Drivers recover from a 3,000-mile excursion from Daytona to California Speedway, enduring the blocked ear-lobes and hot California sunshine. They have finally landed, driving their own closed-course aircrafts at 190+ in qualifying. 30 divers were able to clinch that barrier, with Scott Jackson, Craig Lee and Champion Dave Miller struggling to find adequate speed during the week.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Timothy McDonnell becomes the first driver in Extravaganza to lead two races in 2023. He passed pole-sitter Rick Jackson and outside-starter John Battista on the first lap, leading the initial 24 circuits. He would battle Zakk Miller side-by-side for a good portion of the stint.

An engine failure on the #51 Aaron Cummings Toyota initiated a cluster of meandering racecars from behind. Rookie of the Year leader Ziggy Moonglow smashed into the back of him, triggering a minor pile-up on the entrance of turn-2. Philip Parker and Trae Larkin were also involved in the accident.

Before Moonglow and Cummings went to the garage area, Matthew Dominique took his first lead of the night after a three-wide boomerang move atop McDonnell and Miller exiting turn-2. He would remain atop the heap through lap-39 before a draft-train from Miller and Ryan Heuser returned the #30 to the forefront. After green flag pit stops, Donald Stewart and Matthew Dominique found themselves three-seconds ahead of the field with a minor short-pit strategy at the lap-50 mark.

The field began to thin rapidly after some 400-mile engines barely squeaked over 100. The current second-place driver and second-place finisher in the Daytona 500 blew up hard on lap-72, going from points leader to 15th in the standings in just a matter of minutes. Ben Geer and Ken Joynt would also fall to the engine bug, ending the day in 41st and 42nd.

Without draft help from the #25, Donald Stewart dropped into the clutches of the Quick-Silver powerhouse. Craig Lee drove from outside of the top-30 to the lead on lap-97, handing the way to Ryan Heuser a couple of laps later. Heuser would lead the halfway-bacon bonus, handing the top-spot back to Stewart after another short-pit on lap-100.

Stewart's deficit went from six to three seconds as Heuser and Rick Jackson made a paramount effort to catch the Clorox #55. Well behind, Scott Jackson and the lapped car of Chauncey Redmond Jr. slammed hard into the outside wall between turns 1 and 2. Jackson was running 23rd at the time, limping his way to 37th while Redmond finished 35th.

2022 Champion Dave Miller made his first move for the lead on lap 136. He would keep the top spot for the following 40 laps, giving 5-bonus points to all three Quick-Silver Motorsports cars. Bink Lucas, Johnny Reed Foley, Alan Nesfeder, Rick Jackson, Zakk Miller and Dakota Wilkins all meander for the second-position and put themselves in reach for the victory.

Zach Michael and Tony Pizzaro were the first of the leaders to make their final pit stop on lap 170. They, Zakk Miller and Dakota Wilkins all exited the pits in a six-car breakaway pack with a couple of lapped cars to follow. Miller and Wilkins exited the pits two laps after Michael and Pizzaro.

The tire advantage for the Miller-Wilkins duo played well into the hands of the two starving drivers. The Rockie's machine came out of the pits first, leading the initial ten laps before Miller took the top-spot on the high line on lap 184. Six laps later, the #77 attempted the same exact shot off of turn-2 and perfected the pass, putting himself in position for his first career victory in his 50th career Extravaganza Series start.

The best finish of Dakota's career to date was a 3rd place at Bristol and Lime Rock Park towards the end of the 2022 season. The uphill trend would continue for the final laps of the Laurel Canyon 400, holding off a hard-charging Zach Michael for his first career Extravaganza Series victory! The Lucas Racing engine program has worked wonders for the Colorado-based organization, thriving with former Alex Crapser crew chief Jeremy Hebel atop the pit box. Congrats to Dakota, crew chief Jeremy and the entire Blazin' Pedals Racing team for an excellent victory!

2023 Laurel Canyon 400 Video