Timothy McDonnell, Rick Jackson, Zach Michael, Dave Miller, Dakota Wilkins, Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser, Matt Raboin and Markell Murphy all fight for Championship supremacy! Miller enters the Funai 400 just six points ahead Dakota Wilkins for 10th, hoping to race each other while holding off the Richmond elite. Ryan Heuser and Matt Raboin each come in less than 50 points behind both, dominating this facility more than any other driver. Logan Sheets hopes to play spoiler, while McDonnell, Jackson and Michael pray for a decent finish to solidify their title status.
Race Results
Points Standings
Race Recap
The first career pole for sophomore-man Chauncey Redmomd Jr.! He would hold off Alex Crapser and Matt Raboin for four laps before the Pennzoil #04 took the lead, with Raboin passing Redmond three laps later. A turn-2 crash between Adam Crapser, Dalton Lucas and Bink Lucas re-settled the field on lap-9.
David Butterworth inherits the lead by staying out, with Ryan Heuser and Ken Pettit taking two tires behind. The #81 Coors Light Dodge led only three laps the entire season, holding off the field for 15 more before the second caution flag. While the Coors Light driver leads, the Coors Field car falls to the frontstetch wayside. A morbid blow! Dakota Wilkins is out after only 24 laps, ending his Championship bid after a four-victory season. They entered Indianapolis 166 points ahead of 11th-place Matt Raboin. Now they are out, racing for most victories against Johnny Reed Foley for the remainder of 2024!
Alex Crapser and Ryan Heuser battle ferociously for the top-spot around the lapped car of Rod Weston. The #04 tapped the wall off of turn-2, handing the lead to Heuser while hoping to take advantage of Wilkins' misfortune. The #138 would pull away from the field in-shades of previous years of Richmond dominion. He would lap Rick Jackson. He would lap Timothy McDonnell. Zach Michael, Dave Miller and Logan Sheets hope to capitalize on the #22 and #44's lack of early speed.
A mortifying engine failure for Dave Miller! The drivers 10th and 11th in points are out, joining Wilkins as the remainder of the field roars around in a vortex of glory! Steven Spears, Timothy McDonnell and Trae Larkin crashed on the backstretch to end Heuser's domination. Not long afterwards, pole-sitter Chauncey Redmond Jr. went for a spin, slamming into Markell Murphy, who ricocheted into Timothy McDonnell's front radiator. McDonnell is out! Redmond would also fail to continue, with Murphy enduring on to limp the 400-mile distance. McDonnell came in 106-points ahead of Logan Sheets, 135 ahead of Ryan Heuser and 137 ahead of Matt Raboin. He will have to await word in the garage.
Matt Raboin pulls off a three-wide move off of turn-4 to take the lead from Heuser! Battista takes it back one lap later, earning the top-spot before the Redmond accident. Heuser would go for a spin on the backstretch to the delight of the #22 Caterpillar crew, though the #138 would not be denied! They'd come back out in 20th, driving to 16th after 10 laps in a seemingly unhindered racecar. Up front, Adam Crapser and Scott Jackson battled for the top-spot after staying out, with Jackson coming out on top. The old man "ATEUP" Jackson and "Fenway Frank" Pizzaro would dominate the remaining stint.
Jackson and Pizzaro swapped the lead several times after the halfway-point, with Pizzaro clinching the $100,000 slab! Miracle-man Steve Inkman battled ferociously to catch both of them hoping for the Cinderella story of the millenium! It was too good to be true. Rod Weston blew a tire off of turn-2, getting slammed by Alex Crapser before immaculate horror!
Scott Jackson and Steve Inkman pulverized into the crash, blind-spotted from the A-pillar off of the second corner. Pizzaro narrowly escaped on the inside, keeping the lead without incident. Matt Raboin also couldn't avoid the crash, destroying his radiator after a top-5 run and ending his Championship bid! It would be up to Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser and Timothy McDonnell's parked Volkswagen to decide who nabs the final chase spots.
Both Tony Pizzaro and Zakk Miller blew a tire after the restart after hitting debris from the accident. The #39 Wendy's machine takes his first lead of the night after his 40th starting spot, traversing methodically through the field during the first half. He would dominate the remaining stint, pulling to five-seconds ahead of Zach Michael before a lap-275 crash from Rick Jackson. He would continue on with minor rear-end damage, continuing his bid. It would be a 120-lap shootout to the finish!
Nobody knew for sure how much fuel would be consumed during a run. Every driver withdrew their chance to top-off despite only ten cars on the lead lap. Zach Michael took the lead from Battista with 91 laps-to-go. Both he and newly acquired points leader Johnny Reed Foley pulled to a three-second advantage over the rest of the field. John Battista short-pitted on lap 41. Michael and Foley came in four laps later, with the AC-Delco crew following through with an immaculate stop to beat out the #20. Coming out of the pits, John Battista and Foley were side-by-side for the win! Miraculously, Battista's older tires would pull ahead the battle, distancing himself from the #3 and the #20 throughout the final 30-lap run. The #39 Wendy's Lucas Racing Chevrolet would dominate without competition, sailing into the sunset for his first victory since the 2023 Sharpie 500!
John Battista's 33-race winless streak finally comes to an end! Lew Money and the crew fall across the frontstech grass, waiving their Wendy's baconators into the air as the crowd dumps french fries onto the frontstretch! The sizzling asphalt re-hydrates the potato grease, rendering the fries succulent to all! Everyone in the Extravaganza pits grabs whatever food they can find in honor of the #39's triumph! "The lettuce-mayo combination is immaculate. Dave Thomas was a good man!" Says Cheeto Jacobsen, teammate to the winner. "It's great to see them back in victory lane." Congratulations to John, crew chief Lew Money and the entire Lucas Racing organization for an excellent victory!
2024 Funai 400 Video
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