The winner of the Pizza Hut 400 at Kansas will receive free Pizza Hut pizza for the next 365 days, until the 2024 Pizza Hut 400. Just like the lactose-sensitive Indy 500 winners, the Extravaganza vegan's may pull over with 10 laps to go and let the meat eaters have at it. Which carnivore will win this week? Ryan Heuser and John Battista come in as the pre-race favorites.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Three-wide mania from 6th on back suffocated the field through the first ten laps. Ryan Heuser and Dave Miller would strike the outside wall entering turn- on lap 2, with both drivers dropping from the top-half of the field to back of the pack. All three Quick-Silver drivers would struggle at one point during the race, with Craig Lee dropping to 26th in points after finishing three laps down in 41st. It would be his fourth straight finish 37th or worse, and fifth of his last six, easily the worst stretch of Lee's Extravaganza career.

Alan Nesfeder tied for the pole with Ben Geer, recording the same 192.157 second lap. Geer would drop outside the top-10 early, while Nesfeder remained in the lead for the initial 37 circuits. John Battista took over the spot in search of his 5th win in 2023.

Despite the four victories, neither of them have come at a 1.5-mile speedway. Battista has finished 44th, 45th and 7th at the three run so far, only leading one lap of his 660 on the year. Winless Extravaganza Champion Rick Jackson took the top-spot from the #39 on lap 54, leading his first 1.5-mile lap of the year.

A short-pit strategy on pole-sitter Nesfeder brought the #78 Coke-Zero Chevrolet back to the top, remaining up front for nearly the entire green flag run. Battista would take over just two laps before Nesfeder's second stop, where the #78 came out over two seconds ahead. He would win the halfway-bacon bonus and finish the event with 128 laps up front.

Timothy McDonnell's fuel mileage gave him a tire advantage by pitting three laps later than Battista, and six laps after leader Nesfeder. The upper hand helped him navagate through lapped-traffic easily, passing Mark Heron, Aaron Cummings and Steven Spears before a bid for the lead on lap 153. He'd remain there for the rest of the green flag run.

Despite having zero cautions for the first two-thirds of the event, attrition still played a minor factor. David Butterworth suffered from a loose battery after contact on the racetrack, putting him five laps down. Jonathan Skrabacz and Donald Stewart suffered blown engines around the halfway mark, dropping to 20th and 30th in the standings due to the misfortune.

The short-pit approach by Nesfeder would secure him the top-spot after every pit stop, only to lose it late in the run. This time he would relinquish the spot to John Battista only ten laps in, with Tim McDonnell directly in tow in a two-car freight to the lead. McDonnell would pass Battista in turn-1 on lap 200, making it a seemingly two-car race to the finish with 67-to-go.

Timothy McDonnell's previous victory was last year at the Charlotte Road Course. His last win at an oval was the Firecracker 400 in 2021. Miraculously, he hasn't been victorious at a speedway since his 2020 Championship-clinching win at Homestead in 2021, winning Martinsville, Dover and sweeping the Pocono Duel's during the same season. WIth 50 laps remaining, McDonnell looks to be the driver to beat.

A three-second lead coming into the pits was stabilized by the revered Tim McDonnell crew, exiting three-seconds ahead of Logan Sheets with a hard charging John Battista behind. McDonnell navigated through the lapped traffic in grand style. Battista made his move by Sheets for second place with four laps-to-go, only to surrender the spot to the #58 one lap later. McDonnell remains over a second ahead after taking the white flag.

It's a pinnacle evening for the #22 Caterpillar team, looking to return back to form as a redemption race from their domination of the Coca-Cola 600 last season. The pit crew as well as the driver won McDonnell this race, enduing a caution-free sauna-fest for a race-record 2:10:38 hours and an average speed of 183.984 miles-per-hour, second fastest of the year below Talladega's 196.410. The team will jump from 13th to 9th in the standings after the win. Congrats to Tim, crew chief Kenzou Yamada and the entire CFM Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!

2023 Pizza Hut 400 Race Video