Lucas Racing continues their stride! Four top-eights for Alex Crapser and John Battista since Darlington, putting them second and third in the standings after eleven events. Points leader Markell Murphy earned a top-10 finish at Kansas despite failing to lead a lap. He will start sixth for the Russ Charneski 500. Crapser earns the pole, with Battista mired in 32nd. Pizza Hut 400 Winner Ken Pettit jumps to 11th in points, in-line to pass the injured Johnny Reed Foley. It will be the "Marley Man's" first top-10 appearance since 2024 if he can pull off the feat!

Race Results

Points Standings

Race Recap

Ben Geer starts strong! Pole-sitter Alex Crapser leads the first ten laps, relinquishing to Geer with Zakk Miller following through on the inside. The "Twinkie Man" maneuvered valiantly from his seventh-place starting spot, leading the field for the remaining stint. He would hold off Miller, John Tharp and Craig Lee with plenty of gap to spare. The lead foursome pulled to a three-second advantage from the rest of the pack!

A frontstretch accident on lap-62! Larry Sheldrake blows a rear tire exiting turn-4, leaving Dan Johnston without a prayer. The two collided, sending the two blue and aqua cars violently towards the outside wall. Adam Crapser destroys the rear of Sheldrake attempting to avoid, sliding accross the start-finish line in a plume of black smoke. Rookie Larry Lack slams Dan Johnston on the passenger-side door, finishing his first career race in last place.

All four drivers involved in the accident failed to continue. Johnston earned his second-straight finish outside the top-40, dropping to 28th in points. Adam Crapser falls to 30th after another low-luck circumstance. He lost two cars during the weekend, having to hybrid a Chevrolet from their short-track stable to run the All-Star Race. Sheldrake earned his first career DNF in his sixth start, failing to finish 37th for only the second time this season.

After the restart, Ben Geer aimed to continue his dominance! On lap-72, points leader Markell Murphy was able to get by, miring the "Twinkie Man" to the second-half of the top-10. It was Geer's most dominant performance during his Top-Geer Motorsports tenure, leading 63 laps; the most since Rockingham in the fall of 2020! Sadly, a pit road accident on lap-140 dropped him several laps, finishing 39th after a spectacular night.

John Battista takes the lead from Markell Murphy on lap-77, hoping to further his streak of two-consecutive top-2 finishes! Murphy re-took the advantage on lap-99, only for Craig Lee to slide by on the inside. Lee, Battista, Zakk Miller and Murphy would pull away from the field. After pit stops, Ryan Heuser and Matthew Dominique climbed their way into the mix, with "Bepis Man" Zakk Miller coming out ahead. The #30 Team Danger Zone Mustang led 59 laps, adding to his league-leading 391 on the year.

Markell Murphy's fresher tires hold true! Team Danger Zone has a history of good runs at this facility, adding to their dominion by occupying the 1-2 spots. The #47 Red Bull Mustang would dominate the remaining stretch, pulling to a near four-second advantage over John Battista before a lap-200 yellow. Early-race dominator Ben Geer and Dakota Wilkins tangle off of turn-4, sliding across the frontstretch to bring out the second caution flag. Geer limped home 39th, with Wilkins out of the race. The #77 Colorado Rockies Chevrolet would drop to seventh in the standings.

Matthew Dominique steals the show! Danger Zone teammates Murphy and Miller drop back after the restart, with Dominique leading his first laps since Martinsville on lap-211. The #25 Alpinestars Viper maintained it's advantage through the 90-to-go mark. Dominique and Miller would battle side-by-side from there, maintaining their distance from the NOS Energy teammates lurking behind. By the end of he run, the Bepis #30 once again held the pace.

The final pit stops of the night! Craig Lee beats Miller out of the pits, with John Tharp well ahead of the pack after a short-pit. He will not make it to the finish. A Larry Sheldrake crash in turn-1 brought out the caution with 50-to-go, with most of the field staying out. Lee, Miller, Markell Murphy, Rick Jackson, Matthew Dominique and Tony Gunk occupied the top-6 positions for the restart. The #101 NOS Energy Chevrolet led the field through the 37-to-go mark. Miraculously, Tony Gunk's #59 Kelpo Dodge battled maniacally from sixth to first to take the advantage late!

Gunk and Lee were side-by-side with 32-to-go! Lee took the lead back, but was unable to hold off the four cars behind. Gunk re-took the advantage with 25-to-go, hoping for lightning to strike twice after his victory at Gateway last June! It was not to be. Ryan Heuser, one of only three cars to come in for tires on the final stop, rummaged from 27th to 3rd in just 30 laps. Gunk nearly tangled with the lapped car of Ken Pettit entering turn-3, letting John Battista pass through on the inside to take the lead! Heuser followed, passing Battista the following lap with the fresher tires. Amazingly, Battista was able to keep up before running out of fuel with 2-to-go. Heuser crossed the finish line with ease, earning his 96th career victory and league-leading third of the season in spectacular style! Congratulations to Heuser, crew chief Mustard Mahoney and the entire Quick-Silver Motorsports organization for an excellent victory!