Deep in the Alabama grassland terrain lies the malevolent 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Many have captured the crown here in superlative style, though some have faltered to the infield demigods in recent past. Bink Lucas and Dan Johnston would be an ideal example of both circumstances, revitalizing their desire to finish victorious at this grand Superspeedway.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Michael Henson and Tim McDonnell establish the front row and take the green flag in sheer jubilation. The two have endured monstrously devastating seasons thus-far, each outside of the top-30 in points. The two couldn't hold the top spots for too long, leaving Craig Lee, Matthew Dominique, Geno Sphere, Tony Pizzaro, Donald Stewart and Adam Crapser with the shared advantage through lap-25.

The #4 Alvin machine proved a dominating force once again in 2022, leading the field through laps 11 and 25. Randy Dobbins had pushed his way through the turmoil to take the advantage on a three-wide move between Adam and John Tharp. He preserved the top-spot through lap 30 before the Quick-Silver powerplant ransacked their way to the top of the heap.

Ryan Heuser and Matt Raboin dominated the event through lap 30 and 50. The two swapped the lead three different times before handing the top-spot to Donald Stewart. Craig Lee surpassed the #55 machine after just one lap at the summit, leaving he and his teammate Heuser to battle it out for the ensuing 10 laps. Ben Geer would take the advantage on lap 61, with Johnny Reed Foley, Matt Raboin and John Battista earning their bonus points for the day through lap 75.

The turn-3 barrier was darkened by the shadows of yellow racecars just before the halfway point. Ryan Heuser and Alex Crapser made contact and hooked into Tim McDonnell, sending the #22 into a gargantuan blow to the outside wall. Heuser and Crapser also corralled the fence in unison while Rob Scarberry slammed into the passenger side of the McDonnell machine. McDonnell would end another race in sheer devastation, finishing 41st after a promising qualifying effort. He would drop from 507 to 642 points back from the standings leader by the completion of the event. Heuser was fortunately able to limp to 28th and avoid his 5th DNF in 2022, still leaving Talladega 796 points behind first place. Alex Crapser and Rob Scarberry would come home 33rd and 38th.

Tony Pizzaro, John Tharp and Logan Sheets took their turn at the top of the Talladega slipstream before a Team Danger Zone tag-team activated their playing cards. Steven Spears and Zach Michael led the field from lap 86 to 90, progressing their recent prosperity with the aspiration of winning their league leading third race of 2022. Johnny Reed Foley and Bink Lucas would also lead the ravaging field through the lap-100 mark.

Zach Michael took the lead away from the two competitive Quick-Silver machines on lap 121, leaving 3rd-in-points Dave Miller and the light-force of Craig Lee towards the back. Bink Lucas, Scott Jackson, John Tharp, Tony Pizzaro and Adam Crapser all swapped the lead before the 50-to-go mark. After the final green flag pit stops, it became a 6-car breakaway between Adam Crapser, Johnny Reed Foley, John Tharp, John Battista, Dave Miller and Logan Sheets to battle it out for the victory. 

A disastrous blow to the front pack with 18 laps remaining saw Johnny Reed Foley collide with the lapped car of Rob Scarberry. The #42 STP machine flew up the racetrack and crowded John Tharp into the barrier, with Foley spinning downward into the wayward path of Donald Stewart and John Battista. Other than Battista who would limp to 18th, every driver involved would fall to the wayside and finish outside the top-34 after a dominating effort.

A restart at the 13-to-go mark saw Logan Sheets at the helm of the pack in search of his first Extravaganza Series victory. Unfortunately, a vibration forced the #58 into the pit road, leaving Craig Lee at the front before the final caution flag. Alex Crapser went for a spin on the frontstretch after contact with Ben Geer, bringing out the yellow and forging a 4-lap shootout to the checkered.

Craig Lee led the field to the green flag, jumping ahead by several car-lengths before a pass from Tony Pizzaro on the backstretch sent him waning towards the back of the field. A hard charge from Adam Crapser was to no avail. The only chance to pass the #12 was a hard-charging slipstream from the #6 and #20 on the bottom lane. Bill Werkheiser managed to find the inside of the #12's quarter panel entering turn-3 only to have the #20 dip to the high line and give Tony Long his chance to pull Bill to the win. The Piper chevrolet came off of turn-4 with the seemingly preferred leverage at the bottom, while Pizzaro earned  the help of the entire Team Danger Zone brigade up top as they entered the tri-oval for the final time.

Pizzaro would have the advantage at the line with the better push, ironically from points leader Zach Michael who relinquished his top-spot in the standings to help push the Fenway Frank mobile to victory lane. Pizzaro would become the first two-time winner in 2022, looking to forward his momentum towards another Extravaganza Series Championship. Congrats to Tony, crew chief Neil Justice and the entire Race-2-Win crew for an excellent victory!

2022 Geico 500 Race Video, Part 1

2022 Geico 500 Race Video, Part 2

2022 Geico 500 Race Video, Part 3

2022 Geico 500 Race Video, Part 4