Adam Crapser wins his first career race in his 194th Extravaganza Series start! Two-straight second place finishes at Watkins Glen and Richmond set the standard for the oncoming season, capping off race #14 with a beautiful drive in the Coca-Cola 600. Adam becomes the fifth Lucas Racing driver to win an Extravaganza Series event. He's also the first driver to win in the #4 since Johnny Reed Foley at Atlanta in 2015, during the McDonnell-Foley Inc. NAPA fiasco. Look for the Green Bay Packers Chevrolet to be a force during the summer-stretch.
Ken Pettit enters the Coca-Cola 600 with a "Whiplash Whopper" whopping 142-point lead over Alex Crapser in the standings. Neither driver has won this Crown Jewel event, but both start inside the top-third of the field in hopes of earning their first. $10,000,000 goes to the winner of the annual 400-lapper at Charlotte Motor Speedway!
Logan Sheets' domination in the All-Star Qualifier continues with an outside front-row starting spot alongside Johnny Reed Foley. Despite monolopizing the front row, Tony Pizzaro flew by both of them on the backstretch to lead the first circuit. He would dominate the initial 60-lap stretch, with points contenders Alex Crapser, Zakk Miller and John Battista in danger of going a lap down early.
Pizzaro stretched to a four-second advantage over Sheets and Ryan Heuser before a Trae Larkin and Jonathan Skrabacz spin brought out the yellow. Sheets capitalized after the restart, passing by Pizzaro on lap 87 to take his first lead of the night. Michael Henson and Philip Parker would also take a ride through the backstretch infield, handing the top-spot to Donald Stewart.
The #55 Chevrolet stayed out on old tires, leading the field to the green. He held off the field for several laps before Dave Miller took the advantage on lap 102. John Tharp would eventually take the lead, with Matt Raboin and John Battista also taking turns at the top-spot as we loom towards the halfway point.
A morbid crash for the points leader on lap 136! A tap from his teammate Tony Pizzaro sends Ken Pettit into the inside backstretch wall hard. The #8 Bob Marley Chevrolet would finish 43rd on the night after a previous worst finish of 25th at Martinsville. He would still maintain the points lead after the event, but it would no longer be the cakewalk he had anticipated.
The only team to finish every race of the season is out, marking the earliest time in any Extravaganza Series season that everyone has a DNF. Up front, Timothy McDonnell's crew pulled off a masterful pit stop to put them atop the heap. The #22 would lead through lap 80 before a pass from Adam Crapser's "Packer Man" #4 Chevrolet.
Adam, Rick Jackson, Dakota Wilkins and Johnny Reed Foley pulled to a minuscule four-car breakaway, crossing the halfway mark with the #4 at the helm. Rick Jackson would take the lead on lap 218 and stayed there for 60 laps. Jackson is looking for his fourth-straight top-5 finish, while second-place Johnny Reed Foley looks for his fifth-straight top-16. The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet took the helm on lap 279 through green flag pit stops.
Cristian Torres along with the Lifesaver Racing team all fell to the wayside during the mid-to-late stages. Turn-2 proved to be "devastation alley", taking out six of the contenders, including our points leader, Rob Scarberry who's trying to stay inside the top-35, and Bink lucas and Jimmie Stevens; both struggling mightily this season. Up front, Alex Crapser would lead the field to the lap-288 restart.
The Pennzoil #04 earned his five bonus points to help catch Ken Pettit in the standings, but he couldn't hold them off for long. Johnny Reed Foley re-took the advantage just a couple of laps in. Adam Crapser and John Tharp joined in the fray towards the 90-to-go mark. Adam would steal the lead back, with Tharp meandering by both drivers one lap later.
A miracle run by both Dalton Lucas and Geno Sphere put them in contention for the victory late! Foley made it past Tharp with 75-to-go with the myriad of underdogs looming behind. Against all odds, Geno Sphere took his first lead of the night at the race he first attempted to enter four years ago, driving a #43 Cheeto's car for Glenn Kaufmann. Now he is at the helm of the Coca-Cola 600, leading his first laps of the season in the Cinderella story of the millennium! Geno led the filed through green flag pit stops, but a slow tire change pulled him back to the 7th position. No
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Zakk Miller has the opportunity to win $23,000,000 if he can sweep the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600! He won the event two years ago and hopes to dominate again, looking to gap the 169 points from Championship leader Ken Pettit. Miller will start deep in the field, qualifying 40th with the #8 on the outside second-row. Johnny Reed Foley comes in third in points, earning his first pole of the season at 27.227 seconds. Ryan Heuser will start on his outside as the heavy favorite despite his winless effort so far in 2024. Mark Heron looks to play spoiler with his 7th-place effort on the grid. If he fails to make the top-35 in points by Gateway, Heron has promised to deviate from his Extravaganza effort to focus on the Bonanza Series Championship. Finishing the race is the goal for all. Drivers Cristian Torres and Philip Parker have showed strong runs in the past as well, hoping to earn their first career victories. Logan Sheets and Adam Crapser hope to do the same. 45-cars will attempt immaculate glory at the second Crown Jewel event of 2024!
Tony Pizzaro's Fenway Frank #12 led the points after 13 races in 2022 and 2023. This year, his teammate Ken Pettit parallels the same domination while Pizzaro struggles mightily, mired 28th in points with seven finishes of 27th or worse. The reversal of fortunes has been unprecedented. Race-2-Win Motorsports as a whole has been a full-fledged "Rastaman" show before Rick Jacksons' current top-5 streak. Here are their statistics after the Brickyard 400 in 2023, 27 races ago:
Race-2-Win Motorsports (Last 27 races)
Ken Pettit and the "Rasta-Man" Chevrolet led 1,282 laps between his victories in Atlanta in 2019 and Darlington in 2023. Since then he's won two more, monopolizing the team in wins and leading the standings by 142 points while Jackson and Pizzaro struggle. Both drivers have won the Coca-Cola 600 once in the last five seasons, hoping to revitalize their performance with a Crown Jewel banger! Look for all three cars to run strong.
Coca-Cola 600 Winners (Since 2016) 2023: Rick Jackson 2022: Zakk Miller 2021: Ryan Heuser 2020: Ryan Heuser 2019: Tony Pizzaro 2018: Ryan Heuser 2017: Zach Michael 2016: John Tharp
Timothy McDonnell enters Charlotte Motor Speedway hoping for his fifth career All-Star Race victory! He will start 15th, with Zakk Miller, Alan Nesfeder and Donald Stewart eclipsing the 26-second bracket to occupy the top-3 spots in the grid. Nesfeder won the Fall event here last year, hoping to duplicate his success for the $10,000,000 grand prize. Pole-sitter Miller is the 2022 Coke 600 Champion, hoping to hold off the field for the entire 100-lap distance.
The #30 Bepis Mustang dominated the first portion of the race, leading the field for the first 10 circuits. Nesfeder and Donald Stewart raced side-by-side for second, clogging the rest of the pack in a double and triple-file hornets nest extending through last place. Extravaganza greats Alex Crapser, Ken Pettit, Rick Jackson and Johnny Reed Foley battled ferociously for the final four positions.
John Battista power-housed his way to the front, passing Miller for the lead on lap 11 in search for his first career All-Star Race victory! He would keep the top-spot through lap 20. By then, disaster would strike. Contact between Markell Murphy and Craig Lee stirred up a backstretch cataclysm. Logan Sheets got clipped from the rear, getting tapped by Rick Jackson and Alex Crapser before a blow to the drivers-side door from Tony Pizzaro sent him back up the racing groove.
Markell Murphy, Ken Pettit, Ryan Heuser, John Tharp, Bink Lucas, Timothy McDonnell, Scott Jackson and Johnny Reed Foley and all pile-drove into the cloud of smoke. McDonnell's Volkswagen went for a flip for the second time in three weeks, sliding across the turn-3 banks before coming to a stop on the apron. Surprisingly, only Sheets, Murphy and McDonnell would fail to continue. All drivers were void of serious injury.
Contact on pit road between John Battista and Matt Raboin lost the #39 Wendy's Chevrolet the lead. Zakk Miller would re-occupy the spot, leading the field through lap 34 before teammate Zach Michael stole the position. The #20 Coca-Cola Mustang held ground for seven laps before Miller re-took the lead, with Dakota Wilkins, Matt Raboin and Donald Stewart maintaining the top-4 positions by the halfway point.
Miller would nab the $1,000,000 bonus for leading on lap 25 and lap 50. On lap 54, Dakota Wilkins took the helm with green flag pit stops looming. Both Raboin and Stewart would falter in the pits, leaving veterans John Tharp and Rick Jackson as the only cars within distance of the lead two. On lap 73, Miller would re-take the advantage and earn the final $1,000,000 bonus by leading on lap 75. If he can win, the #30 Bepis Mustang will be the only team in All-Star Race history to win the pole and sweep all four segments.
Despite the immaculate effort, nobody could catch the Team Danger Zone #30. Coming in, Miller led the league in laps led with 356, narrowly beating out teammate Zach Michael and Johnny Reed Foley each with 330+. His victories last season at Texas and New Hampshire put him in position to run this event, finally capitalizing on a near decade-long adventure to the Extravaganza promise-land! Miller would cruise to the victory, taking home $13,000,000 by winning every bonus segment.
The crowd roars in astonishment at the feat! Pure domination from the Bepis-man, jumping out of the car in ice-cold Bepis style! Confetti flies in the air like a hail storm, choking crew members and fans alike while the monopoly dollar-bills engulf the stratosphere. Nobody can breathe, but nobody needs to. Zakk Miller just won the 2024 Extravaganza All-Star Race! Congratulations to Zakk, crew chief Carl Kirpatrick and the entire Team Danger Zone crew for an excellent victory!
Another $500,000 prize goes to the winner of the 20-car last chance qualifier. Race #1 winner Dave Miller had to re-qualify along with the rest of the field, starting in the 16th position with adversary Matthew Dominique rearing the pack. Logan Sheets and Bill Werkheiser occupy the front row in a 1-2 punch from Extravaganza's immaculate past and future!
Scott Jackson's victory at Pocono last week clinched 18 cars into the All-Star Race field, dwindling the transfer spots from three to two after the upset. Bill Werkheiser got shuffled after the start, with Ben Geer and Adam Crapser underneath in a three-wide assault for the second position. Crapser would take it away before the reigns kicked in on the Twinkie Chevrolet. By lap 10, Ben earned the penultimate spot back.
Tony Pizzaro was charging through the field in hopes of making his decade-long streak of All-Star appearances continue. He made it by Geer without much of a fight, stringing out the top-4 while Molemar, Dan Johnston, Philip Parker, Matthew Dominique, Trae Larkin and others fought maniacally to put themselves in a position to catch the lead group. Johnston would succeed, handing Sheets, Pizzaro, Geer, Crapser and Dan the top-5 breakaway.
The Fenway Frank machine took the lead just before the halfway mark. From there, the #12 and the #58 worked together to monopolize the field, with Ben Geer narrowly hanging on for life. It was not to be. Pizzaro and Sheets crossed the line in an easy 1-2 finish to the All-Star Race feature! The #58 hands Quaker State their first All-Star Race appearance, and Logans' first since winning his consolation race in 2022.
Tony Pizzaro can now buy 80,000 Fenway Franks with the $500,000 earned! Congrats to he, crew chief Neil Justice and the entire Race-2-Win organization for an excellent victory! Logan Sheets and crew chief David Rattler look to play spoiler, joining the 20-car fray for the $10,000,000 grand prize. Timothy McDonnell will go for three-in-a-row and fifth overall in the race!
$500,000 goes to the winner of the first Consolation Race! The top-20 make the second event, handing half of the field the opportunity to compete for the 2024 All-Star Race feature. Veterans Tony Pizzaro, Matthew Dominique, Dave Miller and Jimmie Stevens will fight for supremacy against Extravaganza underdogs and Bonanza whackers alike!
Qualifying proves imperative with only 50 laps to earn a spot in the second race. Miracle man Philip Parker steals the pole away, with all five Rookie of the Year contenders starting deep in the field. Jeremy Hebel, Molemar Diggs, Steve Inkman, Rod Weston and Tony Gunk will have to come from the rear to make the top-20.
Philip Parker did a fantastic job leading the field, holding the spot for five laps before Ben Geer and the regulars took over. Dave Miller flew from the 8th starting position to take the lead on lap 12, stringing out the pack with his dominant QSM horsepower. In the back Hebel, Diggs, Inkman and Weston rambled their way inside the top-30, with the #1 and #41 past Geno Sphere and Steven Spears to take the final transfer spots.
Rod Weston pile-drove from 39th to 20th with 20 laps to go, flying by Steven Spears with a slowing Jimmie Stevens directly ahead. The #2 struggled to hold on to the 20th position, with pressure from Ken Joynt during the final five laps. He was able to hold him off despite a massive charge out of turn-4, sending Extravaganza regulars Steven Spears, Rob Scarberry, Geno Sphere, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Mark Heron, Tony Long, Steven inkman, Jonathan Skrabacz and Tony Gunk back to their haulers.
A dominant performance by Dave Miller nabs him the $500,000 prize and a chance to make the 2024 All-Star Race. Congrats to Dave, crew chief Sonny Sundae and the entire Quick-Silver Motorsports team for an excellent win. Also congrats to Dalton Lucas, Ben Geer Ziggy Moonglow, Tony Pizzaro, William Perry, Bill Werkheiser, Michael Henson, Adam Crapser, Logan Sheets, Matthew Dominique, Trae Larkin, Cristian Torres, Dan Johnston, David Butterworth, Jeremy Hebel, Molemar Diggs, Philip Parker, Rod Weston and Jimmie Stevens for clinching to the last-chance qualifier!
The 2024 All-Star Race will consist of the 18 drivers who have won in the previous 36 events. A 42-car duel-consolation showdown prior to the main event will add two more to the fray. The first duel will consist of 50-laps, with all 42 non-qualified entries battling for the top-20 positions. Those top-20 will run a final 50 lap dash that will determine the top-2 advancements to the 20-car All-Star Race field. The winner of each event will win $500,000.
The 100-lap All-Star Race feature will include long-shot drivers like Markell Murphy, Bink Lucas and Alan Nesfeder attempting to undertake the top-dogs of Extravaganza. There will be a separate qualifying session to determine the 20-car starting lineup, with transfer drivers able to take their shot at the pole position. Timothy McDonnell looks to earn his third-straight All-Star Race victory, breaking a winless stride on ovals going back to his win at Gateway last June. Can he win it again? The victor of the All-Star Race will take $10,000,000 to the bank!
Three top-tier Extravaganza Series drivers have to fight their way into the show! Matthew Dominique hasn't won a race since Talladega in 2020. Dave Miller's gone winless since his Championship crown two seasons ago, capturing the flag in the inaugural race at Gateway. Tony Pizzaro was the first two-time winner in 2023, failing to find victory lane since Bristol in the spring. The Fenway Frank machine is in danger of missing his first All-Star feature in over a decade, with 39 hungrier foes ready to pounce for the final two spots!
All-Star Race Entry List Rick Jackson: Charlotte, 2023 Timothy McDonnell: Nashville, 2023 Matt Raboin: Richmond, 2023 John Battista: Bristol, 2023 Alan Nesfeder: Charlotte, 2023 John Tharp: Atlanta, 2023 Ryan Heuser: Rockingham, 2023 Donald Stewart: Homestead, 2023 Alex Crapser: Daytona, 2024 Craig Lee: California, 2024 Markell Murphy: Rockingham, 2024 Bink Lucas: Texas, 2024 Zakk Miller: Bristol, 2024 Zach Michael: Martinsville, 2024 Dakota Wilkins: Talladega, 2024 Ken Pettit: Darlington, 2024 Johnny Reed Foley: Kansas, 2024 Scott Jackson: Pocono, 2024 Consolation Race Top-2: Heat Transfer Consolation Race Top-2: Heat Transfer
In a season where Ryan Heuser and Rick Jackson looked to topple the record books, Scott Jackson came out of nowhere to earn his 79th career victory. Prior to Pocono, the #38 ATEUP Chevrolet led two laps all season, both on fuel mileage strategy in the Cracker Barrel 500. The team ran dead-last the previous week at Kansas during the early stages; the first car to go one lap down on speed. Miraculously, Scott brought it home 24th, nearly finishing in the top-half of the field despite the handicap. This has been a consistent trend for the team all year, qualifying 29th or better in only two events but finishing inside the top-26 in all but two. Jackson's ability to get the most out of his racecar was proven once more at the Pocono 400. His fan club president Rob Stevens kept the scorecard:
The Pennsylvania hills region welcomes it's finest competitors! East of Burwick lies the wondrous Pocono Raceway, ready to roll for the Pocono 400. Bill Werkheiser wins what could be his final Extravaganza Series pole, hoping to bring home the pie in old-man style! If not he will eat his Costco pie in the same style.
Bill Werkheiser lost the lead on the first lap, relinquishing to Ryan Heuser as the #6 dropped to the back. Zach Michael took the helm three laps later, watching Dave Miller come out of the pits one lap down with clutch issues. Points leader Ken Pettit nabbed his first bonus points of the race on lap 7.
Miracle-man Cristian Torres shows what Toyota horsepower is all about! He leads only his 10th lap of the season before Craig Lee and the dominators of Extravaganza rummaged through. He, Alex Crapser and Rookie of the Year leader Molemar Diggs take turns at the helm before the first caution.
Tunnel-turn devastation occurred on lap 40. Rob Scarberry and Ben Geer made contact entering the corner, sending the Twinkie machine hard into the outside wall. Jimmie Stevens sent Geer into a half-flip, with Steven Spears, Tony Gunk, Chauncey Redmond Jr. and pole-sitter Bill Werkheiser all piling up into the accident. Only Spears would continue on, eventually blowing an engine on lap 95.
Molemar Diggs and Matthew Dominique battled defiantly for the top-spot after the ensuing restart. The #41 prevailed, eventually losing the lead to Matt Raboin, Ken Pettit and Logan Sheets. The entire Quantum Racing brigade raced inside the top-5, staying withing the lead group by the halfway point.
Trae Larkin blew an engine early in the go, dropping to 38th in the standings after two top-15's to begin the season. Up front, Craig Lee took the helm with John Tharp and Dan Johnston meandering through the field, finding themselves up front for the first time. Logan Sheets would steal the lead back to win the Halfway Bacon Bonus.
Reigning Champion Ryan Heuser and points leader Ken Pettit come out of the pits 1-2. Heuser is going for victory #83, hoping to pass "Rapid" Roscoe Riker for third on the all-time list. A Steven Spears engine failure would bring out the caution, bunching the field back towards the lap 100-mark.
Race dominator Logan Sheets slammed Spears during the green flag stops, losing four laps after fixing the damage. It's a devastating blow for the Quaker State team, ending their three top-12 finish streak and dropping from 18th to 25th in the standings. Up front, Ryan Heuser dominated the initial 10 laps after the restart, holding off Alex Crapser and John Tharp before the #14 finally stole it away.
John Tharp blows a tire with 39 laps to go! All the hard work to pass the #138 falls into the drain hole, limping to a 36th place finish despite a dominating effort. Heuser, Alex Crapser and Matt Raboin fought for the top spot afterwards, with Heuser and points leader Ken Pettit coming in early. Just after they stopped, Bink Lucas and John Battista crashed in turn-3, bringing out the yellow flag mid-cycle. 18 cars entered the pit road prior, handing them the top-18 spots as Matt Raboin and Alex Crapser dropped to the rear. They would never find their way back.
Ken Pettit takes the lead! Ryan Heuser struggled early with the 2-lap older tires, handing the top-2 spots to teammates Pettit and Rick Jackson. The #44 Crown Royal team looks to tie Buddy Griswald for his 70th career victory, taking the lead away with 20 laps to go! Miracle-man Cristian Torres powerhoused his way to the second position in search of his first win, sandwiched between the Jackson cousins, Timothy McDonnell and Pettit. Scott Jackson, who stood in the 45th position during the initial laps, finally passed Torres with 7 laps to go with a hard-charge from Timothy McDonnell from behind. Jackson hasn't won a race since the 2021 Sharpie 500. McDonnell drives with severe bruising on his body after an a mortifying accident last week at Kansas. The #22 made his mo
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