We will see a change for the points lead when this event is said and done. 42 drivers come into Daytona with the hopes of building momentum for the final 9-race stretch and bring the Championship trophy a step closer to the homeland. 160 laps of high-intensity action at 200+ MPH doesn't play well with some of the contenders. It thrives for Johnny Reed Foley and Rick Jackson, looking to continue each of their top-10 streaks with a victory tonight.
Ryan Heuser starts on the pole for the first time this season. This statistic is surprising considering his 7th place average starting position in 2022. He would lead the first 7 laps before Johnny Reed Foley draft-trained his way around with the help of William Perry. Foley, Randy Dobbins and Zach Michael would each swap the top-spot during the first 25 circuits.
The frontstretch grandstands were witness to severe devastation on lap 26. Slumping points leader Tony Pizzaro made contact with Markell Murphy during a four-wide scramble for the 6th position. Pizzaro flew through the infield and almost pulverized the pace car, slamming hard into the inside wall with the left front of his Fusion. The accident would inevitably back him up to second in the standings, finishing last and going a fourth-straight event without a lap led.
Despite the severity of the crash the race remained green. Ken Pettit and Logan Sheets alternated the lead, though Foley would be the primary mainstay through lap 44. Ryan Heuser would nab the vanguard and lead all but one lap before green flag pit stops commensed on lap 50.
After the stops only five cars remained in the lead pack for the second run. Craig Lee dominated the entirety of it, gaining ten full seconds on the second pack in 40 laps of action. The field was separated into three packs through the halfway mark, with Scott Drake, Matt Raboin, Dalton Lucas, Matthew Dominique, Adam Crapser and Geno Sphere all losing the field and falling one lap down. John Tharp fell from 8th to 11th in points by the race's end after a blown right rear tire.
A debris caution on lap 94 brought the field to a hault for the first time all night. Lee would lead the halfway bonus money and commanded the field to the re-green. David Butterworth, John Battista and Michael Henson all took their turns at the front as Lee dissipated in horsepower. Donald Stewart and Tim McDonnell grabbed their bonus bucks as well before Lee and Michael Henson tag-teamed back to the lead.
A pinnacle three-wide move by Ryan Heuser on lap 114 set the standard for three-wide lead changes during the later laps. John Battista would make the same move one lap later, looking strong in hopes of finally capturing his first victory of the season. Donald Stewart sat atop the heap for five laps as well.
The best action of the night occurred with less than 40 laps to go as Tim McDonnell and Zach Michael engineered intensity at the front. Craig Lee re-took the lead on lap 125, with him and Michael Henson dominating the show as we headed for the final green flag stops. Henson has had a god-send season so far after clawing his way back into the top-35 in points after Martinsville. He could very well win his first event since Bristol of 2017.
Fate would strike with 24 laps to go with a crash taking out Michael Henson and over a dozen other racecars. Zach Michael and Dakota Wilkins tagged on the exit of turn 4 and flew up the racetrack, knocking Steven Spears head-on into the outside wall with the rest of the pack. John Battista and John Tharp slid across the top of the racetrack, diving down into Henson while Donald Stewart and Dalton Lucas failed to avoid Spears from behind. The entire track was blocked from there. Alan Nesfeder, Scott Jackson, Randy Dobbins and Jimmie Stevens all wrecked attempting to avoid the excessive carnage, while Bink Lucas demolished and flipped Champion Ken Pettit, stopping right-side-up against the commitment cone. In total, 17 cars were involved in the accident with 11 unable to continue.
The restart saw Markell Murphy and Johnny Reed Foley up at the front attempting to stretch the fuel. They would agonizingly fail to reach the miracle, stopping for gas and letting Cristian Torres lead the pack with 15 laps to go. Zakk Miller had miraculously repaired
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Johnny Reed Foley climbs the ranks of Extravaganza glory, going from 10th to 2nd in the standings after six-straight top-10 finishes. He has accumulated 230 laps led during that span and has ben revitalized as arguably the most dominant driver in the series. Here are the other drivers amassing greatness over the same span:
Dominance Over Last Six Weeks 1. Johnny Reed Foley: 4.7 AFP, 230 laps led 2. Craig Lee: 8.3 AFP, 94 laps led 3. John Tharp: 8.5 AFP, 51 laps led 4. Zakk Miler: 8.5 AFP, 26 laps led
Daytona would normally even out the playing field and destroy one of these hot-streaks. In this case, these are the four drivers who have dominated recently at the beach. Foley, Lee and Tharp combined to have won 6 of the last 11 races here and look to continue their greatness at this facility. Rick Jackson, Ryan Heuser, Tony Pizzaro and Foley come in as the odds-on favorites for victory. Heuser will start on the pole. Tim McDonnell comes in as the fan favorite on the outside front-row, hoping to recapture his glory at the event that held his last win one year ago. Tim may have captured the flag two-years straight if not for a lap last accident with Dale Rosendaul in 2020. Good luck to all at Daytona!
We head off to the new second-half broadcast crew this week on the acclaimed NEXUS network. It will be part of their new Monday Night Racing promotion, taking over for the cancelled sitcom "Where's My Ash Tray" and the drama series "Pinecone Council". Steven Spock and Brad Capers will be joined by Extravaganza Magazine chief editor Randy Orb up in the booth. "We'll see if the chemistry fits the bill" says Orb, who has only broadcasted a couple of races. "It'll be an exciting new perspective. I'll bring the fresca." Randy is known for eating fresca and jiffy pop at every Extravaganza Series event that he covers. We'll see if the tradition continues. Dale Rosendaul will take over the pit duties vacated by Orb.
From the dehydrated grapevine fields of Sonoma Raceway to the lush forests of Nashville Tennessee, Extravaganza teams are prepared to race. The long 2,500-mile journey back to the east coast proved weary for some, not prepared for the qualifiers last week and missing the big show. Regulars Tony Long and Jonathan Skrabacz are out of this event with Markell Murphy buying a ride from Old Farts Racing starting in 32nd place.
Bill Werkheiser and Rick Jackson start on the front row with the Crown Royal #44 getting the jump on the green and leading the first lap. It was three-wide action from eigth on back during the first few laps, though somehow the field remained in tact as we drove into a long green flag run. Championship contenders Scott Jackson, Zakk Miller and John Tharp would all have to navigate through the potential chaos after starting outside the top-30.
The initial run was dominated by four racecars. Jackson, Craig Lee, Zach Michael and Ryan Heuser all pulled away from the pack as the battle for 5th heated up from behind. Jackson and Heuser swapped the lead several times while meandering through lapped traffic after the first pit stop.
The first caution flag came out after Scott Jackson's ATEUP car stalled on the backstretch. Miraculously he would re-fire and only lose one lap, though the field would bunch up for their first restart of the event. Logan Sheets, Zach Michael and Craig Lee all took turns at the heap while Rick Jackson fell outside the top-10.
The middle portion of the event saw Alex Crapser leading his first green flag laps since Darlington. Donald Stewart would force his way by the #04 and remain at the helm for 35 circuits on the day, replacing Jackson as the most dominant car in the field. Zakk Miller and Johnny Reed Foley found themselves in the mix as well, keeping their recent dominant stretches in tact.
Dave Miller took the lead on lap 147, looking to steal the halfway bacon bonus away from the rest of the pack. Ryan Heuser took the lead one lap later, with Donald Stewart in-tow on the bottom lane. Crossing the line at lap 150, Stewart narrowly edged out Heuser for a couple of feet to re-take the bonus money that he deserved.
The first DNF of the event was caused by a blown engine by Matt Raboin. Aaron Cummings made contact with the Valvoline machine and sent him up towards Scott Jackson and the wall. Matt has been hit-or-miss all season, winning two races but finishing outside of the top-20 for an 11th time. Miraculously he would remain inside the top-21 in points despite an average finish of 22nd.
John Battista took his first lead of the day after the second round of green flag stops. He and Donald Stewart could not prevail for long as Johnny Reed Foley, Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael found the early-run speed to take them to the top coming to lap 200. A debris caution would put Bink Lucas and Dakota Wilkins in position for a miracle Cindarella story.
John Battista took his first lead of the day after the second round of green flag stops. He and Donald Stewart could not prevail for long as Johnny Reed Foley, Ryan Heuser and Zach Michael found the early-run speed to take them to the top coming to lap 200. A debris caution would put Bink Lucas and Dakota Wilkins in position for a miracle Cinderella story.
Ryan Heuser led the field through lap 277 before a hard-charge by John Tharp saw him pull into the lead coming to 20-to-go. Tharp has amassed six top-8 finishes in his last eight races, looking to catapault himself deep into the Championship running with a victory today. The two would race side-by-side multiple times with Heuser finally gathering the advantage with three laps to go.
Ryan Heuser finally ended his 2022 winless streak by capturing his first career road course victory two weeks ago at Sonoma. The Championship may be a loss for the QSM #138 team, but the confidence strikes in perfect time to fly back into the power rankings. Bill Werkheiser earns the pole for the time since Indianapolis of last year, leading two laps before falling to the wolves for an 18th place finish. This pole may present a different story as the #6 has shown plenty of speed over the past several events. Werkhesier has finished 16th or better in the previous six races, looking to secure his first victory in over a half-decade. Atop the standings, Johnny Reed Foley's five-straight top-8 finishes has propelled him only 49 points behind leader Tony Pizzaro. Both Pizzaro and Zach Michael have been slumping as of late, still ahead of the rest of the field despite enduring a 13th-place average finish this season. It's been competitive all year. Look for another surprise winner at Nashville Superspeedway!
Red Bull has pitched in to help Markell Murphy get a ride into this week's Bepis 400. Team Danger Zone matched the $2.7 million that Bepis put on the table, giving Old Farts Racing $5.4 million to take Mark Guthrie and Muzzy bow-fishing out of the #32 car. Coincidentally, Murphy replaced Guthrie in the formally-named NSRA Racing back in 2020. "We've been off this year" said Guthrie, who's averaged a 34th place finish in six events and a highest of 23rd at Talladega. "Their organization has propelled to the elite. I'll sacrifice it all to inspect what these guys are doing. Markell will get a top-10 finish. He's more determined than ever after his let-down in the qualifiers." Murphy has struck gold three times this season, with his victory at Martinsville being the impetus for the multi-million dollar deal. He's only 141 points back from the final chase spot with ten races left.
The final heat includes 13 top-35 drivers attempting to earn a top-14 position and earn their way into the Bepis 400 feature next weekend. Ken Pettit, Tim McDonnell, Alex Crapser and Zakk Miller are the four big-name drivers in this event. They have all qualified well enough to coast to the finish line while the regular go-homers and Bonanza regulars attempt to steal their spot in the field.
Zakk Miller starts on the pole alongside a miraculous front-row effort by Mark Heron. Miller would remain a contender for the victory for all 50 laps, while the #01 machine blew a tire two-thirds of the way in. Ken Pettit and Tim McDonnell would fly by both of them by the end of the first lap, with Pettit running the show before the first caution flag.
Contact between Dave Daniels and Ziggy Moonglow brought out the yellow on lap 4. The #02 slid up into Markell Murphy's #47, both hitting the outside wall hard while collecting Nigel Ramasawmy in the process. Neither driver would clinch the top-14. Murphy would charge towards the front after the restart only to stagnate at 27th place with worn-out tires. He will miss the show at Nashville despite being 17th in points. An enormous heartbreaker for the three-time Extravaganza Series winner.
Team Danger Zone became victim of the dreaded "Nashville Nightmare". His teammate Zakk Miller attempted to reap justice at the front after re-taking the lead away from Tim McDonnell. Tim, Zakk, Ken Pettit, Alex Crapser and Dakota Wilkins all took turns at the helm prior to the five-to-go mark. Wilkins astonishingly seemed to have the fastest racecar of the five, charging past Ken Pettit with three laps to go and sailing into the cinderella sunset.
The second Bepis-400 would start with an extremely unlikely front row. Kevin Corbat won the pole over Dan Johnston, with speedway superstars Bill Werkheiser and Jimmie Stevens taking over their normal positions towards the rear of the field. The Extravaganza elite shall devour these unlikely heroes to the Bonanza wolves. At least that's the consensus.
Kevin Corbat's #46 Auto Value machine led the field into turn-1 to commence the second 50-lap qualifier. Rick Jackson made it by him immediately as Matthew Dominique and Ryan Heuser followed his course. Corbat and Dan Johnston remained inside the top-14 transfer for most of day. Unfortunately, Dan's engine would explode running in 6th with less than 10 laps to go.
Dave Butterworth, Adam Crapser and Tim McDonnell banged fenders on lap 1, coming up to speed on the backstretch. The slowed #4 machine was tagged by Geno Sphere a couple laps later, triggering a devastating crash involving Jonathan Skrabacz, Ben White, Bill Werkhesier, Two Finger Davis and Peter McDonnell. All would either retire or limp to the finish, with only Bill and Jonathan eligible for the final qualifier.
Ryan Heuser, Rick Jackson and Dave Miller dominated the final 40 laps of the event while William Perry, Stephen Lowe and Tim McDonnell battled for the final transfer spot. McDonnell had worked from near-last to 14th position by lap 40, only to get re-passed by the #70 and #24. Heuser would cross the line as the leader coming to the white flag lap.
A last lap pass by Rick Jackson exiting turn-2 gave him the victory. CFM Teammates Johnny Reed Foley and Kevin Corbat finished inside the top-14 to advance to the big show while McDonnell lost the final transfer spot to William Perry. Congrats to Rick, crew chief Falco Lombardi and the entire Race-2-Win Motorsports crew for an excellent victory!
42 drivers battle for the top-14 positions in the first Bepis 400 Heat. Rob Scarberry and Ben Geer pull off a miraculously popular front-row, both underdogs on the outside looking in with a full field of legends from behind. Scott Jackson, Matt Raboin and Ken Pettit all start outside the top-20 for the 50-lap heat.
Donald Stewart wastes no time flying through the field to take the lead from Scarberry in the early going. He comes into the qualifier 16th in points, building his season back around with two-straight top-11 finishes. He and Ben would battle side-by-side for the first 10 laps.
An unlikely top-4 puts Bink Lucas into the picture while powerhouse drivers Tony Pizzaro and John Tharp lurk in view of the excellent racing up front. Towards the 14th-place transfer spot, Scott Jackson and Matt Raboin found their way through the traffic, closing on the top-10 while other powerhouse names struggled. Lucas Racing drivers John Battista and Alex Crapser, as well as Craig Lee all raced towards the bubble spot.
Bink Lucas and Donald Stewart swapped the top-position several times before Bink took it away outright before the 10-to-go mark. He comes into this event 14th in the standings, with a league-record four 6th place finishes and leading in seven different events. He would lead 32 of the 50 in this race, 22 more laps than he's led in any event of 2022.
Bink crosses the start-finish line one car-length ahead of Stewart for the Qualifier victory. The transfer spot battle towards 14th place was won by John Battista and Craig Lee, who edged out Alex Crapser, Ken Pettit and Zakk Miller and put their cars safely into the show. Congrats to Bink, crew chief Kevin England and the entire Lifesaver Racing team for an excellent victory!
