Craig Lee is rushed to the hospital. A carbon monoxide attack puts him out of the second heat, recovering at the Atrium Health Medical Center. Jonathan Skrabacz will take his place in the 20-car field. "My wife made me scrub too many floors, and my girlfriend broke the other!" said Skrabacz, referring to his recent arm injuries. That pales in comparison to Tony Pizzaro's Jiffy Pop accident in 2020. Bink Lucas and Ben Geer will start on the front row.
"I quit smoking for a whole year when I was in a coma." said Extravaganza super fan Larry Wayne. He'll be rooting for Dave Miller to make the show; a last ditch effort to prove that cigarette's are still in vogue. The top-4 drivers will advance to the feature. Miracle-man Dalton Lucas passes Bink on the first lap, dominating the first five circuits before Timothy McDonnell, Dave Miller and Jeremy Hebel flew by on the inside.
Bink can't keep up! A loose condition sends him to the back, tangling with Doug Spark on lap-15 to bring out the first caution. Mark Heron broke a rear gear under the yellow, leaving 18 cars spotless for the 30-lap finale. Timothy McDonnell's #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen leads the field through the halfway mark, hoping to earn a spot and win his fifth career All-Star Race feature.
Jeremy Hebel makes a smooth move on the frontstretch, clearing the #22 as McDonnell fends off the forces behind. Dave Miller, Scott Jackson, Ken Pettit, Dave Miller, Ben Geer, Markell Murphy and Dalton Lucas all swap the top-8 positions, with McDonnell, Pettit, Geer and Murphy claiming the top-5 spots with three-to-go. Geer beats Murphy for the final transfer by an eyelash, with Hebel narrowly holding off McDonnell to win the $500,000 grand prize!
Hebel held off McDonnell for the final two laps to earn his first career Extravaganza Series victory and first All-Star race clinch! He and Ziggy Moonglow finally feel like winners, basking in the Charlotte moonlight as the fireworks crackle the skies. Congratulations to Jeremy, crew chief Toby Roberson and the entire Blazin' Pedals Racing crew for an excellent win. Also congrats to Timothy McDonnell, Ken Pettit and Ben Geer for clinching the feature!
42 drivers fight for the prize! Twenty will advance to the final heat, hoping to overcome trial and strife as they navigate through the field. Alan Nesfeder, Craig Lee, Bink Lucas and Dave Miller attempt to hold off the pack, occupying the front-two rows while Scott Jackson and Ken Pettit lurk deep in the quagmire. Nigel Ramasawmy, David Baldinger and Larry Sheldrake lead the Bonanza regulars on the grid.
Alan Nesfeder and Bink Lucas battle for lap-one supremacy! The #5 Lifesavers Mustang takes the spot, keeping the lead through lap-10 with Ziggy Moonglow and Markell Murphy able to maintain his pace. Nigel Ramasawmy blows up on lap 18, getting clipped by David Courtney while spinning into the outside dogleg barrier. He would finish dead-last. Cristian Torres follows, blowing an engine under caution.
Ziggy Moonglow takes the lead on lap 24! Bink forces him up in turn-3, taking the spot back with Markell Murphy in tow. The #47 Red Bull Mustang fights with Bink through lap 30 before the second caution flag. Donald Stewart gets clipped by Ken Joynt in a battle for 6th, sending the #55 through the infield and into the left side of Dalton Lucas. Tony Gunk smacked Stewart as the rest of the field roared by. Miraculously, Dalton managed to transfer. Stewart and Gunk finished 29th and 30th.
Ziggy Moonglow, Bink Lucas and Dave Miller battle maniacally for the second position, pulling Markell Murphy ahead to a three car-length advantage. Moonglow caught him with 5-to-go, passing the #47 on the frontsrtretch and cruising to his first Extravaganza Series victory and the $500,000 prize! Steve Inkman beat Jonathan Skrabacz for the last transfer spot, with pole-sitter Alan Nesfeder, Logan Sheets, Steven Spears, Jimmie Stevens and Trae Larkin failing to make the cut.
A first-rate performance by Ziggy Moonglow nabs him the $500,000 prize and a chance to make the 2025 All-Star Race. Congratulations to Moonglow, crew chief Phil Lime and the entire Delta Sim Racing organization for their first ever win. Also congrats to Markell Murphy, Dave Miller, Bink Lucas, Ben Geer, Craig Lee, Doug Spark, Philip Parker, Dan Johnston, Jeremy Hebel, Michael Henson, Kevin Corbat, Mark Heron, Ken Pettit, Timothy McDonnell, Rob Scarberry, Ken Joynt, Dalton Lucas, Scott Jackson and Steve Inkman for clinching to the last-chance qualifier!
The 2025 All-Star Race is here! As always, the event will consist of 16 winners from the previous 36 events. Two heat races determine the remaining field, starting with a 42-car showdown between non-winners and top-qualifying Bonanza Series regulars. That race will be 50 laps, with the top-20 advancing to the final 50-lap heat. The top-4 of that race clinch their spot into the 20-car All-Star Race field, earning their right to fight for the "whiplash whopping" $10,000,000! The winner of each heat will win $500,000.
The 100-lap All-Star Race feature will include long-shot drivers like Molemar Diggs, Chauncey Redmond Jr. and William Perry, attempting to overtake 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. Zakk Miller looks for his second-straight victory, still enjoying his lifetime supply of "Hors d'oeuvre" spent from his $10,000,000 earnings. "I've gained 20 pounds, all in the right foot!". Another trip to the bank is the goal.
Three top-tier Extravaganza Series drivers have to fight their way into the show! Four-time All-Star Race winner Timothy McDonnell hasn't won an Extravaganza event since Lime Rock Park in 2023. Dave Miller's gone winless since his Championship crown three seasons ago, capturing the flag in the inaugural race at Gateway. Ken Pettit was the second two-time winner in 2024, failing to find victory lane since the spring Rebel 400. The Bob Marley team built a brand new Speedway Chevrolet, replacing Rick Jackson's hand-me-down cars after a horrid start to the year. They'll fight 39 hungrier foes.
All-Star Race Entry List Zakk Miller: All-Star Race, 2024 John Tharp: Lime Rock, 2024 John Battista: Richmond, 2024 Dakota Wilkins: Bristol, 2024 Adam Crapser: Martinsville, 2024 Craig Lee: Talladega, 2024 Ryan Heuser: Daytona, 2025 Zach Michael: Atlanta, 2025 Rick Jackson: Rockingham, 2025 Matthew Dominique: Phoenix, 2025 Matt Raboin: California, 2025 Alex Crapser: Homestead, 2025 Molemar Diggs: Darlington, 2025 Chauncey Redmond Jr.: Talladega, 2025 Johnny Reed Foley: Texas, 2025 William Perry: Kansas, 2025 Consolation Race: Top-4 Finisher Consolation Race:... Read more »
In 2008, William Perry's nickname was "kidney stone" because he was hard to pass. Eight years later he won his final Extravaganza Series race, holding off Brandon Beyke at Martinsville in similar style before disbanding with teammate Mike Gaughan and going independent. 320 races later, Perry searches for another opportunity to victory lane. Four top-10's and a fourth-place finish at Bristol gave "Tex" his most promising start since 2016. Perhaps this could be the night.
A race fan suggested a traveling tabernacle to use as a racetrack. It could be driven on a flatbed trailer, unfolded onto a pile of dirt and shaped into several different forms. "The mushroom shaped facility was my favorite. You can see the entire track from the volva." The fan received more hate mail than Ivan the Terrible, finding an expired ketchup packet among the letters. "I hope you drink this!" said Bill Cove from Sarasota. Dave Miller will start on the pole for the Pizza Hut 400.
"Racing Kansas is like dating a plastic woman!" said Ken Joynt. Despite his skepticism, he qualified a miracle 6th on the grid, ready to showcase his talent and manipulate the field. He and Dalton Lucas battle for the 6th position before a lap-2 crash. Ken Pettit slaps the outside wall, tagging Markell Murphy and John Battista while Ben Geer and David Butterworth spin up the track. All four cars would continue, with Pettit, Geer and Butterworth entering Kansas mired outside the top-35. This will not help their cause.
Steven Spears makes a four-wide move of the ages! He was still on the apron entering turn-1, clipping Cristian Torres while getting decapitated by Ben Geer in the aftermath. Geer, Spears and John Battista all retried during the caution flag. Another spin between Chauncey Redmond, Mike Carroll and Ken Joynt brought out the caution on lap 16. Three yellows make up for 2025's season long drought of caution flags. After everything cycled through, pole-sitter Dave Miller was back on top for the lap-21 restart.
The Marlboro #90 stood its ground through the 50th lap, getting freight-trained by points leader Tony Pizzaro and teammate Rick Jackson. The #12 and #44 battled defiantly before Pizzaro's "Fenway Frank" Fusion pulled ahead, gapping the third-place battle between Zakk Miller, Craig Lee, Timothy McDonnell, Bink Lucas and Ryan Heuser. Dave Miller struggled with the handling and dropped back to ninth, eventually spinning out entering turn-1, and getting clobbered by Dakota WIlkins and Logan Sheets. Wilkins would drop from 7th to 10th in the standings. Miller fell outside the top-20, with Sheets failing to record a top-8 after twelve starts.
Ryan Heuser takes his first lead of the night on lap-123, tying Pizzaro for most races led with nine. He'd nab the halfway bacon bonus, pulling ahead by three seconds before the 100-to-go mark. Then, disaster struck. Jimmie Stevens and Timothy McDonnell make contact, sending the #2 Ampio Mustang into the wall before clipping Cristian Torres. Scott Jackson and Alex Crapser had nowhere to go, pounding Stevens hood-first as he slid into the racing groove. Rob Scarberry, Tony Gunk, Steve Inkman, Rod Weston and Kevin Corbat were also involved in the crash.
Ryan Heuser blows a tire! Debris from the turn-3 wreckage sends the NOS Energy #138 to the pits, handing Tony Pizzaro the advantage for the third time tonight. Johnny Reed Foley takes the spot on lap 174, leading his ninth race for 20 laps. The lapped car of Molemar Diggs made a late move to the inside, spinning himself out in front of Foley's bumper on the tri-oval. He'd get mauled by Zakk Miller and Timothy McDonnell, with Miller and Diggs failing to continue.
CFM Motorsports dominated the Pizza Hut 400 since it's return to the schedule in 2022. Johnny Reed Foley won at Kansas last year. Timothy McDonnell dominated the previous event, leading 95 laps in a do-or-die plight. The 2022 race saw both drivers finish inside the top-5. Despite failing to find the cameras, the #22 Caterpillar Volkswagen comes into Kansas with five top-13 finishes in their last six races. A classic McDonnell summer-stretch smackdown could begin tonight! Dave Miller starts on the pole, hoping to break his 104-race winless streak since Gateway during his Championship season of 2022. Outside row is Zach Michael, just 46-points back from Tony Pizzaro coming in.
Nobody was better at Kansas than Bill Werkheiser. Zero DNF's in 22 starts. Three wins (2005, 2008 and 2012), ten top-5's, fifteen top-10's and an average finish of 7.8 leads all of Extravaganza. Only he and the Jackson's raced in every Pizza Hut 400. After tonight, it will only be two. Bill's last career top-5 came here after a crash in qualifying, recovering to finish 3rd in 2024. Here are his results:
"I don't know a piston rod from a PEZ dispenser, but boy we've had luck!" These are the words of Chauncey Redmond Jr., praying for three-in-a-row in the Russ Charneski 500. Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael start on the front row, a reversal of fortune from their 44th and 45th-place efforts in 2024. Michael enters just 20 points behind leader Tony Pizzaro. The lights are out. The crowd is stout! 334 laps decide the fate of 45 cannoneers, ready to "cannon" their way to the front.
Russ Charneski waves the green flag, flicking his wrist in impeccable style! Pole-sitter Ryan Heuser and Molemar Diggs fight maniacally for the top-spot, holding off Jeremy Hebel, John Battista, Ken Pettit, Logan Sheets, Matthew Dominique and Dakota Wilkins. Zach Michael and Zakk Miller dropped back early, reversing their early-race fortune from one year ago. From the rear, Johnny Reed Foley, Dave Miller, Tony Pizzaro and Alex Crapser adventured their way through the field.
Molemar and Heuser continued their stride. Ignition troubles sent Mark Heron to the garage, finishing 45th in an eventual low-attrition affair. Only he and Donald Stewart fell to the gremlins. Up front, Johnny Reed Foley and Ken Pettit chased down the leaders, still swapping the top-spot and keeping the field close in consequence. Heuser momentarily steals the reigns from Johnny Reed Foley by leading his eighth race of the season.
The #3 AC-Delco Chevrolet took only 52 laps to traverse from tenth to first! Foley adds two to his league leading lap led total before Molemar re-took the spot. A fourth victory for Wizards of Speed was in the midst! Only Dave Miller could terminate the presses, leading the field to the first round of fuel stops. He, Dakota Wilkins, Diggs, Heuser and Pettit entered the pits inside the top-5.
Zakk Miller slingshots from thirteenth to second! He and Dakota Wilkins came in early, catapulting the #77 Colorado Rockies Chevrolet to a four-second advantage over the field. He spent 40-laps at the helm before Johnny Reed Foley, Markell Murphy, Rick Jackson, Tony Pizzaro, Matthew Dominique, Bink Lucas, Molemar Diggs, Alex Crapser and Zakk Miller all caught the man, conveying Wilkins to the tail-end of the group. Towards the rear, Alan Nesfeder and Michael Henson limped after heavy early-race contact. They would finish 39th and 37th.
Johnny Reed Foley and Markell Murphy alternate the lead numerous times for the remaining stint. They lapped John Battista and Jimmie Stevens before the halfway point, rendering the Wendy's and Ampio fan-base into severe dismay! Veterans Rick Jackson and Dave Miller shadowed the front-two during the run, dismembering the idea that neither driver will win a race in 2025.
Markell Murphy exits the pits first! He and Danger Zone teammate Zakk Miller fight for the Halfway Bacon Bonus, with Miller grabbing the slab with ease. He and Dakota Wilkins shuffled the lead through lap 177. By then, Johnny Reed Foley was there. "He plays every instrument well, including the steering wheel!" said crew chief Ronnie Pressley. Foley's always compared his racing prowess to his musical ability. Unfortunately he still struggles to rip open a ketchup packet.
Laps 178 through 207 were dominated by the #3 AC Delco Chevrolet. Only Tony Pizzaro could keep pace, leading the field through green flag stops while pulling to a four-second advantage over third place. Dave Miller, Ryan Heuser and Dakota Wilkins remained in striking distance. The remaining contenders were in danger of losing a lap. Up front, Foley and D
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Chauncey Redmond Jr. reached "mad man" status after two-straight victories, looking like Babe Ruth in 1920. Wizards of Speed hopes for more of the same at Texas. Since 2020, eight drivers have etched their name into winner list, reaping rewards of their success ever since. Mark Guthrie still keeps his lucky pez dispencer. Bink Lucas gets free Lifesavers. Dalton Lucas has confetti stuck in his ear canal. The memories live on, but for some, the future still looks bright. Logan Sheets, Cristian Torres and Jeremy Hebel still await their glory, hoping Texas can be the precipice. Sadly for them, Chauncey Redmond might win them all!
First Time Winners (2020-2025)
Zach Michael and Tony Pizzaro finished dead-last in the 2024 Russ Charneski 500. Now they are back, watching Russ wave the green flag in prayer of a better result. Miracle-man Chauncey Redmond faces adversity this week, starting 37th in the field of 45 in hopes of a third-straight win; the first time since Ryan Heuser in 2022 if he can pull off the feat. "My steering wheel feels like vinyl record." said Redmond, struggling with the setup since Thursday. "It spins on it's own, playing Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music while I race my metal machine!" This might be a long day for Wizards of Speed. Up front, Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael start up front, hoping to maintain their top-5 status by the end of lap 334.
Beverages fly across the grandstands! Children add Michelob and Heineken to their bottle-cap collections, picking up where the custodians forgot to sweep. Up front, Daytona 500 winner Ryan Heuser looks to sweep the Superspeedways in 2025, hoping to fend off the recent Lucas Racing dominance at the facility. Both he and Alex Crapser occupy the front row, currently third and fourth in points behind leader Zach Michael.
Pole-sitter Alex Crapser dominates the initial stretch! His Lucas Racing horsepower reigned supreme, dropping Ben Geer, Mike Carroll and Geno Sphere out of the draft with his dynamic pace. Donald Stewart dropped a lap after a blown tire, splitting the field in two while leaving Adam Crapser, Rob Scarberry, William Perry, Dalton Lucas, Markell Murphy, Steven Spears, Scott Jackson, Molemar Diggs and Mark Heron severed from the leading group.
Johnny Reed Foley breaks a tie with Ryan Heuser and Tony Pizzaro, leading his league-leading seventh race after passing Alex Crapser on lap 24. He, Alan Nesfeder, Dan Johnston, Bink Lucas, Zach Michael, John Tharp, Trae Larkin and Matthew Dominique all took turns at the top-spot before pitting for tires. Miracle-man John Tharp stretched his fuel through lap 54; two laps further than anyone else in the field. Despite little draft, the lack of congestion in the pits puts the Zig-Zag man on top!
John Battista re-took the lead immediately, sending Tharp to the wolves. Ken Pettit, Tony Pizzaro, Cristian Torres, Alex Crapser, Logan Sheets, Chauncey Redmond Jr., Craig Lee, Ryan Heuser and Jeremy Hebel led an eleven car cavalcade to the promised-land. Miraculously, Jimmie Stevens led the second-pack charge to the front, showcasing speed that Lifesaver Racing lacked so far in 2025. 24 cars were in the lead pack by lap 80.
Ken Pettit, Tony Pizzaro, Logan Sheets, Matthew Dominique, Timothy McDonnell, John Battista and Craig Lee all swapped the lead during the middle-stages. They would lap Ben Geer, Mark Heron, Molemar Diggs, Rob Scarberry, William Perry, Donald Stewart, Mike Carroll, Geno Sphere and Jeremy Hebel during the long green flag run. Usual Talladega-masters Rick Jackson and Johnny Reed Foley lose hope, currently over 30-seconds behind.
Ayn Rand once said "The best way to help the poor is to not be one of them!" Sadly, Old Farts Racing teammates Rob Scarberry and David Butterworth became "one of them", smashing into each other on the turn-3 banking after contact with Michael Henson. Butterworth would place 43rd, failing to finish better than 34th in a disastrous 2025 campaign. Scarberry comes off a top-5 at Bristol to finish 44th, dropping to 31st in the standings. Henson continued on.
Leader John Battista blows up! Overhreating issues plagued the #39 for the entire race, planning to lead the field for the remaining laps in search for that "chilled air". Sadly, the air was only "chill" in spirit, detonating the Wendy's #39 power-plant during the slow-speed pilgrimage. A peace-prize effort by teammate Alex Crapser pushed Battista back to his pit. He'll drop to 16th in the standings; falling while leading for the second time in 2025. Sophomore drivers Steve Inkman and Jeremy Hebel also fell with motor issues.
40 cars remained for the 70-lap shootout to the finish! Ken Pettit acquired t
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