Heading into the wonderful racing facility of Charlotte Motor Speedway, several have questioned the decision to run the oval instead of the infield road course. This would inevitably hinder the chances of Tim McDonnell and John Battista gaining valuable points, though the top-10 is so tight after 2 races that even the speedway-ringers will have trouble gaping anybody. The top-3 are only 5 points apart, and the top-10 are only 76...
The race started with the unlikliest of leaders. Aaron Cummings drove from 9th to 1st in only 8 laps to lead for three full circuits. It would be his first multiple lap-led race of the season, and he would've led more if not for a Walt Flowers and Johnny Reed Foley incident on the backstretch.
Ryan Heuser passed Craig Lee, Tony Pizzaro and Matthew Dominique all on the same lap to take the lead on lap 70. He would go on to lead the next 23 circuits before a no-tire pit call put Ken Pettit to the front.
After being mired outside of the top-15 for most of the day, Zach Michael found his opportunity for a big move on lap 84. His four-wide outside bonzai move exiting turn 2 was almost complete before getting tagged by Tony Pizzaro. Complete chaos ensued, as John Tharp was sent for a wild inside-wall spin as Tim McDonnell slammed hard into the left-rear of the #20. Rick Jackson slammed the front-end of Tyler Scott, as the rest of the field fell into complete obliteration spinning towards turn 3. Adam Crapser, Tony Long, Cristian Torres, Michael Henson, Donald Stewart, Glenn Kaufmann, Rob Scarberry, William Perry, Tim McDonnell, Johnny Reed Foley, Dan Johnston, Dave Butterworth, Aaron Cummings, David Courtney, Rick Jackson, Dalton Lucas, John Tharp, Zach Michael, Tony Pizzaro, Tyler Scott, Jonathan Skrabacz and Matthew Dominique were all involved in the incident.
It was back to reality up front, as Bill Werkheiser, Alan Nesfeder, Craig Lee and Dave Miller swapped the lead several times during the middle portion of the race. All four drivers would finish on the lead lap, with Bill and Craig continuing to be a factor all day long.
Bill and Ken Pettit swapped the lead twice around the halfway point, with Craig Lee in view the entire time. Craig stayed out under caution on lap 183 to secure the top-spot and kept it for 24 laps before John Battista drove by on the inside of turn 1. Craig crossed him over twice in only three laps, until Battista finally cleared him for good on the third attempt. He led for 21 laps, only for Craig to beat him out of the pits during the next yellow.
Death and destruction occurred for Ryan Heuser on lap 234. He and Tyler Scott made contact exiting turn 2, sending Ryan's car flying into the access-gap on the inside wall. His car ricocheted off and screamed onto the racetrack. Walt Flowers hit him head on. Then Brandon Raines smashed his drivers-side door and flipped him upside-down in front of traffic. To cap it off, Tim McDonnell smashed him on the right side, officially ending both of their dismal nights. Miraculously, Ryan was able to walk out under his own power and waved to the crowd. He and Tim would wind up 9th and 10th in the points standings after all was said and done.
Despite a good run by Tony Pizzaro late in the race, the second-half show continued to be dominated by Craig Lee and John Battista. Battista re-took the lead on lap 255 before the #12 took it back. Craig re-took the lead again after another fabulous pit stop under yellow. With 40 laps to go, they were neck-and-neck.
The #101 and #39 swapped the lead a miraculous four times between 35 and 25 laps to go. Craig took it three-wide underneath Battista and lapped car John Tharp for a fifth attempt, and things got scary. Battista and Tharp made contact and sent the #39 for a tailspin, miraculously saving the racecar and staying in contention for the win. He would lose only a second and run him back down in a matter of laps.
As the great Skinny Mulligan once said "A Richmond with banking would be all I need to do the spanking". Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro feel the same way, and look to dominate the show while the points contenders try to pull off the upset.
The event started off with Las Vegas race winner Matthew Dominique on the pole. He would lead the first 47 laps before struggling to find his groove through lapped traffic. During this time, Tim McDonnell made an unscheduled pit stop, droping him 2 laps down.
Ryan Heuser took the lead exiting turn 4, using Glenn Kaufmann as a pick. He sailed away from the field and went on to lead most of the next 100 laps. John Battista and Scott Jackson battled vigorously for second spot.
On old tires, Tim McDonnell tried to hold everybody off after their green flag pit stops. Donald Stewart hit his rear on the backstretch, sending the #22 ricocheting off the wall and into Adam Crapser. Adam smacked the inside wall and sailed into traffic entering turn 3. This took Brodrick Wittmann and Michael Henson into the cyclone of carnage, and miraculously gave McDonnell a free lap back.
How do you go four-wide without crashing? Do not ask Randy Dobbins, who wound up the loser in the group after contact from Ben Geer. Randy's car slammed the outside wall and was uncompetitive for the rest of the night, finishing 27th.
On the restart, leader Ryan Heuser hit the wall while battling Rob Scarberry on the inside lane. Matt Raboin took the spot on the backstretch, leading the next 13 laps. Cristian Torres and Jonathan Skrabacz were involved in a spin during this time.
After a 5-lap losing battle with Alan Nesfeder, John Battista followed the #78 through in turn one and passed them both for the lead. Battista went on to lead 14 more laps, finishing 4th and winding up only 31 points behind in the championship.
After Dave Miller and Jimmie Stevens made contact exiting turn 2, the #90 was clipped in the rear by Dan Johnston. Dave would terrorize the outside wall, somehow able to continue on and limp to the pits. He would blow up there, becoming the first casualty of the race.
On lap 178, John Battista and Matt Raboin pitted, handing the lead to Ryan on the next restart. From lap 180-on this team was easily the one to beat, leading practically every lap up until the final stage of the race.
Jimmie Stevens blew up on lap 128 and provided one heck of a scare for the leader. Dan Johnston hit his smoking AMPIO machine and sent him sideways directly in front of Ryan. He barely sneaked by on the inside, while Rob Scarberry clobbered the stagnant #2. Speedy would go on to finish 41st, while Rob crossed the line in 38th.
It was primarily a battle for second place between Matt Raboin and Scott Jackson during the final stages of the race. The two swapped positions a couple of times through the lapped traffic, and were close to catching Ryan during the final 30 laps. The interval continued to wane.
The 10 chase drivers start their season over at Las Vegas, celebrating the famed Eddie Money while looking to grab the first victory of the 10-race finale. Tim McDonnell lost his 200+ point advantage, as the remaining prepare to take advantage of his 37th starting spot.
Pole-sitter Alan Nesfeder could only keep the lead for one lap, as the top-spot switched four times during the first four laps. Drivers would fight three-wide for first until Tony Pizzaro took the spot and led the pack.
Pizzaro was in front for the first 2/5th's of the event, leading 107 laps until blowing up on the frontstretch on lap 116. From there- Scott Jackson and Alex Crapser led the show until green flag pit stops near the halfway point.
Ken Pettit passed Crapser for the lead on lap 144 and led the show on pure horsepower. Only QSM teammates Ryan Heuser and Craig Lee could keep up, and remained top-3 until a short-pitting #04 re-took the spot.
Without any caution flags, it was the third green flag pit stop of the day. Nobody made any attempts at stretching the fuel, as previous races indicated several yellows during the first 100 laps. With the championship on the line, it appeared to be a cautious approach for all who drover around the big-10, and the big-10 themselves.
On slightly fresher tires, Ryan scooted by Crapser on lap 194 and led his first laps. He pulled away from the field, flying past lapped traffic and earning over a five second interval over Crapser and Rick Jackson with only 30 laps to go.
With 26 laps to go, disaster struck again for the #138 team. After contact between Cristian Torres and Scott Jackson on the frontstretch, the #26 spun several times and stopped near the entrance of turn 1. Ryan tried to pass high through the smoke, but slammed into the rear of #26, with William Perry following suit. He would continue on, though finishing 39th and dropping to 10th in the standings.
Alex Crapser led the next 13 green flag laps with Matthew Dominique lurking behind for nearly the entire run. Farther back, Steven Spears made a mistake. Reminiscent of NASCAR's Scott Pruett at 2000 Talladega, the #65 drove down two lanes and clipped the Tony Long machine on the frontstretch. Spears went airborne and sent Aaron Cummings for a ride. Dave Miller and David Butterworth were also involved in the incident.
After the caution flag, there was only 6 laps to go. Crapser remained the leader until Dominique dove inside the #04 on the frontstretch, taking less than a half-lap to clear him. Crapser would fall back to 5th, while the #25 fought hard to stay in first until the end.
John Tharp took second, and followed the #25 for four laps without gaining enough momentum to pass. On the final lap Tharp was there, but the dirty air in turn 1 destroyed his chances as the #25 pulled away for his first victory of the season. Congrats to Matthew and the entire Quantum Motorsports team for an excellent victory!
The best 10 drivers in the Extravaganza Series duke it out for the final 10 races, beginning at Las Vegas. As these drivers steal the headlines, Zach Michael, Tony Pizzaro, Dave Miller and Johnny Reed Foley have all brought up the fact that there have been fourteen wins from drivers outside of the top-10 in points, and they refuse to let the chase drivers run away with the victories. Dave Miller has already put a bounty on his teammates, going for three wins in-a-row for the first times since Ryan Heuser in 2013. Tim McDonnell loses a 200+ point buffer, while win-less wonders John Battista, Scott Jackson and Matthew Dominique are back into the mix. Each driver has a chance to exit this race with the points lead, a feat that both Lucas Racing drivers have never reached.
It was an incredible sunny day in the land of infinite superiority, as the Indy 500 venue paid tribute to former NOWS (National Open Wheel Series) crossover driver Mert Socks. He won their stock car division races at the Indy road course in 1966 and 1967, and many looked to follow in his tradition for the final regular season race of 2019. Coming in, Zach Michael was only 21 points ahead of Matthew Dominique for the final chase position. Matt Raboin and Dave Miller were long shots, but a bad finish by Scott Jackson could propel them to the championship promise-land.
Early on, there was no doubt that Tim McDonnell was the class of the field. Dave Miller and Matthew Dominique could hold on to the draft as long as they wanted, but it was clear that the #22 was handling perfectly for the 26th race in-a-row.
It took an incredible 72 laps before John Battista, who had been running in the top-7 all day, blew up entering turn one. John Tharp creamed him from behind and destroyed the front end of his machine. He would limp around to finish 31st. Battista, who started the race 156 points ahead of 10th, would finish 42nd.
Zach Michael's championship dreams would be sandwiched after helping Ken Pettit squeeze Zakk Miller on the frontstretch. Zach's front end was slightly bent, as Miller flew directly into the path of Ben Geer who slammed him drivers-side first next to the inside wall. Johnny Reed Foley also caught a piece of the incident.
Craig Lee, Rick Jackson and Scott Jackson dominated the middle portion of the event, leading a combined 29 laps before a flying Ryan Heuser came out of nowhere to pass them all. Sadly, Craig and Rick would pit early on the next round of pit stops, where chaos and sorrow ensued.
On lap 109, Rick merged out of the pit lane wide trying to apex turn three, and cut across of Craig Lee's nose. Both cars suffered minor damage, though each, including Scott Jackson, Ken Pettit, Tyler Scott, Scott Drake, Randy Dobbins and Glenn Kaufmann, were now trapped a lap down.
The next restart provided some three-wide bump-and-run action, as leader Tim McDonnell was punted out of the way by Dave Miller entering turn three trying to navigate the lapped traffic in front. Tim was pushed back to seventh, as Dave Miller pulled away from the field after Ryan Heuser made contact with Scott Drake.
Another bump-and-run by Ryan pushed Dave out of the lead on lap 131, giving Alex Crapser the room to navigate three-wide on the inside and pass them both. Despite a few lead swaps between he and Jimmie Stevens, who was having another miraculous day, the #04 looked to have the final-run charge to the finish.
With less then 10 laps to go, Scott Jackson had gotten his lap back and worked his way to 19th position. Zach Michael struggled to stay in the top-20 after his early accident and was slated in 23rd. Matt Raboin was 5th, though teammate Matthew Dominique was one position behind to play spoiler to both him and the #20 team. For now, Scott and Matthew were in, with Zach and Matt coming from behind with nearly no laps left.
Misfortune occurred on lap 150, after Dan Johnston blew up in front of Steven Spears, who were both in the top-15. They both slid into the outside wall, bringing out the final caution of the race. Leader Alex Crapser hit their debris entering turn one and blew his left-front tire, forcing him to pit and drop back to 34th position. Dave Miller would re-take the lead for a seven-lap shootout.
Lapped-car Randy Dobbins raced side-by-side with
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Two races remain in the regular season coming into the Southern 500. Everyone from fifth through 15th is within 228 points, leaving it an 11-driver desperation race at the narrowest track in all of Extravaganza.
Terror arose on lap 8 for points leader Tim McDonnell, spinning hard into the inside frontstretch wall with Randy Dobbins and Dalton Lucas. He has already clinched, though Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro battled desperately for the lead up front with their championship hopes in jeopardy. Unfortunately for Ryan, he and the #12 would be involved in a pit road incident later on, sending him two laps down en route to a 28th place finish.
Complete disaster struck for #12 and #20 teams on lap 73. Trying to get past the Tony Long machine, the two tangle and fly towards the inside wall. Zach Michael was able to correct his car forwards suffering only minor damage. Pizzaro slammed head-on, destroying his racecar and eventually winding up 31st. Zach Michael could only rebound to 17th, leaving him needing a good finish at Indy. Pizzaro would need to win that race and then some.
Teammates Craig Lee and Dave Miller raced hard during the earlier stages of the race, with Alex Crapser lurking inside the top-5 as he always does. Craig would go on to lead 81 laps during the next green flag run, and 112 overall.
Scott Jackson, John Battista and Ken Pettit spent some significant time leading during the middle stages. Both went on to lead 20+ laps and finish in the top-12, significantly increasing their championship chances coming into Indy.
Johnny Reed Foley is officially done for the second week in-a-row, and again it wasn't his fault. A Donald Stewart and Bill Werkheiser tangle off of turn four sent chaos through the field, with Ben eventually flipping the #18 machine over. He went on to finish 33rd. Matthew Dominique hit the turn 1 wall hard in the crash, damaging his roof and finishing 38th while dropping back to 11th in points.
Jimmie Stevens had the best race of his season, racking up 44 laps led and trying to match his top-5 performance at Bristol. He wound up 11th, but many say that a top-15 finish in points is in reach. Meanwhile, the QSM drivers battle hard behind.
Green flag pit stops occurred on lap 304, making it possible to stretch their fuel to the finish. Coming out, it was a three-car train between Craig Lee, Alex Crapser and Jimmie Stevens. The three stayed together and drafted away from the second pack, which was led by Dave Miller.
With 30 laps to go, the second pack caught up with the help of lapped traffic. Fourteen cars were now in contention for the victory, including a hungry Cristian Torres. Rick Jackson rode behind and points raced, while a nearly destroyed Tim McDonnell miraculously worked his way into the top-5.
Dave Miller passed Craig for the lead with 25 laps to go, with a helpful nudge from lapped teammate Ryan Heuser. John Tharp took the point one lap later and dropped Dave back to third. Ken Pettit couldn't hold off the strong #90 and relinquished second place, giving Dave a chance to re-pass the John Tharp machine before the lapped traffic hit. He did.
The final stages saw Dave five lapped cars ahead of second place Zakk Miller. With ten laps to go, he was able to pass two with drafting help from John Battista. Again, he was able to pass two more, and then pass Donald Stewart to end up one car-length behind Dave with four laps to go. It was the Miller and Miller show, but the #28 didn't have the muscle to pass the Marlboro Virginia Blend machine, giving Dave a much n
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Points Standings After Southern 500: 1. Tim McDonnell - (In)
2. Craig Lee -203 (In)
3. Alex Crapser -282 (In)
4. John Tharp -310 (Has to Start)
5. John Battista -334
6. Ken Pettit -371
7. Rick Jackson -378
8. Ryan Heuser -418
9. Scott Jackson -441
10. Zach Michael -480
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11. Matthew Dominique -21
12. Matt Raboin -53
13. Dave Miller -68
14. Tony Pizzaro -120
Team NSRA drivers Mark Murphy and Mike Carroll will share the #47 ride in 8 of the final 10 races of the year to prepare for the 2020 season. It is already rumored that Mark will replace the empty #32 ride, while Mike Carroll continues to show promise in the lower Busch Bonanza Series. It's going to be interesting to see how competitive the part-time team will be, but with the points leader in the cockpit for most of the events, the confidence is at an enormous high.
