John Tharp earns his first career Sonoma pole! He, Timothy McDonnell and Scott Jackson have the highest average finishes here during the last five seasons, with the #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen starting on his outside. Jackson stole the win away from Tharp in 2021 after a late-race restart went awry. This is his chance for restitution.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The San Francisco carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide vaporize the skies! Former bread-truck driver and John Tharp gas-man Bill Webster never imagined being part of this immaculate California breeze. His car would take the top-spot  from Timothy McDonnell exiting turn-3, leading the first lap as the "techno explosion" residue falls from the sky.

The Zig-Zag #14's pace was insurmountable, pulling to 10-seconds ahead by lap 16. Timothy McDonnell, Logan Sheets, Matthew Dominique, Geno Sphere, Johnny Reed Foley and Zach Michael raced maniacally for the second position. Behind them, Chauncey Redmond Jr. attempted to hold off the remaining field to stay inside the top-10 and rectify his season. He would fail. Michael Henson became the first casualty, blowing up on lap-23.

Plenty of three-wide action occurred during the first green flag run. Several drivers meandered through the dirt, sending grasshoppers and crickets into the grandstands, alive and otherwise. "I've never seen a praying mantis liver before, but it landed in my Heineken." said one dismused fan. "I'm gonna sell it for a ticket to next years race!"

A turn-1 crash between Rod Weston and David Baldinger brought out the first caution on lap 40. Johnny Reed Foley was the only driver not to pit, trapping Craig Lee, Ryan Heuser, Ben Geer, Dalton Lucas, Steve Inkman, Chauncey Redmond Jr., William Perry, Alan Nesfeder, Markell Murphy, Bill Werkheiser, Dan Johnston and Ziggy Moonglow one lap down. Most would start ahead of Tharp after the restart, sending Geno Sphere and the remaining front-runners into a frenzy!

Impeccable moves put Johnny Reed Foley back to the fourth position after his track-position letdown, John Tharp led the halfway lap, earning the first road course slab of 2024! The bacon may have slowed the #14 Zig-Zag Toyota down with Foley, McDonnell, Matt Raboin, Zach Michael and Matthew Dominique all hard on the charge.

The tenacious battle for second place kept Tharp in the lead despite his slower stride. Johnny Reed Foley occupied the position just before green flag stops, seemingly faster than the #14 and pulling away from third place Zach Michael. Both drivers came in with 32 laps remaining, able to make their way to the finish on fuel. Zach Michael, Adam Crapser, Molemar Diggs, Geno Sphere, Zakk Miller, Cristian Torres and Bink Lucas each failed to pit before the caution flag flew, trapping them all from the finish they deserved.

A gruesome crash in shades of Ziggy Moonglow last season saw Rod Weston penetrate the pit road wall hard! Contact from Ryan Heuser sent both drivers sliding towards the entry, with the #56 slamming driver-side first into the tires. Weston was hurt; airlifted to Santa Rosa for further observation. It's been a difficult season for the Extravaganza rookie, currently 4th of 4 behind Molemar Diggs, Jeremy Hebel and Steve Inkman in the standings. The top-three are inside the top-35 in points, with Weston mired in 43rd despite decent finishes when making the show. Now, we can only hope he can finish the season. Ryan Heuser failed to finish as well but was uninjured. Another devastating result for the reigning Champion, exiting 213 points out of chase contention with only 10 races remaining. Out of the 46 drivers attempting to make every race of the season, Heuser comes out of Sonoma ranking 27th; unfamiliar territory for the team. He still leads the league in laps led, showing similar domination without the results to show it off. David Baldinger and Alan Nesfeder would spin on the ensuing restart, bringing out the third yellow flag of the race.

Zach Michael, Adam Crapser and Cristian Torres all showed top-10 speed during the first 80 laps. All three were now trapped towards the rear, with two falling to the wayside on lap 88. Geno Sphere and Steve Inkman made contact on the frontstretch, sending the #444 into the outside wall and into the Packers #4. Adam and Zach flew towards the inside tire barrier, with Adam able to steer away. Zach and Geno plowed into it hard, ending both of their races. Adam's car flew towards the racing groove and into Alan Nesfeder, retiring both of their cars as well. Zach dropped from 7th to 9th in the standings. Alan from 15th to 18th, and Adam from 18th to 21st.

A Chauncey Redmond Jr. spin brought out the final yellow with an ensuing 10-lap shootout to the finish. Timothy McDonnell had nabbed the lead away during the last green flag stop, keeping up pace despite John Tharp applying pressure from behind. Tharp snookered McDonnell on the restart, using his higher first gear to get alongside the #22 through turns-1 and 2. Tharp cleared McDonnell before reaching the old-carousel. He would never relinquish it.

The most dominating performance of the season by any driver is a paradox of Tharp's 2024 style. Nine-straight top-17 finishes to begin the year set the standard of "Mr. Consistency" along with fellow Mid-Westerner Scott Jackson. This time, like Jackson at Pocono, Tharp pulled off the victory. 82 laps led out of 110 is the second-highest percentage of any driver so far in 2024. He also bumps the #14 team to third in the standings behind Johnny Reed Foley and Ken Pettit with ten races remaining in the regular season. Congratulations to John Tharp, crew chief King Joe Dawkins and the entire PHR Racing organization for an excellent victory!

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