Lucas Racing occupies the top-2 positions at the start and looks to be the powerhouse of Speedweeks. They dominated the finish of the Daytona 500 last year, with lofty perseverance and the horsepower of a spacecraft throughout the week. It's more of the same in 2023, with 18 other drivers attempting to defeat the Crapser-Battista duo and crown themselves Big Bud Shootout Champion!
Bud Shootout Race Results
The green flag waved with a congregation of fans waiting to see their favorite Extravaganza Series drivers for the first time in 2023. Zach Michael made headway with draft help from Ryan Heuser at the start, darting past the Lucas Racing duo and into the top-spot. Ryan would make his bid for the helm one lap later, leading through lap 10.
John Tharp led laps 11 through 14 with draft help from Johnny Reed Foley, looking forward to his second season driving the CFM #3. Ryan Heuser would lead through lap 20 before the good handling cars found their way to the front. Bink Lucas, Tony Pizzaro, Johnny Reed Foley, Dave Miller and Donald Stewart all led a lap before green flag pit stops just after the halfway mark.
The three Lucas Racing entries entered pit road first on lap 31. The QSM cars followed suite two laps later. In between, Michael Henson, Tim McDonnell, Bink Lucas, Donald Stewart, Rick Jackson and Matthew Dominique all had miraculous pit-stops and engaged a six-car cavalry at the head of the field.
The first crash of 2023 occurred on lap 36 after contact between Zach Michael and Ryan Heuser entering turn-3. Heuser slid up the racetrack into Johnny Reed Foley, careening the outside of both of their cars hard into the wall. Craig Lee received minimal damage while attempting to avoid the accident, and all three were rendered too impaired to compete for the win.
The field bunched back up with Tim McDonnell at the helm, after meandering in the back all evening. It is a 10-lap shootout to the finish. Michael Henson flew by McDonnell on the inside lane in hopes of pulling off the upset of the century. He would make it stick, keeping the top-spot through lap 44.
The Lucas Racing dynasty have traipsed their way back to the front. Alex Crapser made his move with 7 laps to go and succeeded, sending Henson's Cindarella story to the dumpster fire. Out of nowhere, Zach Michael skyrocketed to the lead and dominated the final five laps, keeping at least a 1 car-length distance throughout and to the finish.
Despite a holocaust of lapped traffic coming to the checkered flag, the decade of second-place finishes in this event has been conquered! Zach Michael is finally your 2023 Big Bud Shootout Champion! He led the first lap along with the final five, and enters the 2023 season with the momentum of a railcar. Congrats to Zach, crew chief Justin Knapp and the entire Team Danger Zone crew for an excellent victory!
2023 Big Bud Shootout Video!
