A fantastic day at Alabama's greatest motorplex sees 350,000 fans anxious for the arrival of 46 of the fastest racecars in the world. Speeds over 200 miles-per-hour will be constant throughout, with only the roar of the fans out-screaming the echo of the cars. Eight different makes attempt to prove who the fastest racecar in the world is. With the right driver, the winning manufacturer could be propelled to the ultimate height.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The field rolls off the grid with two objectives in mind. One is the points battle between Ken Pettit and Ryan Heuser, each beginning the day 119+ points ahead of their nearest competitors. They will start first and 10th respectably, near the front and hoping to stay ahead of the ensuing chaos for the entire 188-lap distance.

An immaculate pole lap of 205.225 miles-per-hour by title contender Tony Pizzaro puts him at the front of the grid for the third time in 2023. John Battista rolls along the outside row, taking the field in a 1-2 punch of favorites to win the event. Battista is looking for victory #8 on the year, hoping to prevail in his annual pre-season promise of winning double-digit races.

Despite the incredible lap time by himself, leading in traffic proved to be an issue for the #12 Fenway Frank machine, handing the top-spot to Ryan Hesuer by the end of the first lap. He would earn his five bonus points immediately while points leader Pettit meandered through the three-wide traffic towards the middle of the pack. Halfway through the first fuel run, Heuser, Matthew Dominique and John Tharp would all take turns leading the field with the #25 seemingly unstoppable in clean air.

Several drivers lost the lead pack early during the initial green flag run. David Baldinger, Bink Lucas, Alan Nesfeder, Tony Long, Connor Germain, and surprisingly John Battista failed to maintain enough speed to keep up with the pack, falling to the wayside before the 50-lap mark. Up front, Johnny Reed Foley took over the helm after a fantastic pit stop, with Dave Miller and Rick Jackson in tow through lap 80.

Matt Raboin, Donald Stewart and Dave Miller continued to swap the top-spot with Miller eventually eclipsing the halfway bacon bonus on lap 94. A miraculous come-from-behind effort by Ryan Heuser, Ken Pettit, William Perry, Ken Joynt and Markell Murphy pulled their five-car pack from six seconds back to the lead group, extending the front pack from 19 to 24 cars. This would be an omen for the remainder of the event.

The second round of pit stops concluded with Jonathan Skrabacz, Alex Crapser, Matthew Dominique and Markell Murphy all swapping the lead through the lap 120 mark. Again, Heuser was able to lead a freight-train of eleven cars to the front pack after another mediocre pit stop, capping his effort by taking the top-spot on lap 125. He would remain there for 16 more circuits before a three-wide maneuver by teammates Matthew Dominique and Logan Sheets made it a Quantum Racing 1-2. Logan would hold the lead before the final green flag pit stops.

An inexplicable lack of attrition and caution flags remained in-tact throughout the entire event. Only four exceptions occurred, with Dakota Wilkins, Johnny Reed Foley, Mark Heron and Ben Geer all falling to the wayside due to motor failures. Everyone else finished no worse than two laps down, finishing with an Extravaganza Series record of 42 cars finishing the event in a restrictor plate race.

The lead pack was reduced to nine lead-lap cars for the 30-lap stretch to the finish. Scott Jackson exited the pits as the leader, joining Matthew Dominique, Logan Sheets and Markell Murphy as drivers hoping to earn their first victory in 2023. Sheets and Rick Jackson would drive by Scott, swapping the top-position for the ensuing laps before Ryan Heuser took the lead outright on lap 165. His car would remain unstoppable for the entire run despite several attempts by Zakk Miller and Rick Jackson to steal the lead away.

After what presumed to be a wild card race for the eight drivers behind in the Championship standings, Ryan Heuser and Ken Pettit still proved to finish the race on top. Alex Crapser, Rick Jackson and Zakk Miller all used remarkable pit strategy and immaculate speed to keep up with them, but that is all they could do. Pettit and Heuser would only strengthen their points lead to 173 over third place Crapser, in hopes of continuing to pull ahead and make it a two-car Championship race as we look towards Homestead.

The finish for second place was close between Logan Sheets, Jackson and Miller, but it was to no avail. Ryan Heuser dominated the field to earn his third victory of 2023, making it look like his typical Richmond performances of pulling away from the pack. He had the fastest racecar by far, a good omen for the final five races, especially after earning his third-straight top-5 finish. Despite the success, Ken Pettit earned his sixth top-6 finish in his last seven races, and remains the points leader by 45 heading into Charlotte. There's still more work to be done by the Quick-Silver brigade. Congrats to Heuser, crew chief Mustard Mahoney and the entire Quick-Silver Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!

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