Kelpo-man Tony Gunk started the race in a frenzy! The #59 Solomon-Tark Motorsports entry dropped from 6th to 14th on the start, gaining two spots in the pits while maintaining pace between 11th and 14th. He re-entered the top-10 after a pass on Markell Murphy, navigating to the 6th position before the tires fell. Crossing the half-way mark in 11th, nobody expected this man to be a legitimate factor. His 27-lap led performance in the Coca-Cola 600 was deemed an honorable achievement, but impossible to improve upon.
A lap-120 restart saw Geno Sphere, Molemar Diggs, Dan Johnston, Matthew Dominique, Adam Crapser, Zakk Miller, Jeremy Hebel, Jimmie Stevens, Donald Stewart and Tony Gunk occupy the top-10. Diggs passed Sphere after the restart, leading through the 100-to-go mark before the #444 took back the helm. Molemar blew a camshaft just five laps later. Adam Crapser made multiple bids on the inside after inheriting the second position. His #4 Green Bay Packers Chevrolet would be denied each time.
A restart with 53-to-go was the catalyst! A three-wide battle of the ages saw Matthew Dominique and Adam Crapser sandwich the #444, with miracle-man Tony Gunk looking to pounce with pressure from Zakk Miller and Ben Geer behind. Dominique's SRT Viper won the battle, with Gunk's Kelpo #59 Dodge following through in a 1-2 Chrysler tango. A yellow with 30-to-go saw Gunk, Adam Crapser and Timothy McDonnell take on four fresh tires. They'd drop to 13th, 14th and 15th.
Matthew Dominique, Tony Pizzaro, Matt Raboin, Markell Murphy, Ben Geer, Rod Weston. Cristian Torres, Logan Sheets, Geno Sphere, Alan Nesfeder, Zakk Miller and Dave Miller all attempted to fight-off the tire-men in the back. The #25 led the field throughout the run, with Murphy and Raboin excavating past the Fenway Frank machine for second and third spot. Behind them, Gunk was the first tire-getter to fly through the lapped traffic, jumping to the seventh position with 20-to-go.
Gunk pulled a double-three-wide maneuver on Alan Nesfeder, Geno Sphere, Cristian Torres and the lapped car of Alex Crapser to jump from tenth to seventh. He double-downed on miracle-men Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro, passing by Logan Sheets and Ben Geer with relative ease to jump to fourth. Gunk passed Matt Raboin for third with 17-to-go. He'd steal second from Markell Murphy the following lap, hoping to eradicate the two-second barrier between he and leader Matthew Dominique.
With twelve-to-go, the Kelpo-man was there. An easy pass on the inside catapulted Gunk to the lead as Timothy McDonnell and Adam Crapser followed through. All three used the same tire strategy to earn an eventual top-four finish, with Gunk using a less conservative approach to soar through the field. Gunk's #59 gapped Dominique a full second-per-lap, cruising to the biggest upset in Extravaganza since Mark Guthrie's Bristol win just five years prior. Tony Gunk's Kelpo Dodge would cross the line first for a miracle victory at Gateway!
Tony Gunk's best career finish was seventh in the 2025 Coca-Cola 600. He led late, but was pulverized by Ziggy Moonglow, Tony Pizzaro and Alex Crapser. This time, he out-smarted them all. The Kelpo #59 is a fan favorite, navagating the "Kelpo-Cam" to show battles through the rear of the field. He and Mike Carroll's "SPAM cam" were thought to have no chance at glory, signifying the typical driver who makes most of the shows, but will never contend for the win. Gunk conquored the odds tonight, beating the best and signifying his status as a possible top-gunner in Extravaganza's future. The Solomon-Tark Motorsports team builds their engines in-house, sometimes using scrap metal from trash cans to finish leftover welding jobs. Congratulations to Tony Gunk, crew chief Lester Evans and the entire Solomon-Tark Motorsports organization for their first career victory!
Zakk Miller wins his third pole of 2025! An excellent start, propelling the #30 Team Danger Zone Bepis Mustang to "elite" status after his victory at Richmond. Miller had struggled under the lights previously, finishing 38th, 44th and 45th at Daytona, Darlington and Charlotte. A second-straight victory will help tamper their demons. Speaking of demons, a demonic start to the season puts Ken Pettit and Scott Jackson in the proverbial crows-nest. They need a top-10 finish to bounce themselves back into the top-35.
The green flag waves! Fans watch as "charcoal man" Geno Sphere attempts to pass Miller for the lead. The #444 Kingsford Chevrolet hasn't led a lap since Bristol, bettering his previous-best starting spot of 13th in hopes of his first career victory. Towards the back, contact from Alex Crapser sends Dalton Lucas flying through the backstretch infield! He'd slide up the track, devastating the turn-3 wall and into Mike Carroll. Both failed to continue.
Johnny Reed Foley and Ryan Heuser enter Gateway second and third in the standings. Both qualified towards the rear, with Heuser tapping the apron after 1 turn-3 check-up. The #138 NOS Energy Chevrolet lost the handling, sliding into the AC-Delco #3 radiator-first. Heuser would limp to a 24th place finish. Foley headed home for the third time in 2025. Up front, Ziggy Moonglow inherited the lead with Donald Stewart, Ben Geer and Tony Pizzaro the only four cars to stay out.
The #02 Coca-Cola Chevrolet led the field through lap 46. Points leader Tony Pizzaro took the helm, hoping to take advantage of Heuser and Foley's misfortune by leading his league-leading 13th race of the year. Hard charges from Donald Stewart, along with the fresh-tire duo of Zakk Miller and Geno Sphere were denied. A Ziggy Moonglow and Michael Henson crash brought out the caution on lap-76.
Up front, leaders Donald Stewart and Geno Sphere navigated through the men trapped one-lap down after a short-pit strategy gone awry. Sphere took the top-spot on lap-84. John Battista, Dan Johnston, Matthew Dominique and Molemar Diggs followed him through. Despite taking it easy, second-place man John Battista blew a piston, dropping to 19th in points after entering the year as a top-3 favorite for the title. Sophomore-man Molemar Diggs inherited the spot, eventually obliterating his camshaft and damaging the firewall. Scott Jackson also blew a piston, finishing outside the top-30 for the ninth time in seventeen races.
A hard-luck ride through the infield grass! Rob Scarberry and Steven Spears tangle, slamming the inside wall and nearly back into traffic. Spears would become the seventh casualty, with Rob limping to 33rd with a broken heim-joint. Allstate-man Dan Johnston gets tagged by Doug Spark, falling into Craig Lee's path with points leader Tony Pizzaro narrowly escaping on the inside. Lee would drop to 9th in the standings. Up front, Molemar Diggs stole the Halfway- Bacon-Bonus from Geno Sphere.
Devastation after a long green flag run. Zach Michael slams the pit wall, with Michael Henson spinning away from the demolished #20 Coca-Cola Mustang. Miraculously, both drivers came out okay, with Zach gaining a spot on Foley in points despite failing to finish. A Dan Johnston flip entering turn-1 ended both nights, with Henson failing to finish for a fourth-straight week. Johnston was unhurt, ending his 14-race top-30 streak in a shower of sparks! A Rod Weston, Rob Scarberry and Cristian Torres accident in turn-2 brought out the final caution flag.
