David Rattler and Timothy McDonnell sit on the couch! An opportune time to fulfill their hobbies after a spectacular 2024 campaign. David tries to build a bottle inside a ship. Tim is climbing pine trees, using the sap to his advantage. Look for a well-rested Lower and Furry Trash if both can survive the week.
Glory has never found Timothy McDonnell. A force-feedback accident in 2015 caused a six-year retirement, coming back with a new mindset in 2022. He has steadily improved since, in line for his first playoff appearance!
Johnny Reed Foley Season Statistics Wins: 8 Top-5's: 18 Top-10's: 21 Laps Led: 1,630 Overall Average Finish: 13.5 Regular Season Average Finish: 13.4 Chase Average Finish: 13.7
Five drivers enter the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a chance at infinite glory! Johnny Reed Foley parks his trailer next to Ken Pettit's, re-living Thte Championship battle that seemed destined between the two. "I ate a honey bun at one of the local Wawa's a few weeks ago. One of the numbers said "1909". Maybe that was the expiration date because we've struggled mightily since!" As the #8 team faded, Ryan Heuser, Zach Michael, Zakk Miller and Craig Lee rectified their earlier chase woes to climb within striking distance of the AC-Delco #3. 267 laps will determine the Champion!
The green flag waved like a bat out of Babe Ruth's hell! Hot dog wrappers and crunch bars fly in the air as Bink Lucas and Zakk Miller battle to lead the first lap. Bink would get it, staying there through lap-9 before the Bepis-man took the advantage. Ryan Heuser aimed to rectify his 58-point disadvantage by attempting three-wide maneuvers on the inside lane. Zach Michael would do the same, taking the lead from his teammate on lap-22.
Zach Michael dominated the stint, stringing out the pack with help from Ken Pettit and pole-sitter Bink Lucas. Michael came in with a 75-point disadvantage, hoping to lead every lap en route to his first Extravaganza Series Championship! From behind, Foley had traversed from his 23rd starting position to 6th, making in nearly impossible to gain the necessary ground. Foley brought his best piece of equipment. Some would argue he has no bad cars, acquiring Timothy McDonnell's re-bodied Volksagen's after joining the team in 2022.
Ken Pettit, Bink Lucas, Scott Jackson, John Tharp, Tony Pizzaro, John Battista, Dakota Wilkins, Dave Miller and Cristian Torres all entered the pits on lap-64, well short of the three pit-stop window. Johnny Reed Foley came in the following lap, with Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael stretching it long enough to possibly pull off the strategy. Rod Weston ends his Rookie of the Year campaign with a lap led during the cycle. With the #20 and #138 stretching the stint on old tires, Ken Pettit, Bink Lucas and Tony Pizzaro came out up front.
Johnny Reed Foley went from 23rd to 1st to take the lead on lap 73! From there he surged on, pulling ahead of the two-main packs. He would lap Dan Johnston, Ziggy Moonglow, Ken Joynt and Bill Werkheiser; struggling mightily in his final Extravaganza Series event. Both Bill and Tony Long suffered notoriously throughout the weekend, with Long failing to make the field and Bill with an engine-miss throughout practice. Long's final ride in the #15 Budweiser car came at Phoenix one week ago, finishing 34th. Bill's final drive tonight eventually limped him home to 35th.
Johnny Reed Foley came in a "Whiplash Whopping" six laps before Ryan Heuser, who was still dedicated to their three-stop strategy. Zach Michael gave it up, coming in for fresh rubber two laps after halfway. Heuser came out 23rd, traversing through the field to the third position during the 60 lap stint. Foley maintained his five-second advantage at the head of the field. Dalton Lucas, Adam Crapser, Rob Scarberry, Donald Stewart, Steve Inkman, Matt Raboin, Rod Weston, Mark Heron, Tony Gunk and Steven Spears all fell down to the #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet. William Perry was the first to fall out with an engine failure, dropping to 25th in points with Ben Geer taking his spot in the standings after an eventual 15th-place effort.
Logan Sheets and Craig Lee pulled away from the second pack, able to keep pace with Foley as they meandered through the same traffic. Ryan Heuser and Zakk Miller brought the third group back with help from fresher tires, pulling Dave Miller, Bink Lucas and Rick Jackson within ten seconds of the #3. John Battista's Wendy's Chevrolet was the outlier. He stretched three-seconds ahead of the newly formed mob, gaining ground despite his slightly older rubber.
There have been no repeat winners at Homestead in the last nine events at the facility! It's the only modern racetrack Ryan Heuser has failed to find victory lane, hoping to rectify his "Florida woes" by chasing down Johnny Reed Foley for his second-straight and fifth Extravaganza Series Championship! Zach Michael comes in 75 points back in search of his first crown, with teammates to both drivers in Zakk Miller and Craig Lee ready to pounce! It's Quick-Silver Motorsports and Team Danger Zone against Johnny Reed Foley for the title. Good luck to all!
It's Bill Werkheiser's Final Ride! He joined the Extravaganza Series in 2001, driving Buddy Griswald's #99 STP Ford in his final season as a car owner. His efforts were bought out by W.A.S.P. Motorsports the following season, teaming up with Scott Jackson in the #6 Kraft foods Taurus. He, Scott, Rick Jackson and Randy Dobbins would powerhouse their way to four Championships, with Werkheiser finishing top-10 in points in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2015. "I took my model plane out at Bristol." says Bill about a weekend during his rookie campaign. "Buddy comes out and says "Hey Billy, what are ya doin'". I said "I'm flying my airplane". He says "You want some good gas for that?". I was like "Yea!". Buddy goes back to his motor home; he mixes it up with the oil and stuff. He says "Don't tell your momma and daddy about this." He has this jug of clear liquid. "Whatever you do don't drink it!" He cranks it up; there's a blue flame comin' out "Holy what is this??!" He throws it up; it flies wayyy over the fourth turn wall. I'm there lookin' at it and he says "Sorry 'bout your luck kid.""
Molemar Diggs clinches the Rookie of the Year! The campaign proved tough, showing signs of greatness before a humbling summer-stretch sent the team in a cavalcade of trial and strife. Two fourth-place efforts at Atlanta and Richmond set the tone, with Jeremy Hebel finishing more races to keep up with the torrid pace of the #41 Pittsburgh Steelers Chevrolet. In the end, the second Wizards of Speed entry got the job done! Hebel, Steve Inkman, Rod Weston and Tony Gunk also fought valiantly, showing flashes of brilliance throughout the 2024 campaign.
What a year! Seven victories more than doubles his previous season-high. 1,459 laps led makes Buddy Rakestraw look like Syd Quackenbush, but that's okay! They are both legends in their own right. Foley's "legendary" status depends on his Pennzoil 400 result! A 12th-place finish or better will nab the #3 AC-Delco CFM Motorsports Chevrolet the title! The year started with a 13th-place in the Daytona 500 followed by two-straight top-3's. A victory at Atlanta set the tone, climbing up the ladder to catch Ken Pettit, Zakk Miller and Alex Crapser atop the standings. Wins at Kansas and Gateway propelled Foley to second in points, passing Pettit for the points lead after Sonoma in June. The #8 Bob Marley Chevrolet took it back at Chicagoland, only for Foley to sweep victories in the northeast stretch at New Hampshire and Pocono. Foley was in the midst of a 15-race lap-led streak starting from the Coca-Cola 600 to the Eddie Money Classic. Those bonus points narrowly edged Pettit's consistency to win the regular season Championship! His victory at the Southern 500 sparked the remainder of his campaign, leading a whopping 718 laps in nine chase races. Four of them saw him up front for 100+ (Darlington, Las Vegas, Martinsville and Phoenix), with a seventh victory at Atlanta; sweeping both events at the facility. A narrow loss to Ryan Heuser in Arizona keeps the #138 just 58 points behind. The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet starts mid-pack in 23rd for the Pennzoil 400. Look for Foley to climb directly to the front!
A 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500 sparked Ryan Heuser's 2024 campaign. Four-straight efforts of 35th-or-worse ensued, with a 9th place finish at Texas failing to rectify his situation. The #138 Nos Energy Quick-Silver Motorsports Chevrolet would have to qualify on speed! 38th in the standings rendered Heuser without a provisional for Richmond, having to race Alan Nesfeder, Jimmie Stevens and other unlucky souls for the top-8 in the 80-lap pre-qualifier. Heuser won the race! A third-place effort in the main event got the ball rolling. Still, they were concluded as blackballed from the Chase after such a major deficit. By Chicagoland, the team was up to 29th in points. Seven-straight top-10 finishes including a victory at the Brickyard 400 jumped him the 19 spots they needed! A competitive field kept the middle-pack points getters close; giving Heuser the opportunity to pass two to three spots at a time with each top-10. "The 46-car fields during the summer-stretch was our salvation" said crew chief Mustard Mahoney. "If a guy went out, we'd gain 100+ every time. Fortunately we never had a problem when it counted most. Everyone else did." Heuser enters Homestead leading in six-straight events, attempting to remedy his broken camshaft at Talladega with a fifth Extravaganza Series crown! They come in just 56-points behind Foley, needing the #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet to finish 13th-or-worse to have a chance.
Two Team Danger Zone entries battle for the Championship! Zach Michael's #20 Coca-Cola Mustang's campaign started a little rough, finishing 18th in the Daytona 500 followed by a four-race stretch without a lap led. Two 32nd-place finishes were followed by a 6th and a 3rd at Rockingham and Atlanta, only to blow up from the pole at Texas after dominating the first-half of the event. A 6th-place finish followed by a victory at Martinsville entered their April short-track stretch 9th in the standings, with three of his four teammates well within contention. Three seventh-place efforts at Darlington, Kansas and Pocono were followed by a demonic stretch of bad luck, dropping to 14th in points as he and rookie Molemar Diggs dropped to the veterans of Scott Jackson and Dave Miller. Unlike the rookie, Michael battled back with three-straight top-5's at Chicagoland, New Hampshire and Pocono. Their magnum-opus of the year might be their 4th-place run at Richmond, solidifying themselves into the Chase with teammate Zakk Miller. A crash in the Southern 500 left the team 184 points behind Foley. They would not be denied! Seven top-16 efforts in the next eight events; leading all but one with a victory at Charlotte to boot! Zach Michael comes in 75 points behind Johnny Reed Foley, needing the #3 to finish 18th or worse to have a shot at their first Championship title!
Nobody's completed more laps or earned more poles in their 2024 campaign than Bepis-man Zakk Miller! The #30 Team Danger Zone team enters their fourth season, earning a second-straight chase bid en route to their first top-5 points result. All they have to do is finish 16th or better to pull off the feat! They were the first team to finish outside the top-30, going 22-races before a 42nd-place at Michigan. His two DNF's leads the league, finishing the year as the only man to complete 10,000 laps if John Tharp has trouble. He out-dueled Tharp at Bristol for his only victory of the season, only to get beat by the #14 at the Eddie Money Classic to start-off the chase! Miller was the points leader just two races in. With Johnny Reed Foley, teammate Zach Michael and Ryan Heuser dominating the resuming seven-race stretch, the #30 Bepis Mustang fights for their lives, needing a Johnny Reed Foley dilemma to solidify themselves back in the hunt! They're 118 points back entering the Pennzoil 400.
