the 2024 Championship standings . Ryan Heuser, Craig Lee, Zakk Miller and John Tharp all trail within 100-points of the Bob Marley Race-2-Win #8. Each of them has enjoyed success at Talladega in the past.
Craig Lee nabs his first pole since the Southern 500 in 2023, locking him into the 2024 Big Bud Shootout! He and teammate Ryan Heuser would lead the initial laps, with only Mark Heron and David Courtney struggling to keep pace with the duo. 43 cars remained in the lead draft through lap-10, with John Battista, Johnny Reed Foley, Jimmie Stevens and Logan Sheets showing speed up front.
The AC-Delco #3 extends his new lap-led streak to two races after taking the top-spot over Heuser on lap-4. He would dominate the stint, with a charge from Dave Miller and Markell Murphy as the only hindrences to his perfect green flag run. Foley would remain atop the leaderboard through his first pit stop on lap-51.
The 2023 Champion has gone down! Ryan Heuser explodes an engine on lap-25, splitting the field in half as they attempt to scurry past on the backstretch. The #138 NOS Energy Chevrolet came in only 45 points back from Ken Pettit. He would exit the race with a last-place finish, dropping to 7th in the standings. Ben Geer and Michael Henson would also drop, with David Butterworth passing Henson for 30th in points. Geer would remain 27th.
John Battista and the Wendy's Lucas Racing Chevrolet came out of the pits as the leader. On lap-60, rookie Rod Weston would get a push from points leader Ken Pettit to earn his first career lap led! It took Rod and the NAPA Sim World Motorsports Dodge 33 starts to complete the feat, also hoping for their third-straight top-20 result. They would finish 19th.
Dave Miller, John Tharp and Adam Crapser all took turns at the heap before ferris-wheeling to the mid-pack. John Battista and Johnny Reed Foley cycled back to the front by lap-70, with John Tharp, Timothy McDonnell and Alex Crapser fighting to lead the half-way lap! 20-cars remained in the lead group, with a pack of six including Craig Lee, Chauncey Redmond, Jimmie Stevens, Zach Michael, David Butterworth and Steven Spears miraculously running them down.
Bink Lucas nabs the Halfway-Bacon Bonus, eating his bacon-wrapped lifesavers in immaculate style! The #5 "Candy Machine" leads it's first laps since Chicagoland, attempting to end a six-race streak of finishes between 20th and 29th. Bink would accomplish the feat with his first top-5 finish since his victory at Texas in March. He would remain at the helm until his second stop on lap-105.
Scott Jackson and Timothy McDonnell were the only drivers to take on two-tires, rendering their long-run status up in the air. The #38 ATEUP Chevrolet was able to maintain the lead out of the pits for a whopping four laps before the pack finallycaught him, handing John Battista the advantage through lap-135. Zach Michael, Molemar Diggs, Scott Jackson, Rick Jackson, Ken Pettit and Timothy McDonnell all took turns at the helm before the 30-to-go mark. Early race dominator Alex Crapser would fall to a flat tire, finishing four laps down and dropping to 10th in the standings.
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The hot dogs fly in the air in spades! Buns and relish conquer the Martinsville asphalt, seeping into the seems like rainwater in the Shenandoah mist. Johnny Reed Foley's tall task of an Extravaganza Championship continues, starting from dead-last in the field to rebound from his 56-point disadvantage. Points leader Ken Pettit will start mid-pack. Zakk Miller comes in 26 points behind, gridding in 12th.
Pole-sitter John Battista holds his own at the front in the initial 60-lap stint. He would pass Dakota Wilkins for fourth in laps led on the season, holding his ground before a lap-67 pass from Zach Michael. The #20 Coca-Cola Mustang would pull away while the Wendy's machine held off teammates Alex Crapser, Dalton Lucas and #25 Matthew Dominique for second.
Zach Michael would lap teammate Steven Spears, Jeremy Hebel and Trae Larkin before his first fuel stop on lap 121. He entered the pits later in the cycle than the Lucas Racing trio, relinquishing the top-spot to Rick Jackson's short-pit strategy; nabbing himself well-needed bonus points. Alex Crapser would take the lead from there; dominating the ensuing 100-lap run.
Crapser had lapped up to 28th place, including Championship contender Timothy McDonnell and points leader Ken Pettit. Just after the Pennzoil team came in to stop, the caution came out for a Logan Sheets spin, handing Pettit and McDonnell back their lead lap status! An ultimate triumph for both drivers, while Crapser was able to keep the lead after staying out. Donald Stewart became the first casualty, blowing an engine to finish 43rd.
A 1-2 Crapser-brother crunch at the front! The #04 Pennzoil team held off Adam to win the Halfway Bacon Bonus, with the Packers #4 taking the advantage just two laps later. Adam would lead through lap 261 with race-favorites Ryan Heuser and Johnny Reed Foley finally up front for the second-half hoedown. Adam, Zach Michael, Dalton Lucas and Alex were the top-4 ahead of the duo.
Zach Michael took the lead for a second time after a dominant low-line pass in turn-2. Ryan Heuser and Johnny Reed Foley battled maniacally for the second spot, pressuring Zach into a mistake as he maneuvered through lapped traffic. The Coca-Cola man would hit the wall attempting to pass teammate Markell Murphy, handing Heuser the top spot for the first time tonight.
A spin by Chauncey Redmond Jr. put the field to a halt. Adam Crapser re-took the advantage after a fantastic pit stop, with Heuser mired to third and Foley to the second position. A loose lugnut forced Zach Michael to the back of the field, trapped in the 21st position behind points leader Ken Pettit. A Zakk Miller flat tire exiting turn-2 brought out the next yellow, dropping Miller to 5th in points after a second-straight finish of 25th or worse. Adam Crapser held the lead throughout.
Johnny Reed Foley's bid from first to last finally came to fruition! he passed the Packers #4 with 113 laps to go, initiating a new lap-led streak and extending his 2024 lead in the category. He would eclipse Ryan Heuser's total of 1,129 the previous season, ending the night with 1,215. A Molemar Diggs engine failure lost him ground to Jeremy H
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The last ever Kodochrome photograph was taken at Martinsville during the 2007 NASCAR fall event at the facility. Paul Simon would be proud, with Artie taken aback by the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque colliseum (not to be confused with Basement Artie). King of Queen's man John Battista captures his first pole since Spring Talladega of 2023, enshrining his spot into the Big Bud Shootout after a dry-spell of the ages. Teammate Alex Crapser is the only Championship contender to qualify inside the top-10, with two drivers outside the top-30 in points (Rob Scarberry and Dalton Lucas) beating them all. Points leader Ken Pettit grids 21st. Championship favorite Johnny Reed Foley starts dead-last in the 43-car field, with Zakk Miller occupying the standings-lead from Pettit on the initial green. All ten contenders are still in contention. Will Rick Jackson or Timothy McDonnell end their winless drought? Or will young-gun Dakota Wilkins steal the spotlight for a 6th time in 2024. Ryan Heuser enters the Old Dominion 500 in as the pre-race favorite. If he wins, expect salt shakers thrown at his car after his viral pretzel-making incident on Dailymotion.
An immaculate Rookie of the Year campaign continues. Molemar Diggs continues his dominance with a 108-point lead over Jeremy Hebel. Steve Inkman has fallen off course after missing a couple of starts, hoping to end his three-race DNF streak at his favorite racetrack. Hebel comes into Martinsville with fifteen-straight races finished, catching Molemar after the #41's torrid pace early in the season. Hebel's best finish of 2nd at Martinsville is the best of all rookie campaginers. Kelpo-man Tony Gunk gas three-straight top-21's in races he's made the show, with both he and Rod Weston earning top-20's at Bristol. All five have earned their spotlight-moment in 2024. Which one will win the title?
All four Lucas Racing drivers qualify inside the top-11! Dalton starts on the outside front-row, with winless-wonders Logan Sheets and Rod Weston out-gridding the chase drivers in hopes of their first career Extravaganza Series triumph! Points leader Zakk Miller tries to out-duel Johnny Reed Foley, John Tharp and Ken Pettit in hopes of maintaining his advantage standings through the end of the Sharpie 500!
A crash on lap one sends rookie Molemar Diggs, Alan Nesfeder and Championship contender Timothy McDonnell into the pits for a beat-down. Dalton Lucas wins the battle off pit road over pole-sitter Tony Pizzaro, leading the field for the remaining stint. A Johnny Reed Foley spin brought out the second caution, taking John Tharp with him into the turn-3 wall.
Both Johnny Reed Foley and John Tharp struggled for the remainder of the race, both finishing outside the top-30 with Tharp failing to complete the event. Foley would lose his 15-race streak of leading a lap, while teammate Timothy McDonnell went two-down after a tire-rub from the first caution. McDonnell dropped to 10th in the standings. Tharp fell from 2nd to 5th, while Foley rose up the leader-board after some mid-race attrition to beat 11 cars. He would only fall to third in the standings; still the favorite to win the crown!
Dalton Lucas, Logan Sheets, Dakota Wilkins and Dave Miller dominated the second green-flag stint. All 43-cars managed to hold afloat through lap 200, with no Championship contenders yet to lead a lap. Team Danger Zone, Race-2-Win Motorsports and Lucas Racing all shared the spotlight, occupying over half of the top-16 positions.
An Alex Crapser spin and a Bill Werkheiser engine failure at halfway would bring out the third and fourth yellow flags. Dalton Lucas came in to pit twice due to a loose lugnut, giving up the Halfway Bacon Bonus to Logan Sheets and relinquishing his career best 173-laps led. Logan would dominate the stint before cataclysmic disaster!
Leader Logan Sheets piles into a crash involving Alan Nesfeder and Cristian Torres! Dalton Lucas tapped the #26 Gamestop Toyota, sliding off the wall and into Nesfeder. Blocked by the a-pillar Sheets slammed his left-front into the #26, sending Torres for a half-flip while Logan's victory effort came to an end. He would finish 40th after leading 123 laps.
Steven Spears led his first laps since Talladega in April, hoping to end his recent streak of DNF's with a top-10 finish. Teammate Markell Murphy inherited the top-spot on the restart, with he, Dakota Wilkins, Zach Michael and Ken Pettit battling hard for second-half supremacy! Michael and Pettit are the only two Championship contenders anywhere near the front all night, hoping to gain ground on points leader Zakk Miller who is currently mired mid-pack.
Jimmie Stevens entered the Sharpie 500 a career worst 3nd in points, with only one top-5 at Martinsville in April. Now he is battling for the win! The #2 Ampio Mustang's last victory was here in the spring of 2020, hoping to rectify his year with a late-season victory just like his teammate Bink in 2023. He, Zach Michael and Ken Pettit would battle profusely, with Pettit earning the points lead back with his newly-dominant short-track
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Bepis-man Zakk Miller steals the points lead away! A second place at Las Vegas propels Team Danger Zone to the top, capitalizing on Johnny Reed Foley's misfortune while dominating the Eddie Money Classic. Foley is still just nine points behind and one of the favorites to win today. Tony Pizzaro and miracle-man Dalton Lucas earn the front row spots! No Championship contenders start inside the top-9.
Dalton Lucas is making it look easy! No starts better than 19th all year until his 10th last week at the Eddie Money Classic. Now he's qualified on the outside-pole! Look for the #88 Lucas Racing Little Ceasar's Chevrolet to promote their mettle.
