Alabama stands strong! 300,000 fans produce a buzz over the 2.6-mile facility, rooting for their favorite driver to dominate the slipstream! Ken Pettit comes in 16 points ahead of Johnny Reed Foley for the lead in the 2024 Championship standings . Ryan Heuser, Craig Lee, Zakk Miller and John Tharp all trail within 100-points of the Bob Marley Race-2-Win #8. Each of them has enjoyed success at Talladega in the past.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Craig Lee nabs his first pole since the Southern 500 in 2023, locking him into the 2024 Big Bud Shootout! He and teammate Ryan Heuser would lead the initial laps, with only Mark Heron and David Courtney struggling to keep pace with the duo. 43 cars remained in the lead draft through lap-10, with John Battista, Johnny Reed Foley, Jimmie Stevens and Logan Sheets showing speed up front.

The AC-Delco #3 extends his new lap-led streak to two races after taking the top-spot over Heuser on lap-4. He would dominate the stint, with a charge from Dave Miller and Markell Murphy as the only hindrences to his perfect green flag run. Foley would remain atop the leaderboard through his first pit stop on lap-51.

The 2023 Champion has gone down! Ryan Heuser explodes an engine on lap-25, splitting the field in half as they attempt to scurry past on the backstretch. The #138 NOS Energy Chevrolet came in only 45 points back from Ken Pettit. He would exit the race with a last-place finish, dropping to 7th in the standings. Ben Geer and Michael Henson would also drop, with David Butterworth passing Henson for 30th in points. Geer would remain 27th.

John Battista and the Wendy's Lucas Racing Chevrolet came out of the pits as the leader. On lap-60, rookie Rod Weston would get a push from points leader Ken Pettit to earn his first career lap led! It took Rod and the NAPA Sim World Motorsports Dodge 33 starts to complete the feat, also hoping for their third-straight top-20 result. They would finish 19th.

Dave Miller, John Tharp and Adam Crapser all took turns at the heap before ferris-wheeling to the mid-pack. John Battista and Johnny Reed Foley cycled back to the front by lap-70, with John Tharp, Timothy McDonnell and Alex Crapser fighting to lead the half-way lap! 20-cars remained in the lead group, with a pack of six including Craig Lee, Chauncey Redmond, Jimmie Stevens, Zach Michael, David Butterworth and Steven Spears miraculously running them down.

Bink Lucas nabs the Halfway-Bacon Bonus, eating his bacon-wrapped lifesavers in immaculate style! The #5 "Candy Machine" leads it's first laps since Chicagoland, attempting to end a six-race streak of finishes between 20th and 29th. Bink would accomplish the feat with his first top-5 finish since his victory at Texas in March. He would remain at the helm until his second stop on lap-105.

Scott Jackson and Timothy McDonnell were the only drivers to take on two-tires, rendering their long-run status up in the air. The #38 ATEUP Chevrolet was able to maintain the lead out of the pits for a whopping four laps before the pack finallycaught him, handing John Battista the advantage through lap-135. Zach Michael, Molemar Diggs, Scott Jackson, Rick Jackson, Ken Pettit and Timothy McDonnell all took turns at the helm before the 30-to-go mark. Early race dominator Alex Crapser would fall to a flat tire, finishing four laps down and dropping to 10th in the standings.

John Battista, Craig Lee, Logan Sheets, Zach Michael, Molemar Diggs, Rick Jackson, Timothy McDonnell, Matthew Dominique, Scott Jackson, Bink Lucas, Alan Nesfeder, Ken Pettit and Matt Raboin all battled maniacally for the final 20-lap shootout. The dictionary states maniacal as "mentally ill and may be dangerous". A perfect description! John Battista leads through lap-166 before Craig Lee scurries by on the inside. An unbelievable comeback story, barely hanging on to the second and third packs for over half of the race. Craig would lead every pack he was in, climbing from nearly 10-seconds behind after the first pit stop to lead the event without the help of a caution flag.

The fastest race in Extravaganza Series history loomed between Craig Lee and John Battista! Lee's power-plant teammate Matthew Dominique pushed the #101 on the outside lane, with Bink Lucas helping the man who got him his first Extravaganza Series ride at Pocono in 2019. With two laps remaining, the two drivers swapped, with Dominique now pushing Battista. They raced side-by-side for the final five miles, with half of the crowd pulling for Lucas Racing restrictor-plate domination to thrive again! The other half wanted Craig Lee to pull through for QSM to get back in the win-column. The latter would be satiated! Craig Lee crosses the finish-line by a nose to capture a victory in the fastest Extravaganza Series race to date!

202.881 miles-per-hour! Holy crap! No cautions and only three pit stops, with five engine-casualties as the only hindrance to the field. Craig Lee's second victory of the season puts him only 22-points behind Ken Pettit, who finished 11th on the day. The two combined have been the most consistent drivers since Gateway in June, capturing top-12's on a consistent basis while Johnny Reed Foley steals the spotlight. Foley is now 56-points back after an air-wrench failure on his final pit stop, finishing 26th. Craig Lee's last Championship was almost a decade ago in 2015. Despite the odds and Quick-Silver's lack of victories on the year, he might do it again. Congratulations to Craig Lee, crew chief Pokey Reese and the entire Quick-Silver Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!

2024 Yellow Brick Road 500 Video