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.

Race Results

Points Standings

Schedule

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 ... Read more »

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.