Despite the adversity, Ken Pettit remains the points leader heading into "The Rock". No finish worse than 24th, and only two results outside the top-6 so far. He will start 28th today. His counterpart Ryan Heuser is on the pole, looking to diminish the 91-point gap.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The green flag waved. Heuser led the first three laps before a hard-charging Team Danger Zone duo freight-trained him. Zach Michael led the next seven. Markell Murphy led most of the green flag run, with Bink Lucas and John Battista making hard-charges for the top-spot.

Ken Pettit slithered through the field in grand style. The pulsating hearts of the New York faithful were enraptured with joy, watching their driver meander from 28th to the lead before green flag pit stops. Nobody could stop this man. An early pit stop put Murphy and Bink Lucas back on top, with the top-3 in points occupying the next three positions.

The #5 and #47 swapped the lead a couple times before John Battista took it away on lap 105. He would start lapping cars, including Timothy McDonnell and Alex Crapser who failed to move forward after starting in the rear. Battista lapped through 32nd position before losing the lead to Ryan Heuser.

The top-2 in points alternated the lead before Pettit took it outright on lap 39. He would win the "Halfway Bacon Bonus", losing the top spot only once during green flag pit stops. A short-pit by Johnny Reed Foley had him up front some, but the top-3 in points would again occupy the top-3 positions. Suddenly, distaster struck. Ken Pettit made contact with Chauncey Redmond Jr., who was trying to un-lap himself after a blown tire. The nice, pristine Bob Marley machine flew into the outside wall hard, with both sides caved in along with severe engine damage. The chink in the armor was finally found.

The caution finally came out nearly two-thirds into the event. Alan Nesfeder and Cristian Torres made contact entering turn-3, sending both cars into the outside wall with Torres sliding down the racetrack. Zach Michael was the only driver to hit him, with John Tharp slamming Michael in the rear. After 224 hard-fought laps, they would finish 44th and 45th. By this time, Pettit had made a pit stop to repair the damage, earning one of his two laps back with his fresher tires.

The ensuing restart saw the #8 around once again, this time completely dismantled. A hard blow to the inside and outside walls was too much for the "Marley Tank". He flew up the racetrack after the first impact, tagging Markell Murphy, Matthew Dominique and Aaron Cummings. William Perry and Craig Lee failed to make it through unscathed. Ahead of them, leader John Battista tapped his teammate Dalton Lucas exiting turn-2, sending their cars towards the inside wall. Battista would continue, but Lucas was finished. David Butterworth, Dan Johnston, Bill Werkheiser, Rob Scarberry and Philip Parker were involved in a tertiary crash while racing back to the line. Five cars failed to continue, including points leader Pettit.

Ryan Heuser's newfound luck was glorious. He had occupied the points lead with minimal effort, and meandered inside the top-5 throughout the next green flag run. Johnny Reed Foley dominated up front, leading the field by three seconds. He would short-pit with 110 laps-to-go, attempting to split his pit stops into three equal segments. This would be his downfall.

Devastation occurred on lap 287. Dave Miller blew a right-rear tire exiting turn-2. He drifted up the racetrack into oncoming traffic, into the path of Markell Murphy and Craig Lee. Dave's car slipped upside-down and spun like a top, sliding down the banking and onto the turn-4 apron still on his roof. He would be alright. Tony Pizzaro and Randy Dobbins pilled into the accident from behind. Of the five, only Dobbins would continue in the race. Rob Scarberry would blow up under caution, leaving only 32 cars on the racetrack for the final 100-lap stint.

Johnny Reed Foley lost the top-spot after the short-pit, handing it to Bink Lucas. Bink pulled away from the field by two seconds and looked to be home free. He had not won all season, looking to capitalize on another strong performance. It was not to be. A blown right rear tire with 53 laps-to-go sent him to the pits. He would eventually regain the lead, but the time lost limping to pit road cost him. He would finish 5th. Ryan Heuser came out of the cycle of stops second, passing Bink with 20 laps-to-go and cruising to his fourth victory of the season.

A fortunate break put the #138 atop the points, but sweeping the weekend with a pole and a victory made it all the more glorious. Heuser would come out 41-points ahead of Pettit. The rest of the top-6 have a realistic chance at the title due to Pettit's misfortune, but Heuser's team seems to be out of reach to anyone but Pettit and John Battista. It will be an interesting final two weeks. Congrats to Heuser, crew chief Mustard Mahoney and the entire Quick-Silver Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!

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