Nine different winners during the first nine events! The vitriol of Talladega could produce a tenth, with horsepower, pit stops and avoiding casualty the primary recipe for victory lane! Ryan Heuser stands on the gas as pole-sitter, leading the first 46-car field of the season!

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The Lucas Racing brigade caught the slipstream early, drafting with Ryan Heuser in a 1-2-3 punch at the front. Jimmie Stevens and Chauncey Redmond Jr. broke up the bash, working with points leader Zakk Miller and Johnny Reed Foley to pass the lead-trio. The "AMPIO" #2 stood atop the heap for 20 laps, as memories of their early season struggles dwindle into the abyss.

Chauncey Redmond Jr. took the lead outright on lap 32. He, Stevens and Heuser would dominate the remaining run, going 52-laps before the first fuel stop. "AMPIO's" teammate Bink Lucas and Steve Inkman fell to the engine bug early, both dropping outside the top-20 in points.

The entire field took fuel around the lap-50 mark with Matthew Dominique coming out on top. He and Markell Murphy raced defiantly for the top-spot before a Johnny Reed Foley push put the #47 in the lead. 18 cars still remained in the lead draft, with points leaders Zakk Miller, Ken Pettit and Alex Crapser seven seconds back after attempting to stretch their gas mileage.

Timothy McDonnell and John Battista both lost a lap early, one after pit contact and the former with a left-rear puncture. Rod Weston, Trae Larkin, Geno Sphere, Zach Michael, Ken Joynt, Mark Heron, Jeremy Hebel and Tony Long also lost a lap before the half-way mark. Markell Murphy and Matthew Dominique continued to dominate the remaining stint, with the Red Bull #47 earning the Halfway Bacon Bonus.

Murphy and Dominique came out 1-2 after the second stop, with Logan Sheets, Cristian Torres and Johnny Reed Foley suddenly in the fray. Adam Crapser, Scott Jackson and Geno Sphere would blow smoke after 100-straight laps of green flag action. Jimmie Stevens, who dominated the early portion of the event, lost a lap after a mortifying pit stop lost them the draft.

Dalton Lucas and Trae Larkin collide on the backstretch, collecting points contenders Ken Pettit and John Battista! Lucas and Molemar Diggs slid into the infield grass and up the turn-3 banking, with David Butterworth gyrating into the path of Bill Werkheiser. John Tharp was also involved, possibly ending his streak of nine top-20's to begin the year. He, Pettit and Miller would continue, with Lucas, Butterworth, Werkheiser and Battista heading to the garage after the accident. Still, 37 cars remained for the final 60 laps.

The Red Bull #47 continued to dominate after the restart, leading the field through lap 32 before Cristian Torres and Johnny Reed Foley took the point. Foley, Donald Stewart and Craig Lee each swapped the lead as we headed for the final round of green flag stops. Markell Murphy, Johnny Reed Foley and Matt Raboin came in the earliest, exiting the pits in-line with the pack and continuing their momentum.

Craig Lee runs out of gas with 28 to go! Teammates Logan Sheets and Matthew Dominique battle ferociously at the front, but came in to pit earlier than they anticipated after the #101's misfortune. From there, Alan Nesfeder, Matt Raboin, Dakota Wilkins, Donald Stewart and Alex Crapser joined in for the final seven-lap breakaway to the finish!

Logan Sheets made a bonzai move underneath Raboin to take the top-spot away with 6 laps to go! He pulled to a tectonic advantage with draft help from lapped traffic, handing Raboin, Crapser and Dakota Wilkins the slipstream of the century entering turn-1 on the penultimate lap! Wilkins made a three-wide move underneath the trio. He was successful, with help from Alan Nesfeder from behind. The two raced side-by-side for the entire white flag lap, with draft help from both sides and no direct challenge from behind!

Dakota Wilkins made it stick! The encapsulated crowd roared triumphantly, grapping their "trumpet day" souvenirs and blowing them defiantly into the sky! The Richter scale recorded a 2.4 as the #77 Colorado Rockies Chevrolet crossed the line in first place! Dakota becomes the unlikeliest first two-time winner in Extravaganza Series history, mimicking Skinny Mulligan's similar feat in 1968. They are now seventh in the standings as well, continuing to hold their ground amongst Extravaganza's elite! Congrats to Wilkins, crew chief Joe "Novacane" Densham and the rest of the Blazin' Pedals Racing organization for a fantastic victory!

2024 Diehard 500 Race Video