The precipice of the season is here. Any way the wind blows, we have come to a road course in the latter stages of 2021. This will be the fifth and final of the season, with Scott Jackson and Ryan Heuser at a deadlock for the Championship lead.
Race Results
Points Standings
Schedule
Ryan Heuser led the opening 16 laps with Johnny Reed Foley in tow. He pulled off to over a second lead, leaving Zakk Miller, Tim McDonnell and Alan Nesfeder on the charge for second place.
Within laps, Alex Crapser was able to pass all of them for the second position. The #04 was unable to catch Heuser in time, but looked to be the second-fastest car in the field. He was hoping to gain ground on points leader Scott Jackson, who was mired back around the 30th position.
Heuser would relinquish it to Crapser on lap 17, coming in for an unscheduled pit stop and coming out of the pits mid-pack. He made contact with his teammate Craig Lee entering the first right-handers, spinning into the outside tire barriers and destroying his racecar. For the entire event, he would fight a tow-in problem that had him fall off the lead lap mid-way through the race. The Heuser and Mahoney duo would get it corrected by the end, keeping up with the leaders but to no avail in getting his lap back. He would finish 32nd on the day, in what he claimed best road course car of his career.
Tony Pizzaro shot from the 17th starting spot to first at the halfway point. He would lead the next 19 circuits, hoping to rebound back to form after an unbelievable first 26 races.
Jimmie Stevens, Ben Geer and Randy Dobbins all endured accidents during the middle-portion of the event. Stevens, who was inside the top-10 all day, crashed hard on the inside-backstretch-straightaway after contact from Adam Crapser. He would finish 22nd on the day. Geer and Dobbins both went a lap down after their incident and finished outside the top-30.
Two drivers looking for their first victories of the season were neck-and-neck for the second position. Ken Pettit was holding his own after some horrible finishes at road courses in the last couple of seasons. He would make the pass on Johnny Reed Foley, enjoying his last days at Shake N' Bake Racing in grand style.
The Fenway Park crew missed a lug-nut on their pit stop as the Red Sox Fusion vibrated profusely, forcing Pizzaro to give up the lead, and his hopes of winning his second race of the season. His teammate led a 1-2-3 group of non-winners in 2021, with Foley and Zach Michael ready to pounce.
Alex Crapser led 32 laps, and was in the 4th position when his engine let go. A devastating blow to the #04 bunch, dropping them to 10th in the standings after another unbelievable road course run. Late in the going, Scott Drake went for a ride across the asphalt to bring out the final caution.
Zach Michael made his move during the waning laps, already past Foley and drafting up to the Ken Pettit machine. He dove underneath the #8 entering the backstretch chicane and pulled off the pass in style as Domino's and Zach Michael look to win their first race for Team Danger Zone.
Even the Scott Drake caution couldn't stop the momentum, as Michael soared to a near two-second advantage in just three laps to score his first victory of the season in race 32 of 36. Congrats to Zach, crew chief Justin Knapp, and the entire Team Danger Zone team for a excellent victory!
2021 Bank of America 400 Race Video
