The sands of Las Vegas burn! Lizards catch on fire, while scorpions crawl to the local McDonald's too use the ice machine. "My snow cone didn't just melt, it evaporated!" said drag racer Don Prudhomme, carrying his half-liquified cone. "They wouldn't give me a refund, so I poured Coors Light in it and used it as a cup." Other fans poured jiffy pop into the cones, gratifying their culinary cravings in immaculate style!

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Timothy McDonnell starts on the pole; his first since the Southern 500 in 2022. A dry-spell of the Gods, with the #22 Caterpillar CFM Motorsports Volkswagen hoping to earn it's first victory in over two years! Like an overcooked patty with Squidward at the grill, the burnt devastation of winless woes has given this team more determination to win the title! McDonnell comes in 144-points back of leader Ryan Heuser.

The green flag waves! Several attempts by Zakk Miller, Adam Crapser and John Battista to possess the lead were thwarted, seeing the #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen up front for the first 47-laps. Towards the rear, title contenders Alex Crapser and Tony Pizzaro tangle on the frontstretch, gliding across the outside wall and out of harms way. They would crawl to 37th and 38th place, dropping to sixth and eighth in points.

An immaculate four-tire change puts Zakk Miller and the Bepis #30 on top! He'd lead the following 55 laps, pressured by Dakota Wilkins and John Battista for the entirety of the run. Then, disaster struck. Matt Raboin slaps the outside wall off of turn-4, spinning in front of the pack before points leader Ryan Heuser and teammate Craig Lee pulverize the Valvoline Viper! Raboin went for a violent flip across the start-finish line and back onto his wheels, while black smoke poured out of both NOS Energy Chevrolet's. 

Ryan Heuser dropped from first to fourth in the standings, devastated by horrid luck while failing to lead a lap. Craig Lee dropped from fifth to seventh, with Matt Raboin enduring his second-straight finish outside the top-35 to begin the Chase. Up front, Dakota Wilkins would inherit the lead, holding off CFM teammates Timothy McDonnell and Johnny Reed Foley in a race to the Halfway-Bacon Bonus!

The low-groove comes in! Most of the early-race passing was performed on the outside, with Johnny Reed Foley navigating from 33rd to 2nd by running where everyone else feared to tread. On lap-128, he'd work past Dakota Wilkins for the top-spot, leading his fifth straight event in hopes of taking the points lead after Heuser's misfortune. The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet earned the Halfway Slab, leading the field without challenge through lap-148.

Johnny Reed Foley gets turned! Contact from the lapped car of Matthew Dominique sends the leader for a wild-ride on the backstretch, losing his rear-end with Dakota Wilkins inheriting the lead. A mortifying crash involving Jimmie Stevens, Dalton Lucas, Geno Sphere, Mark Heron, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Alan Nesfeder, Mike Carroll, Michael Henson and Ken Joynt brought out th next caution flag. Miraculously, only Stevens and Lucas were done for the day, leaving the hard-luck title-contenders little attrition to gain.

A miracle stop by Bink Lucas puts him on top with just over 100 laps-to-go! In line for his second Eddie Money Classic victory, he'll have to hold off the CFM Motorsports brigade, now hindered with Johnny Reed Foley's decimated rear-end. Miracle-man Trae Larkin flew by both of them, hoping to join teammate Ziggy Moonglow in the win column. Unfortunately, he would never pass Bink. A spin involving Jonathan Skrabacz brought out the final caution, leaving Bink Lucas and John Tharp to duke it out for the finish, while Larkin suffers a loose lug-nut during his final stop.

An outside move with 45-to-go puts Tharp's #14 Zig Zag Toyota up front! He hasn't won since last years' Eddie Money Classic, hoping to re-solidify himself as a perennial contender after an unprecedented dry-spell. Bink Lucas passed him back on lap-230, only for Tharp to fly back by on the outside. Zakk Miller's #30 Bepis Mustang passed Bink with 13-to-go, making a charge on Tharp for the victory! He almost cleared him exiting turn-4, but to no avail. The high line carried too much momentum, helping Tharp cruise for the final 12-lap dash to the finish for his first victory of 2025!

A year of suffocation and strife turns to gold! Independent drivers are losing their grip on the sport, rendering Tharp's victory all the more meaningful. It's Tharp's sixth top-6 finish in his last eight races, bumping himself to a season-high 11th in the standings. Hopefully his "high-riding" stretch will continue, keeping Toyota's well-appreciated presence in the sport. Congratulations to Tharp, crew chief "King" Joe Dawkins and he entire PHR Racing organization for an excellent victory!