Zach Michael looks smooth! Four-straight top-15 finishes puts the #20 Coca-Cola Mustang atop the heap. A monstrous 42-point advantage over Johnny Reed Foley heading to the Pop Secret 400, starting deep in the field in 39th spot. Foley will grid 8th, with young-guns Adam Crapser and Jeremy Hebel occupying the front row. Timothy McDonnell and Ryan Heuser still have a shot at the title, also gridding outside the top-20. Can all four drivers stay on the lead lap? With the torrid pace of the front-runners in previous events, look for one of the title-contenders to fall behind early.

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

The green flag waves! Pole-sitter Adam Crapser fails to lead the first lap, relinquishing the top-spot to Zakk Miller on lap-1. Amazingly, Miller has failed to earn a pole since Watkins Glen, ending a streak of six in ten events during the summer-stretch. Despite the lack of front-row starts, their race-pace hasn't slowed, leading a lap in six of their last eight races. Seeing Team Danger Zone up front is a good omen for points-leade Zach Michael, mired in 40th-place by lap ten in an attempt to save tires. 

Alex Crapser's #04 Pennzoil Chevrolet was at the helm by lap-15. He and Tony Pizzaro attempted to pull away from the field, gapping the pack by a full two-seconds before the tires gave way. Johnny Reed Foley, Matt Raboin and John Battista had caught them, with Raboin's Valvoline Viper taking the top-spot away on lap-52. The #87 Quantum Racing team hasn't earned a top-3 finish since their victory at California in March, hoping to climb up the standings from their current 8th-place spot.

Mike Carroll, Scott Jackson, Tony Gunk, Trae Larkin, Jimmie Stevens, David Butterworth, Mark Heron, Rob Scarberry, Donald Stewart, Kevin Corbat, Ken Joynt, Molemar Diggs, Jonathan Skrabacz and Dalton Lucas all fell down a lap after the first round of pit stops. Zach Michael, Timothy McDonnell and Ryan Heuser fought defiantly to stay ahead of Raboin before the cycle, succeeding, though having to overcome the same obstacle for the second green flag run. Up front, Wendy's man John Battista passed Raboin for the lead, setting a blistering pace.

The #39 Lucas Racing Chevrolet lapped third-in-points Timothy McDonnell on lap-98! Fourth-in-points Ryan Heuser went down on lap-131, with points leader Zach Michael well in sight. Amazingly, Michael would hold Battista off for the remainder of the stint, only to lose his lap under the second green-flag stop. He was still running 16th, a good 23-spots gained from his 39th starting position. McDonnell came out of the pits in 22nd, with Heuser extending his fuel run, coming out 27th with fresher rubber. Johnny Reed Foley was fifth, in a virtual tie with Michael for the standings lead.

Dakota Wilkins came out on top! He pitted early, inheriting a five-second advantage over John Battista, with Ben Geer, Ken Pettit and Johnny Reed Foley in tow. Wilkins would win the Halfway Bacon Bonus, as he and Battista pulled to an enormous lead by lap-215, lapping everyone in the field through the seventh-place car. Battista re-took the top-spot after the next round of stops, with several drivers gaining their lap back by pitting early, including Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael. John Tharp used the same strategy, occupying the second position.

Johnny Reed Foley takes the lead! Five bonus-points while Zach Michael goes back a lap down. He and Ryan Heuser pitted earlier than Battista, with Heuser inheriting second-place after a masterful full-lap gain over the field, all under green! Then, disaster struck. John Tharp and Cristian Torres make contact entering turn-3, clipping Tony Gunk as all three wallop the outside wall. Torres gets knocked by Matthew Dominique and fifth-place Ken Pettit as the #26 slides onto the racing groove, with Logan Sheets, Zakk Miller, Mike Carroll and Tony Pizzaro failing to avoid. Most of the cars were parked over the banking transition, with smoke billowing towards the frontstretch grandstands. Tharp, Torres, Dominique, Carroll, Pettit and Sheets all failed to continue.

Johnny Reed Foley leads the field to green! John Battista fails to clear the lapped car of Steve Inkman, handing Ryan Heuser the inside lane to take the second spot. Heuser cleared Inkman with 53-to-go, catching the AC-Delco #3 and making the pass on the frontstretch. From there, it was no contest. Heuser gained a full lap under green to get back on the lead lap, maintaining the same pace up front and cruising to his 92nd career Extravaganza Series victory!

The #138 NOS Energy team fails to die! Three-straight DNF's to begin the Chase put them 209-points behind after Loudon. With two-straight wins, they are within striking distance of a fifth Championship crown! Johnny Reed Foley takes over the points lead by 3 over Zach Michael, who traversed to an 11th-place finish in the hardest race he'd ever run. Foley finished second, with Heuser 76-points behind heading to Homestead. Congratulations to Heuser, crew chief Mustard Mahoney and the entire Quick-Silver Racing organization for an excellent victory!