There are four food groups in Extravaganza: sugar, grease, liquid and non-liquid. All are sold at the concessions, solidifying Richmond's reputation as "cuisine master" of the series, and a pinnacle reason we go there twice a year. "We used to sneak steak sauce into our shirts." said Elroy Hill, referring to the inferior cookery of years past. "Now the rib-eyes are tender, juicy, and fit for a king like me!" The 350-pound Elroy proceeded to chug a 2-liter of Canada Dry, staining his Steve Inkman hoodie into a gator-stained green.
Jeremy Hebel wins the Beach Boys "I Get Around" award for "getting around" Richmond faster than the rest, solidifying his status as an immaculate short track master. His Milwaukee Brewers Chevrolet pulled away from the field, leaving only Molemar Diggs in his wake as Alex Crapser and John Battista trickled towards the lead-duo during the later run. From the back, Richmond dominator Ryan Heuser jumps from dead-last to the 26th spot by lap-30.
Nobody loves a Wendy's Baconator more than John Battista! Crew chief Lew Money taped the signature burger into his dashboard, sniffing the "fumes of motivation" from the succulent patty, cheese and bacon combination. The strategy worked! Battista caught Hebel by the end of the fuel run, using the burger like a smoked ham in front of a treadmill. Matt Raboin sacrificed the sixth spot, coming in for tires first, beating everyone out of the pits while maintaining his advantage for the remaining run.
A Mike Carroll engine failure drops him to 38th in points, having to qualify for next week's race at Gateway. Up front, Matt Raboin nabs the Halfway Bacon Bonus! A lap-224 spin by Cristian Torres brings out the first caution. Unfortunately, he would play a major role in the next. The #26 GameStop Toyota slaps the wall off of turn-2, spinning out Chauncey Redmond Jr., Bink Lucas and Craig Lee towards the infield wall. Torres stays high, getting careened by points leader Tony Pizzaro into a series of barrel-rolls. The "IMPACTO" man came out unscathed, with Pizzaro losing 109 points to Johnny Reed Foley after his worst finish of the year. Redmond, Lucas and Lee came out relatively unscathed, with Torres waving his bent steering wheel to the crowd!
Jeremy Hebel re-takes the lead! A masterful pit stop, with Alex Crapser passing Matt Raboin for second place during the abbreviated green-flag stint. Alan Nesfeder goes for a wild-ride towards the back, colliding roof-first with Trae Larkin after a couple of flips. Both drivers failed to continue. Up front, Hebel maintains his advantage, holding off the remaining 15-cars on the lead lap.
Jeremy Hebel, Alex Crapser, Matt Raboin, Steve Inkman, Molemar Diggs, Johnny Reed Foley, Ryan Heuser, Zakk Miller, John Battista, Craig Lee, Ken Pettit, Adam Crapser, Donald Stewart, Chauncey Redmond Jr. and Dalton Lucas battle for ultimate supremacy for the Reese's Cup 400 crown! A giant Reese's Cup is thrown atop the car, ready to be savored by the winners' crew. Up front, Alex Crapser takes the lead with 140 to go, passing his former crew chief in a Wisconsin power slide!
A miraculous 5.3-second advantage on the field with 60-to-go! Chauncey Redmond Jr.'s pit-wall accident brings out the yellow during the fuel cycle, with Crapser, Zakk Miller, Jeremy Hebel and Ryan Heuser coming out ahead of the pace car. Donald Stewart and Dave Miller got their laps back by staying out, with Crapser's #04 Pennzoil Chevrolet leading the field to green once more. He would restart mid-pack behind the pitters, with Ken Pettit making a desperate move to stay on the lead lap. He and Michael Henson smacked the outside wall, with leader Crapser splitting the middle as Adam Crapser and Zach Michael pass underneath. Henson blew a tire in front of Dave Miller and Dakota Wilkins to bring out the caution. Matt Raboin, Steve Inkman, Johnny Reed Foley, John Battista, Molemar Diggs, along with Michael and Adam were back on the lead lap for the remainin
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Ken Pettit's longtime crew chief Slim Horton was fired this week. The #8 Bob Marley Race-2-Win organization enters Pocono with two top-15 finishes on the year, struggling to find speed even when they cross the checkered flag. The Pettit-Horton duo initiated in 2019, finishing 11th or better in the standings every year but one. Car chief and longtime friend Scott Nowacki will fill in as intern. "He made an alarm clock that rolls away so you can't shut it off!" said Pettit, referring to Nowacki's his mechanical ingenuity. "We found it under the fridge. Slim smashed it with a mallet, smelting the metal to build one of our A-frames." In 231 starts together, 95 top-10's, one Championship (2021) and two victories at Darlington are the highlights. The 2019 Folds of Honor 500 at Atlanta and 2024 Reese's Cup 400 amassed their four career wins, with two Daytona 500 poles (2020 and 2025) as their magnum opus.
*Ken and Slim at the 2021 Halloween pep rally outside Fayetteville Pep Boys.
Last year, Ken Pettit came into the sixteenth race as the points leader! This year, he's 38th. Seven DNF's have been the plague, firing crew chief Slim Horton last night after a late-race Pocono mishap. Miraculously, the team has made the field every race without provisionals since Martinsville. He's the reigning Reese's Cup 400 Champion, hoping to recapture similar success and turn his season from "wrapper" to "candy bar". Jeremy Hebel earns his second career pole, with sophomore-mate Molemar Diggs praying for his first victory since the Rebel 400. He'll start on the outside.
103 degrees at Pocono! Extravaganza Series record heat, with Aquafina bottles boiling atop the grandstands concrete. "My pulled pork sandwich caught on fire" said Amos Johnson, camping on the infield since Friday. "The bun turned black and scared away the mosquitos. Maybe it will scare away the sun!" The blistering heat scarred Rob Scarberry's fingers, driving without gloves since 1989. "It only burns if you choose to feel it." said Rob. Hopefully he will "choose" to win at Pocono!
Zakk Miller sits on the pole, tying Johnny Reed Foley with two while decreasing his average starting position to a Whiplash-Whopping 7.7! Neb Wayman takes the green flag out of the freezer as 250,000 fans anticipate the turn-1 bliss. Allstate-man Dan Johnston tries to beat Zakk Miller into the corner, failing as Dakota Wilkins drops underneath. Miller would lead lap-1, with Dakota stealing the spot on the ensuing circuit.
Two purple cars dominate the field! Rick Jackson and Dakota Wilkins swap the lead several times, with Ryan Heuser, Matt Raboin and Jeremy Hebel in tow. Towards the rear, Ken Pettit, Dave Miller and Zach Michael adroitly swerve their way through traffic after starting dead-last in the field, each reaching the top-30 by the twentieth lap. A Ziggy Moonglow cut tire was the only blemish during the stint.
Ryan Heuser takes the lead on lap-22! Rick Jackson steals it back, tag-teaming to pull Wilkins and William Perry away from the pack in a four-car cavalcade. Heuser broke the momentum on lap-40, wanting to pit from the lead and come out on top. He was unsuccessful, dropping to fourth with Jackson, Wilkins and Bink Lucas beating him out. William Perry joined the quartet in a five-car breakaway, with Lucas Racing's John Battista and Alex Crapser leading the second pack.
After a plethora of caution flags, accidents and fenders flying into the skies at Charlotte and Kansas, Nashville and Pocono kept the initial 2025 vibe in tact. Long green flag runs were the story again, hoping to join Texas as the second caution-free event of the year. Up front, John Battista, Alex Crapser, Matt Raboin, Jeremy Hebel and Trae Larkin erased half of their four-second gap on Heuser, Jackson, Lucas, Perry and Wilkins.
Battista's #39 Wendy's Chevrolet caught the front pack before halfway! He'd come out of the pits in a tango with Bink Lucas, hoping to pull away from the field despite older tires melting onto the asphalt surface. It was 2019 when Bink relieved Battista during the Pennsylvania 400, earning his first experience in Extravaganza Series racing. He's been with Lifesavers ever since.
Chauncey Redmond Jr. becomes the first casualty, blowing an engine while mowing both backstretch grasses in grand style! Worms and mosquitos equally feel the wrath, with fans enduring the wrath of the sun in the grandstands. 104 degrees combined with engine combustion was too tough for some. Some fans poured ice cream on their heads, wearing only a cone after 30 seconds of extreme melting. "My mint chocolate chip will make my hair grow back!" said Cole Donovan, reaching for the the silver-lining despite his obvious heat stroke.
The two leaders make contact! Bink Lucas sings the "tunnel-turn blues" after getting knocked out of the way by J
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Coca-Cola 600 winner Ziggy Moonglow enjoys all sporting action. "We bought a Nashville Sounds ticket on Amazon to celebrate our win last week. When it arrived, it was a photograph of the ticket! Our jack-man Biff used scissors to crop it out, but his fingers got jammed. We used a pruner to yank it off. Fortunately, his appendages are still in tact." Compared to Trae Larkin's jar accident last May, this is just par for the course at Delta Sim Racing.
Zach Michael earns his first pole since the 2024 Russ Charneski 500! A Coca-Cola sweep, with Moonglow sporting the vintage colors during last week's victory. Points leader Tony Pizzaro took the helm on lap 2. Craig Lee followed suit, with Chauncey Redmond Jr. leading his first laps since his Talladega victory in April. Wizards of Speed teammate Molemar Diggs never made it to the green flag, finishing dead-last with Redmond enduring battery issues throughout the day.
Redmond, Alex Crapser and Zakk Miller roared through the field as points leaders Michael and Pizzaro fell to mid-pack. Each took their turn at the helm, signifying their strength early as usual Speedway masters Donald Stewart and Dave Miller struggle to find prowess outside the top-30. Tony Gunk's usual "Kelpo Cam" failed to make the field, leaving Mike Carroll's "Spam Cam" to show Miller waddle violently through the corners as they race for 41st.
Bink Lucas, Zakk Miller and Dakota Wilkins dominated the ensuing 20-lap stint. All three search for their first victory of 2025, combining for seven last year with Dakota taking home the Bepis 400 trophy! Previous Nashville winners John Tharp and Rick Jackson stalked the front-runners early, hoping to capitalize on a veteran-style victory after enduring three first-time winners since the Rebel 400.
William Perry takes the lead! His motor ignites four laps later, failing to re-capitalize his fortune while dropping outside the top-20 in points. John Battista leads his first laps since Talladega in a surprisingly quiet year. Only one top-5 after a second-best fifteen in 2024, struggling with the handling while enduring three DNF's in the last five events. He, Rick Jackson, Zakk Miller and Bink Lucas led the field through green flag stops.
Battista's Wendy's #39 Chevrolet came out on top! He, Ryan Heuser, Bink Lucas and Zakk Miller scattered the top-4 positions, with Heuser and Lucas dominating the remaining run. Battista shuffled back to fourth, with Markell Murphy, Steven Spears and Jimmie Stevens crawling into the top-10 running similar lap times to the leaders. Towards the back, Kevin Corbat blew an engine, with Steve Inkman the first to drop a lap on speed.
Points leader Tony Pizzaro goes a lap down! He and teammate Ken Pettit failed to find grip, dropping the "Fenway Frank" machine to 39th and the third car to drop to the leaders. Zach Michael would finish only 118 points back. Michael Henson blows an engine while running mid-pack, dropping to 30th in the standings. Up front, Ryan Heuser pulled to a four-second gap out of the pits, cruising to the Halfway Bacon Bonus while tying Pizzaro for his tenth race led in 2025.
Markell Murphy takes the lead on lap 172! He, John Battista, Dave Miller, Bink Lucas, Jimmie Stevens, Dalton Lucas and Zakk Miller tag-teamed to the front with slightly fresher tires and cycloned towards the #47. Unfortunately, contact between Dalton and Timothy McDonnell sent the #88 Little Caesar's Chevrolet into the turn-3 wall, bringing out the first yellow with 105-to-go and
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Newspapers once banned red-ink due to the toxicity of cinnabar residue. It would soak into kicthen tables, corrupting the wholesome family meal as they breathed in the fumes. Fortunately, the digital era starts a new wave, with Ziggy Moonglow's #02 Coca-Cola Chevrolet dominating the headlines after a $10,000,000 night! Nicknamed the newfound "Crimson King", Ziggy ends the theory that red racecars can't find victory lane. Tony Pizzaro painted the back of his car green to disuade the voodoo. Cristian Torres and Kevin Corbat never won a race, prompting their sponsors to change the color of their company emblems. They were both denied that request. Zach Michael just pretends his car is not red, successfully defeating the gremlins with seven victories in the #20 Coca-Cola Mustang.
The riches of Extravaganza's new superstars have enhanced their spirit! "My new vacuum cleaner is diesel!" said Molemar Diggs, referring to the square footage of his Sudbury, Massachusetts mansion across from Willis Pond (where Babe Ruth dropped his piano). "I can finally afford a slim jim cannister!" said Chauncey Redmond Jr., forgetting that his father made more money than the Pope. "They no longer sell it, so I bought some jiffy pop instead." Ziggy Moonglow sold his Japanese Baseball board game to start Delta Sim Racing in 2023, hoping to buy it back after his Coca-Cola 600 victory. "It was my only hobby. I tried Chinese Checkers, but even our oriental gas man couldn't figure it out."
Still basking in his glory, William Perry bought a new hammock after his unprecedented Pizza Hut 400 victory! The "Flex Fuel" veteran currently stands 15th in points, just 68 back from Craig Lee who remains hindered from carbon monoxide poisoning. "Craig and I go way back. We used to visit the Woodbury catacombs at Williams Hill." said Perry "The crypt was darker than Scott Jackson's paint job, though he managed to find a rusted fishing pole. He still uses it today, calling it "Creeper"." Hopefully Perry and Lee can "creep" to the front at Nashville.
The Coca-Cola 600 is here! Bottle caps fly into the air like confetti, decorating the grandstands with high-density polyethylene. "Pepsi uses low-density polyethylene" said Coke public relations man Solomon Cosgrove. "Combined with their low-density recipe, they are a complete joke! When Extravaganza races a 600-inch event, they can sponsor that." The acrimony between the soda-giants continue, with Ryan Heuser suffering withdrawals from his favorite beverage since 2020. "I sneak a can inside the roll cage" said crew chief Mustard Mahoney.
NASCAR independent Sappy Sackson beat out the competition during the first World-600 in 1964. That year it was 99 degrees, as the factory teams could not handle the heat. He was later vanquished of his earnings after using an over-sized radiator, along with a secret airflow compartment to keep the engine cool. What strategy will the underlings use to defeat the competition this year? Some say it is Coca-Cola. Ziggy Moonglow and Trae Larkin put Coke bottles inside their roll-cages, just as Ryan Heuser enjoys his Pepsi cans. "Solomon told us to do it. It's merely a marketing stunt, but I'll do anything for the man!"
Logan Sheets wins his first career pole in 128 attempts! He'll be on a mission for victory, earning 18 top-5's without a win since his Daytona 500 debut in 2021. The Quaker-State #58 held off the field for eight laps before Rick Jackson took the helm, leading the field after a three-wide move from the Gods! Zakk Miller made a similar maneuver on lap 29, towing the field through the first green-flag stop. Craig Lee, Ryan Heuser, Tony Pizzaro and Logan Sheets were your top-5 runners through the 60th lap.
Ken Pettit and Mike Carroll tangle! A turn-1 crash puts Marley and SPAM into the fence, each trying to stay inside the top-35 in points. Neither driver remained competitive, with Carroll dropping to 35th in the standings and Pettit and unprecedented 37th after a league-leading 6th DNF. Steven Spears went for a spin off the back of NOS-man Ryan Heuser, clipping the inside backstretch wall with the rear. Miraculously, he would continue seemingly unhindered. All-Star Heat winner Jeremy Hebel got tapped by NOS-man Craig Lee, slamming the outside wall while breaking the TV panel and spoiler apart. He'd limp to 28th place.
Points leader Tony Pizzaro stole the top-spot from Zakk Miller after green flag stops, leading the field through lap 91. Ben Geer took the position away, relinquishing again to Pizzaro before Johnny Reed Foley took the helm on lap 105. Both drivers earned their league-leading tenth race led in 2025! They would remain a 1-2 punch through the halfway-point, with only Kansas winner William Perry running anywhere near the lead-duo. 23 cars were lapped during the stint, including pole-sitter Logan Sheets, Craig Lee, John Tharp, Matthew Dominique, Bink Lucas, Molemar Diggs, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Rick Jackson and Timothy McDonnell.
A horrible crash on lap-220! Rob Scarberry and Zakk Miller fight maniacally to stay on the lead lap, sending the Bepis-man hard into the outside wall. Leader Johnny Reed Foley and John Battista tangle trying to avoid the spinning car, with Foley pulverizing Miller's quarter-panel, sliding passenger-side first into the outside wall before John Tharp creamed his clock. In fact, a Rolex watch was spotted amongst the debris after the impact! Matthew Dominique failed to avoid the aftermath, leaving all four cars out of the race. Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured. Foley dropped from third to fourth in the points standings. Miller fell to 27th after a fourth DNF, with Tharp dropping outside the top-20.
23-cars remain on the lead lap! A Timothy McDonnell crash knocks out CFM Motorsports, finishing 41st and 42nd in a career-worst effort for the team. Up front, Tony Pizzaro's "Fenway Frank" machine held th
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Craig Lee is back! Carbon Monoxide couldn't bring him down, but his jackman's fish-stick casserole knocked him out cold. "It was better than my wife's cactus pot pie" said Lee. The #101 NOS Energy Quick-Silver Chevrolet will start on the outside front-row. Logan Sheets nabs his first career pole in 128 tries! He'll pray for his first top-8 effort of 2025. Rising Bonanza star Larry Sheldrake earns a spot in the 45-car field! Tony Pizzaro, Zach Michael and Johnny Reed Foley have a realistic shot of coming out with the points lead, each gridding between 10th and 20th.
A big prayer to Craig Lee. After the event, he was rushed to the infield care center and stuffed with an oxygen mask. Carbon Monoxide took ahold of his insides, spreading havoc throughout his blood and respiratory streams. Lee was rushed to the Atrium Health Medical Center, where he's currently listen in stable condition. A Bojangles sandwich was seen as reporters stalked his medical room. Hopefully it was consumed.
The 2025 All-Star Race is here! $10,000,000 on the line and a trophy the size of an ostrich egg. A fitting tribute to Zakk Miller by winning the pole, qualifying fifth or better in seven of twelve races so far. He's started better that twelfth in all but one, hoping to capitalize after a disappointing month of crashes and detonations. Hopefully he can "detonate" his Bepis power- plant to the checkered!
Zakk Miller pulls ahead! Dakota Wilkins, Ben Geer, John Battista and Johnny Reed Foley battle for second place, with Foley and Geer winning the fight. Only William Perry could keep up with the top-3, passing Geer for third with Miller taking the $1,000,000 for leading the 25th lap. Towards the rear, Matt Raboin, Timothy McDonnell, Jeremy Hebel, Zach Michael and Molemar Diggs struggled to keep pace.
Johnny Reed Foley's blue and red Chevrolet pulverizes through the field! He maneuvered from the seventh starting spot to take the lead on lap 29, hoping to earn his first All-Star Race victory in immaculate style. William Perry, Zakk Miller, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Ben Geer, Adam Crapser, Alex Crapser, Matthew Dominique and Dakota Wilkins remained within four seconds of the AC-Delco-man by lap-55.
Pit stops commense! An early tire change for William Perry and Ben Geer hope to catapult themselves to the front. Zakk Miller and Dakota Wilkins come in one lap later, with Johnny Reed Foley, Chauncey Redmond and Alex Crapser in play for the tire advantage. As everything settled, Perry's independent Flex Fuel Dodge enjoyed a miraculous four-second advantage over the field! A free ice cream cone is in the works.
Perry's advantage dwindled once Zakk Miller passed Ben Geer for second place. He and Dakota Wilkins tag-teamed to erase the gap, dropping to a two-second disparity with 18 laps-to-go. Wilkins made a quick pass on Miller, pulling the top-8 within striking distance. The #77 Colorado Rockies Chevrolet made his move on lap 91, pulling ahead before Johnny Reed Foley rummaged to second place! The #3 ran out of time. Dakota Wilkins wins his first career All-Star Race and the $10,000,000 grand prize!
A winless campaign with moderate success turns into the payday of the century! Dakota Wilkins becomes the third $20,000,000 man behind Johnny Reed Foley and Ryan Heuser, hoping to catch both by mimicing his 2024 summer-stretch. A free pepperoni stick goes to the man who spun the wedge wrench! Congratulations to Dakota, crew chief Joe "Novacane" Densham and the rest of the Blazin' Pedals Racing organization for a fantastic victory!
