Johnny Reed Foley lost the points lead to Ken Pettit for the first time since Gateway in early June. The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet won that race, cruising from the 19th starting position to nab the victory over Ryan Heuser, Rick Jackson, and miracle-man Cristian Torres. They come to a similar venue in Loudon hoping to duplicate their flat-track success and earn the points lead back!
Race Results
Points Standings
Race Recap
Dave Miller won two-straight poles to begin the 2024 season. Despite a drought of zero top-5 starts since and many towards the rear of the field, the #90 Marlboro Chevrolet starts atop the board for the New England 300. Miller would lead the first six laps before hometown-hero Tony Pizzaro took the helm, hoping to rectify his lackluster season.
Despite the progressive banking and the outside marbles, three-wide racing was plenty during the early stages of the event. Up front, Pizzaro led the show, with Craig Lee and John Tharp navigating through the traffic with the two fastest cars in the field. They would both fail to catch Pizzaro, Miller and Bink Lucas at the helm before the first caution flag.
Lucas Racing tried a new gear ratio for New Hampshire, amplifying their speeds at the end of the straightaways. Tony Tonto Sr.'s immaculate power plants fell to he wayside; first with Adam Crapser on lap 28 and then John Battista on lap 76. An enormous blow for the Wendy's Chevrolet, ending their three-race top-10 streak and dropping from 7th to 13th in the standings with their 6th DNF. Adam fell from 15th to 18th in points. On lap 134, Dalton Lucas would struggle with an engine-miss, limping home to 41st.
Battista's engine failure brought out the first caution flag. Miraculous pit work by Dave Miller's "Marlboro Man" crew put them back on top, leading the field to the start for a second time. By the end of the third lap, Pizzaro's Fenway Frank machine would take the lead back. He and Johnny Reed Foley pulled away from the rest of the pack, maintaining the top-2 positions through the halfway point.
Johnny Reed Foley's AC-Delco "Battery Acid" Championship pit crew stopped one lap before the Fenway Frank #12, coming out with a 2+ second advantage and their first lead of the race. Pizzaro endured a minor tangle with Steven Spears on pit entry; now mired with Ryan Heuser and Zakk Miller in a battle for the second position. Heuser would pass the #12 on lap 185. Both drivers would catch Foley who was struggling to meander past the myriad of lapped traffic ahead.
Intense battling ensued throughout the field, mostly in front of the leaders as drivers frantically attempted to stay on the lead lap. By the end, only 20 cars would achieve the feat without a caution flag to fall. 41 drivers would make it to the finish line despite the enormous toll. Up front, Ryan Heuser made it past Johnny Reed Foley for the lead with 75 laps-to-go.
A morbid explosion for points leader Ken Pettit! The #8 Bob Marley Race-2-Win entry's first engine failure of 2024 couldn't have come at a worse time with the lack of attrition delegating him to a 42nd place finish. It was an all-day struggle, barely riding inside the top-20 before the detonation. Up front, Zakk Miller, Logan Sheets, Zach Michael and Tony Pizzaro battled ferociously for third position with the top-2 completely out of sight.
Ryan Heuser and Johnny Reed Foley came out of the pits side-by-side with the #3 coming out on top with 48 laps-to-go. The #138 NOS Energy Chevrolet would tread the tire marks of Foley for the remainder of the race, diving underneath the #3 on corner entry on several occasions. The progressive banking and lapped traffic gave Foley the edge, gapping himself by a couple of car-lengths to clinch his fourth victory of 2024!
Johnny Reed Foley is back atop the Championship lead! A morbid day for Ken Pettit puts Foley in a 138-point advantage with six races remaining in the regular season. The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet also ties Dakota Wilkins with most victories on the year, as well as most Top-5's, most Top-10's, and most laps led; an utterly dominating performance thus far! Congrats to Foley, crew chief Ronnie "Pure Love" Pressley and the entire CFM Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!
2024 New England 300 Video
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