It was an exciting endeavor for all who witnessed the spring Dega spectacle of 2019. There was 50 lead changes, and the three most dominating drivers fell into hard luck by the end, leaving it a competitive finish with drivers who you'd never expect to challenge for a victory.

Race Results

Current Standings

Schedule

Cars were here, there and everywhere early on. Pole-sitter Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro dominated the opening laps, leading 31 of the first 32 as the rest of the field scrambles 3-wide behind them.

Race favorite Rick Jackson and Dave Miller blew up early, leaving some to speculate that the higher temperatures were to blame for the misfortunes despite having no tape on the cars. Dave would fall to 12th in the standings after the conclusion, with Rick falling to 9th after leading the points early on.

Alan Nesfeder and Bill Werkhesier were in the middle 3-wide near the front, causing a massive turn-3 pileup involving John Battista, Zach Michael, Michael Henson, William Perry and Craig Lee. All of them would continue on with moderate damage at worst, but it was an omen of things to come.

It became too much of a crowd at times, and the 4-wide madness became the norm even before the halfway point. Drivers Ben Geer and Tony Pizzaro desperately needed a good finish, but it would seem too impossible in a mess like this.

It proved to be true, as a lap 79 crash caused by Adam Crapser's blown engine sent Ken Pettit, Alex Crapser, Craig and Ryan into the wall. Tony Pizzaro would escape only to get creamed on the apron by William Perry, as Ryan and Ken finished him off in a horrifying incident. Tony would endure two broken ribs, leaving the team unsure about the already disturbed season.

The later stages of the event were dominated by Tim McDonnell. He would lead 64 laps, as former teammate Johnny Reed Foley lurked behind in a 1-2 punch. The rest of the field looked like they were running engines lubricated by mustard and ketchup.

The impossible happened with 14 laps to go. Tim McDonnell's crew did not put enough fuel in on the final pit stop, forcing them to come in and top-off. The most dominant car of the day would finish 20th and lose their points lead to Matthew Dominique, who had his worst race of the season until the end. 

With less than 5 laps to go, David Courtney and Scott Deustch had a very realistic shot at a victory. Randy Dobbins and Dan Johnston led most of the waning laps, with David and Scott side-by-side coming to the white flag.

Johnny Reed Foley and Alex Crapser would attempt a miracle run after almost getting knocked out of the draft by Glenn Kaufmann's slow car. The two tangoed their way to the pack by the white flag, and made an enormous charge to steal the cinderella story away from the #13 and #16.

David Courtney and Scott Deutsch were managing the top-2 lanes in style, but the lack of horsepower prevented them from holding off Johnny Reed Foley. The #18 car drove to victory for the first time since last year's Dega race, becoming the first driver in N.O.R.L history to finish first after finishing last twice. Congrats to Johnny Reed Foley, crew chief Ronnie "Pure Love" Presley, and the entire Shake N' Bake Racing team for an excellent victory!

... Read more »