Five different teams found victory lane since Las Vegas moved to the late-summer Eddie Money Classic! Each winner has less syllables in their surname than the previous, indicating that Ben Geer will break his winless streak beginning at Sears Point in 2017! Former Classic winner and points leader Johnny Reed Foley hopes to continue a streak of his own, leading 14-consecutive races coming into Las Vegas. He will start on the pole, with Geer on the leading the outside row. Bill Werkheiser comes in 27th in the standings, qualifying 5th in hopes of winning his first race since Dover of 2015. Rumors still circulate if Bill is racing his final season. A victory in the Eddie Money Classic might change his mind. Drivers Zach Michael and Rick Jackson hope to earn back points after mortifying luck at Darlington. With their fantastic speedway package and bad fortune from the #3, things may even out in the points!
In 1968, Mert Socks left for India. Dissatisfied with Dodge's reluctance to put a wing on his racecar, he left for Rishikesh with Abe Murlin and E.T. Sink to find peace. This left the table open for Caravan Hayes, leading an Extravaganza Series record of 31-straight events with a lap led! Johnny Reed Foley is almost halfway there, leading his 14th in last week's Southern 500. Will Foley break Caravan's record? If he can hurdle Talladega and Daytona, Johnny Reed Foley might get the job done.
Eddie Money Classic Winners 2019: Matthew Dominique 2020: Johnny Reed Foley 2021: Ryan Heuser 2022: Bink Lucas 2023: Craig Lee
Johnny Reed Foley comes in the winner of the 2024 Regular Season Championship! Only five points ahead of Ken Pettit, he will have to stay dominant over the next ten races to secure the title. Teammate Timothy McDonnell and Ryan Heuser narrowly made the top-10 in hopes of dethroning the #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet. With $10,000,000 on the line, the focus may lie purely on the Southern 500 victory!
Ryan Heuser earns his first pole since Nashville in June! The #138 Quick-Silver entry would lead the initial 19 laps while Ben Geer and Zakk Miller battled maniacally for the second position. #29 Twinkie-Man would take the top-spot on lap 20, pulling the #30 Bepis Mustang to a three-second advantage over the field by the 50th circuit. Heuser, Alan Nesfeder, and rookie Jeremy Hebel round-out the top-5 positions.
Ben Geer and Zakk Miller swapped the lead on several occasions before green flag pit stops, relinquishing their advantage over the field. Towards the back, usual Darlington contenders Timothy McDonnell and Scott Jackson struggled to stay within the top-30, with Dan Johnston suffering an engine issue. A devastating blow, with the #121 team finishing second in last year's Southern 500.
The #30 Bepis Mustang came in for tires two laps before Geer, coming out with the outright advantage and pulling away from the pack. He would lead the lap-100 mark, with Dan Johnston crossing the line after a hard-impact to the inside wall. Bink Lucas tapped him off of turn-4, sending Dan head-first into the inside barrier. The Allstate #121 would finish dead-last on the night. Former teammate and last year's Southern 500 winner Craig Lee narrowly escaped the crash, continuing on unhurdled in 14th place.
A missed lug-nut on the #30 saw Ben Geer re-take the lead on the restart! Miracle-man Tony Long looked to cash in after nearly losing his job, going from 30th to the lead after the one-third distance to solidify himself as an Extravaganza Series mainstay. The terrible-towel's roared into the air like mustard-stained emlbems, surrendering their misgivings over Long's recent misfortune. A hard-charge from Jeremy Hebel couldn't intimidate the Budweiser-Man, but a NOS Energy swipe on the inside-line was indefensible. Ryan Heuser was back up front.
Tony Long and the #15 Budweiser Shake N'Bake Racing team led a whopping eight laps during the stint, doubleing their total on the season. Their performance would pay off with an eventual 9th place finish, second best to Texas earlier in the year. Johnny Reed Foley also found his way past the #15 looking to lead his 14th-straight event in 2024. He would do so on lap 139, taking the lead outright and pulling to a gargantuan 15-second advantage after a record-breaking fuel-stop and 90 laps of dominant CFM horsepower! Tony Long and John Battista were the only two that could stay within a half-lap of the points leader. Scott Jackson and Tony Pizzaro would go a lap down, while title-contenders Timothy McDonnell and John Tharp fought to keep their lead-lap status. Deep behind them, the race for the fourth position was frantic between Jeremy Hebel, Ben Geer, Logan Sheets, Matt Raboin, Alex Crapser, Rick Jackson, Zakk Miller and Zach Michael.
Ryan Heuser endured a blown right-rear tire, losing a lap by the next caution. He would tap the rear of Matt Raboin entering turn-3! The #87 Valvoline Viper smacked the outside wall hard, capapulting into Zach Michael's right-front fender. A devastating blow for both cars with little attrition, as both were unable to continue. The #20 Team Danger Zone entry would finish 44th, breaking the record for most 44th places in an Extravaganza Season with three. They would drop to 184-points behind Foley, but only six behind Rick Jackson who suffered an engine failure after running over debris from the crash.
The Southern 500 is seen as a vortex of Extarvaganza Championship glory! It's also perceived as the deli-slicer of pain, ending some title hopes after week one. Last year every contender except Ken Pettit fell to the wayside, with Pettit leading the points through Rockingham after his immaculate victory that ended a near five-year winless streak! The #8 Bob Marley Chevrolet is back to try it again, with Ryan Heuser miraculously making the chase after seven-straight top-10 finishes to end the regular season. He will begin to defend his title hopes tonight!
Johnny Reed Foley and Ken Pettit have dominated so far! They're the only two teams with an average finish under 15th on the year, swapping the points lead numerous times to secure their status as favorites to win the 2024 title! Multi-Champions Ryan Heuser and Timothy McDonnell sneaked their way into the chase with recent good runs. Heuser will start on the pole tonight! Zach Miller and Zach Michael hope to finally clinch a Team Danger Zone crown with a top-10 run in the Southern 500! Miller will start second. John Tharp will represent the lone Toyota again! Craig Lee, Alex Crapser and Rick Jackson will be the dark-horses. Good luck!
Timothy McDonnell, Rick Jackson, Zach Michael, Dave Miller, Dakota Wilkins, Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser, Matt Raboin and Markell Murphy all fight for Championship supremacy! Miller enters the Funai 400 just six points ahead Dakota Wilkins for 10th, hoping to race each other while holding off the Richmond elite. Ryan Heuser and Matt Raboin each come in less than 50 points behind both, dominating this facility more than any other driver. Logan Sheets hopes to play spoiler, while McDonnell, Jackson and Michael pray for a decent finish to solidify their title status.
The first career pole for sophomore-man Chauncey Redmomd Jr.! He would hold off Alex Crapser and Matt Raboin for four laps before the Pennzoil #04 took the lead, with Raboin passing Redmond three laps later. A turn-2 crash between Adam Crapser, Dalton Lucas and Bink Lucas re-settled the field on lap-9.
David Butterworth inherits the lead by staying out, with Ryan Heuser and Ken Pettit taking two tires behind. The #81 Coors Light Dodge led only three laps the entire season, holding off the field for 15 more before the second caution flag. While the Coors Light driver leads, the Coors Field car falls to the frontstetch wayside. A morbid blow! Dakota Wilkins is out after only 24 laps, ending his Championship bid after a four-victory season. They entered Indianapolis 166 points ahead of 11th-place Matt Raboin. Now they are out, racing for most victories against Johnny Reed Foley for the remainder of 2024!
Alex Crapser and Ryan Heuser battle ferociously for the top-spot around the lapped car of Rod Weston. The #04 tapped the wall off of turn-2, handing the lead to Heuser while hoping to take advantage of Wilkins' misfortune. The #138 would pull away from the field in-shades of previous years of Richmond dominion. He would lap Rick Jackson. He would lap Timothy McDonnell. Zach Michael, Dave Miller and Logan Sheets hope to capitalize on the #22 and #44's lack of early speed.
A mortifying engine failure for Dave Miller! The drivers 10th and 11th in points are out, joining Wilkins as the remainder of the field roars around in a vortex of glory! Steven Spears, Timothy McDonnell and Trae Larkin crashed on the backstretch to end Heuser's domination. Not long afterwards, pole-sitter Chauncey Redmond Jr. went for a spin, slamming into Markell Murphy, who ricocheted into Timothy McDonnell's front radiator. McDonnell is out! Redmond would also fail to continue, with Murphy enduring on to limp the 400-mile distance. McDonnell came in 106-points ahead of Logan Sheets, 135 ahead of Ryan Heuser and 137 ahead of Matt Raboin. He will have to await word in the garage.
Matt Raboin pulls off a three-wide move off of turn-4 to take the lead from Heuser! Battista takes it back one lap later, earning the top-spot before the Redmond accident. Heuser would go for a spin on the backstretch to the delight of the #22 Caterpillar crew, though the #138 would not be denied! They'd come back out in 20th, driving to 16th after 10 laps in a seemingly unhindered racecar. Up front, Adam Crapser and Scott Jackson battled for the top-spot after staying out, with Jackson coming out on top. The old man "ATEUP" Jackson and "Fenway Frank" Pizzaro would dominate the remaining stint.
Jackson and Pizzaro swapped the lead several times after the halfway-point, with Pizzaro clinching the $100,000 slab! Miracle-man Steve Inkman battled ferociously to catch both of them hoping for the Cinderella story of the millenium! It was too good to be true. Rod Weston blew a tire off of turn-2, getting slammed by Alex Crapser before immaculate horror!
Timothy McDonnell, Rick Jackson, Zach Michael and Dave Miller come into Richmond less than 100 points from being swarmed by a four-driver brigade. Dakota Wilkins, Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser and Matt Raboin are all within 48-points from passing any of them, with Miller and Wilkins only six-points apart for the final spot. Heuser and Raboin dominate this facility more than anyone, with Markell Murphy ready to pounce if he can pull off a miracle victory! Stand aside and enjoy the festivities!
Points Standings (After 25 of 36 Events) 7. Timothy McDonnell: +95 (+3) 8. Rick Jackson: +90 9. Zach Michael: +85 (-2) 10. Dave Miller: +6 (+1) ---------------------------------------- 11. Dakota Wilkins: -6 (-2) 12. Logan Sheets: -15 13. Ryan Heuser: -46 14. Matt Raboin: -48 (2) 15. Markell Murphy: -92
Chauncey Redmond Jr. earns his first career pole! A second-place start in last years Sharpie 500 was his previous best, leading 60 laps early in the go. Look for him to stay up front longer tonight. A fifth and a seventh in the previous three races brought the #64 New England Patriots team inside the top-35 for the first time all season. He finished 19th or better in both races last year. Look for him to crack the top-10 tonight!
Bill Werkheiser misses his first race since 2011! His collarbone injury at the Pepsi 400 was the talk of the garage area. Scott Jackson forced him to eat boneslaw; a scallion-based coleslaw with shredded chicken-bone to help settle the cartilage. Bill would go on to win Homestead later in the year. This time the #6 Piper team flat-out failed to qualify, finishing dead-last in the 80-lap qualifier. A morbid blow to a revered Extravaganza mainstay. The Southern 500 is next; a race Bill nearly won two years ago. Look for a bounce-back performance at the "old" facility for Old Man Bill!
There's only one road to Watkins Glen! All 46 teams found it, driving around "coon alley" in Apline Junction to reach the speedway. "We saw Woodstock last night" said Tony Gunk, attempting his first Watkins Glen event. "We picked up a five-leaf clover and put it the car." Zakk Miller and Timothy McDonnell start on the front row.
The #30 Bepis Mustang held off McDonnell through the inner-loop to lead lap 1. A spin by John Battista and a hard crash by Kevin Corbat and Donald Stewart brought out the first caution early. Both Corbat and Stewart were okay despite a blow to the pit wall. Battista would fall to the back, hindering his effort at a fourth-straight Watkins Glen victory.
Miller and McDonnell continued their battle after the restart, with the #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen taking the position. A Tony Long and Dan Johnston spin brought out the next two cautions, each off the final corner. Both John Tharp, winner of the first two road course events and John Battista, winner of the last three Watkins Glen races topped off on fuel. Zach Michael would do the same, leading the field on the possible one-stop strategy.
Tony Pizzaro found his way past Zakk Miller for the second position. The #12 Fenway Frank machine made several attempts to pass by, racing side-by-side entering the inner loop several times without capitalizing. Miller found his way by Pizzaro on lap 35; making his bid on McDonnell in the same corner but to no avail.
Both Steven Spears and Ziggy Moonglow suffered woes during the mid-point of the event. The #65 smacked the wall after getting loose off the final corner, ending his day. Moonglow endured a faulty ignition, losing four laps and finishing 39th. Up front, Timothy McDonnell gets spun! A dive to the pits resulted in contact with Dan Johnston, spinning in front of the field! Miraculously, everyone avoided him. Teammate Johnny Reed Foley drove by to lead his twelfth-straight event.
A David Baldinger spin brought out the caution during green flag stops. Jimmie Stevens took advantage by leading some laps before Matthew Dominique took the point. He, Alan Nesfeder and Craig Lee battled ferociously for the Halfway Bacon Bonus, with Dominique coming out on top. Racing for fifth, Zakk Miller and Johnny Reed Foley made contact through the esses, both slapping the right-side wall. Miller would eventually fall to a crash, with Foley power-driving to a top-5 despite the damage.
Craig Lee took the top-spot on lap-48. A stuck-throttle by Jeremy Hebel sent him into Rod Weston, both slapping the turn-1 tire-barrier but continuing on. Up front, Matthew Dominique blew a tire in the same corner while running second! David Baldinger slammed into the rear of the #25, ending his day while Dominique limped to a 37th-place finish.
Zach Michael's one-stop strategy put him atop the board! He would hold off David Butterworth, Rick Jackson and Ken Joynt from behind before a miraculous crash in the esses halted his progress. Adam Crapser and Zakk Miller pulverized the right-side guardrail after contact; shades of Adam's accident here two years ago. Both would exit their cars without serious injury. The #4 Packers Chevrolet now leads the league with nine DNF's on the season.
John Battista is the only driver to clinch a Chase birth every year since the 2018 season! During the same stretch, he has absolutely obliterated the field at Watkins Glen. Four victories, a third and a fourth place finish; not long after his "heart attack" inner-loop flip during his rookie campaign. Lucas Racing keeps that #94 McDonald's Ford in their "Junk-Pile Necropolis" as a reminder of what not to do. The #39 Wendy's Chevrolet comes in 111 points behind Timothy McDonnell for the final Chase spot. Look for a near-inevitable gain in the Bud at The Glen!
Watkins Glen Results (2018-2023)
Two races remain in the regular season! Only three of the twelve mainstream chase contenders qualified inside the top-10 for the Bud at The Glen. Dakota Wilkins looks to rebound from his horrid two-race stretch by methodically crawling from his 44th starting spot to a top-20 finish. Timothy McDonnell hopes to stretch his nine-point advantage over Dave Miller at one of his favorite racetracks. He will start on the outside pole. Watkins Glen master-mind John Battista will come from the 26th spot, with Markell Murphy, Ryan Heuser, Logan Sheets hoping to block his path to the front. Rick Jackson and Dave Miller just hope to finish.
Points Standings (After 24 of 36 Events) 5. Alex Crapser: +183 (-2) 6. Craig Lee: +77 7. Zach Michael: +65 (+2) 8. Rick Jackson: +60 (-1) 9. Dakota Wilkins: +12 (-1) 10. Timothy McDonnell: +9
--------------------------------------- 11. Dave Miller: -9 12. Logan Sheets: -74 (+2) 13. Ryan Heuser: -89 (+2) 14. John Battista: -111 (+2) 15. Markell Murphy: -116 (-2) 16. Matt Raboin: -117 (-4)
The Litchfield County hamlet of Lakeville, Connecticuit; nestled in the Southern Berkshires where Yankee and Red Sox fans alike can take refuge in immaculate glory! The world's greatest 1.5-mile course consistently serves it's purpose as the backwoods sanctuary of Extravaganza Series racing. This event was deemed a two-to-three year experiment just six years ago. Now it's become a staple on the Extravaganza Series tour, with road-ringers and rungers alike favoring the facility to high reviews! The sixth annual Country Time at The Lime should endure no exception.
Johnny Reed Foley hopes to claim his 11th-straight race with a lap-led and reboot his Championship effort! He would succeed, holding off Jeremy Hebel, David Baldinger and teammate Timothy McDonnell to lead the initial 14 circuits. Lucas Racing would struggle mightily during the tenure. A lap-12 crash by Dalton Lucas saw him pulverize the turn-4 barrier, dropping him out. Teammate and Michigan winner Alex Crapser blew an engine on the frontsrtetch just two laps later, dropping from 3rd to 5th in the standings.
Johnny Reed Foley and Timothy McDonnell make contact battling for the lead! The #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen hit oil from the Dalton Lucas accident, traversing to the left and tapping his teammate. Both shot into the guardrail, with David Baldinger tearing his nose after a second impact with Foley. All three drivers would miraculously continue on, handing the lead to Scott Jackson. It would be Jackson's 7th lap led the entire season, pitting with a tire vibration during the yellow.
John Battista inherited the top-spot before devastation at the West Bend corner. Scott Jackson and Tony Gunk flew across the embankment after contact, sending the #38 ATEUP Chevrolet into a series of violent flips before a hit from Molemar Diggs stopped his momentum. Miraculously, Jackson came out of the car beaten but alive. He and Diggs would fail to continue. Gunk would limp home to a 30th place finish despite driving a crushed soda-can for the remainder of the race.
John Battista led from laps 14 through 19. John Tharp took the advantage after the accident, leading through lap 25 before another crash at the uphill chicane. David Butterworth, Adam Crapser and Jonathan Skrabacz entered the corner three-wide, with the #48 and #81 into the tire barrier and unable to continue. Only 39 drivers remained, leaving Foley, McDonnell and Baldinger feeling fortunate to still be on the track despite their misfortune.
Sonoma winner John Tharp continued to dominate the show in search of his second road course victory of 2024. The #14 Zig-Zag entry would lead through lap 42 before a Craig Lee and Zach Michael accident brought out the following yellow. Jimmie Stevens and Johnny Reed Foley were the only two drivers to stay out, gambling on fuel strategy and a chance at the Halfway Bacon Bonus. Stevens and Matthew Dominique were able to hold off the anchored #3 Chevrolet while swapping the top-spot. Both entered Lime Rock as the biggest disappointments in 2024. Now they stand 1 and 2. Dominique would lead the Halfway Bacon Bonus.
Geno Sphere and Tony Pizzaro crash on lap 71. Dakota Wilkins and Zach Michael receive minor damage attempting to avoid the melee, both narrowly inside the chase-cutoff heading in. Donald Stewart, Rick Jackson and Matt Raboin were trapped a lap down after coming down for green flag stops. Logan Sheets, Ryan Heuser, Jeremy Hebel, Bink Lucas, Dave Miller, Dan Johnston, Adam Crapser, Michael Henson, and Alan Nesfeder all continued to stay out despite their half-empty fuel tanks.
