Impeccable starlight dominates the horizon of Daytona International Speedway! The starlight shines like the Extra-Terrestrial's fingertip, pointing at one of 46 cars as the "chosen winner" of the Coke Zero 400. 400,000-strong encapsulate the grandstands in hopes of their driver achieving immaculate glory; winning at the famed 2.5-mile coliseum.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The smoke-rings of cigarettes fly! The carbonation of beverages create a deafening sizzle across the bleachers, popping like eardrums as they await the 160-lap spectacle. Matthew Dominique and Ryan Heuser occupy the front-row as the green flag flies! Heuser would take the first lap, with Adam Crapser and Tony Pizzaro at the helm early.

A dominant early performance by the #4 Packers Chevrolet sent shock-waves across the garage area. Lucas Racing has dominated in the past, but Adam's respectable performances never saw him lead the field for more than a couple laps. Lucas Racing teammate John Battista and Zach Michael would joining the parade, hoping to race themselves back inside the top-10 in points.

Bonanza Series winner Mike Carroll stands within the Lucas Racing pit, searching for opportunities to develop his driver talent. Staring at Johnny Reed Foley's #3 might be his best option, coming in as the points leader and exiting pit road leading the front-running pack. Fourteen cars found their way to the top in hopes of pulling away from the rest.

Another morbid blow for Ryan Heuser! His Chevrolet would detonate while leading the outside line, causing intense chaos from behind with the billowing smoke. "My eyes felt like they were stung by an electrified wasp" said Wilkins, after narrowly escaping through the black smog. "Even my soft drink suffered. His exhaust was contaminated with some venomous alloy, turning my Coke green and my ice cubes purple!" The NOS Energy #138 would fall again, dropping to 29th in the standings with nine races left. He and Ben Geer dominate the DNF statistic, with Alan Nesfeder and Chauncey Redmond Jr. adding their own. The #78 crashed into Ken Pettit while entering the pits, becoming the first race-sponsored car to finish outside the top-43 in Extravaganza history. The #64 got caught in a three-wide skirmish while exiting, slamming into the William Perry car.

A Steven Spears spin brought out the first caution flag. The field re-grouped, allowing a second cycle of leaders including Zach Michael, Adam Crapser, Dave Miller and John Tharp. Dalton Lucas would win his first career Halfway Bacon Bonus, while Alex Crapser's crew chief Cheato Jacobsen downed a Whiplash Whopper from atop the pit box. "We're having fun while we still can" said Cheato. "The carnage is about to start. I can feel it in my esophagus."

Cheato was right. A myriad of accidents would occur during the two-thirds mark of the event. Ben Geer, Dan Johnston and Dakota Wilkins suffered during the first melee in turn-3. The second crash saw John Tharp, Superspeedway dominator Cristian Torres and Dalton Lucas fall victim to the same corner. Torres would fail to finish a restrictor-plate race for the first time since 2019, ending his near world-record run. Wilkins and Geer also failed to continue.

The final caution flag brought out by Jimmie Stevens, Dan Johnston and Rick Jackson set the pace for the remaining 30-lap stint. Jackson worked his way back to the lead lap after early race struggles, only to fall to the garage. Up front, Tony Pizzaro and Johnny Reed Foley would set the pace, leaving room for miracle-man Ken Joynt to take his shot at the victory!

The fortunes flowed in several directions. Craig Lee took his turn at the front, hoping to redeem Quick-Silver Motorsports after Ryan Heuser's engine woes and Dave Miller straggling deep in the pack. Matthew Dominique and Alex Crapser dominated the stint towards the end, swapping the lead several times while occupying the top-two spots with seven laps-to-go. Johnny Reed Foley made his move to the inside of the #04 with draft help from Pizzaro. They would tag-team past him, capturing Domninique the ensuing lap and sky-rocketing the #3 AC Delco Chevrolet to the top of the heap!

Alex Crapser made an imma ... Read more »