A remarkable hill-climb from Connecticut to upstate New York, where we await the flood-waters to seep back into the farmland terrain. John Battista has earned the pole in search of his first victory of the season with a near 128 mile-per-hour lap. Alongside teammate Alex Crapser, it could be a 1-2 punch for the ages as we head for an immaculate 90-lap feature from the Watkins Glen gods!
The first 10 laps of the event saw some epic-swag rivalries produce before the eyes of the Watkins Glen crowd. Battista was pressured by both Alex Crapser and Tony Pizzaro, though both were unable to lead a lap in the process. Battista could dive into the inner-loop better than any of the front-runners, helping to keep his advantage on the field.
A three-wide maneuver for the third position saw Tim McDonnell out of his mind in an effort for his first victory of the season. McDonnell, Scott Jackson and Pizzaro made the necessary apexes, while Jackson was fender-sandwiched in between the two younger drivers in a three-wide holocaust through the inner-loop. All three escaped unharmed and undamaged, with Pizzaro coming out the victor and taking second-place a couple of laps later.
Alex Crapser finally put the nail in the coffin and took the advantage away from his teammate to earn the necessary bonus points for the Championship. He would do so in grand style, leading four laps before returning the favor to the Wendy's machine. Crapser comes in 30 points behind the cutoff while 10th-place points man Bill Werkheiser remains mired outside the top-20.
William Perry brought out the first caution flag after contact with Craig Lee sent him into the frontsraightaway wall. It was a shame, ending his day while racing inside the top-10. The next yellow saw Alex Crapser go for a self-spin of the ages, miraculously not impacting either wall coming off of the esses. He was the top-dog of the drivers who pitted earlier in the go.
Johnny Reed Foley and Ryan Heuser battled for the lead after pit stops put the previous leaders behind the pack. They would swap positions twice, with Foley leading the majority before the Crapser caution. Somehow Dalton Lucas was able to stretch his fuel 52 laps, earning the halfway-bacon-bonus and stepping into the realm of fuel-master immortality!
Cristian Torres and Bill Werkheiser were involved in accidents late in the going. A horrible break for Bill, who made contact with Rick Jackson to send him into the turn-1 tire barrier. Bill would come in 30 points ahead of the chase cutoff, an enormously devastating blow for the Congressman. Torres and Logan Sheets made contact in turn 11, sending Torres into the inside wall in a replica of the William Perry crash from earlier.
Johnny Reed Foley and Ryan Heuser continue to race for the top-position while John Battista eeks hard from behind. Battista entered the pits 20 laps earlier than the other two, progressing through traffic with a dire need for his first victory of the season. David Baldinger, Tony Pizzaro, Rick Jackson and Bink Lucas all lure multiple seconds behind.
A horrifying break for two of the top chase-cutoff contenders. With Bill Wekheiser involved in an accident early, Alex Crapser looked to be sitting pretty with a 50+ point advantage entering the 80th lap. Zakk Miller moved up to 11th in the standings, also passing Werkheiser. Crapser would drive up towards the marble in the esses, having to slow his pace too quickly as Miller tagged his right-rear quarter-panel. The two collided into the blue guardrail in severe devastation as both racecars flew halfway into the air. Adam Crapser drove into the path of both cars and careened into Miller, ending his day as well. Werkheiser would remain 10th in points despite his 41st place finish. John Tharp and Bink Lucas would pass by Crapser and Miller with a top-10 finish.
A turn-1 dive for the victory saw John Battista jump ahead late in the going. He is ahead of teammates Rick Jackson and Tony Pizza
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A very unlikely result at Lime Rock saw the top road-ringers get caught up in trouble, resulting in an enormous Donald Stewart upset victory! Zakk Miller fell off the ladder despite a dominant performance, finishing 28th after 17 laps led. Bill Werkheiser limped to 9th simply by avoiding accidents, jumping him up to 10th in the standings in his fountain-of-youth season. The Watkins Glen front-row will belong to Lucas Racing teammates John Battista and Alex Crapser, both looking for their first victories of the season. Crapser comes in only 30 points behind the chase cutoff, looking for a clutch second-straight top-5 for the first time this season. Only two races and 490 laps remain! Grab your gasoline and party hard to the regular season finish line! This on'es going to be exciting.
Current Points Positions (Race 24 of 26) 1. Tony Pizzaro: +274(+4) 2. Rick Jackson: +267 (-1) 3. Matthew Dominique: +251 4. Craig Lee: +197 (-2) 5. Johnny Reed Foley: +185(-1) 6. John Battista: +183(+1) 7. Dave Miller: +177(-1) 8. Zach Michael: +127 9. Donald Stewart: +109 10. Bill Werkheiser: +30(+1) ----------------------------------- 11. Alex Crapser: -30 12. Zakk Miller: -42(-2) 13. Bink Lucas: -111(+1) 14. John Tharp: -112(+1) 15. Scott Jackson: -148 16. Logan Sheets: -182 (+2) 17. Randy Dobbins: -200 (+3) 18. Ryan Heuser: -218 (-1)
There is only one road to Watkins Glen. Here it is. Daytona 500 winner Dalton Lucas learned how to drive as a 10-year old by stealing his parents car and driving to Watkins Glen on this very road. It is now destroyed, collapsed under the pressure of rainwater and tears. As the road is re-built, here is the finish of the 2020 event!
A welcome appearance to the foothills of New England, where brown bears roam and racecars groan. On the pole, Ryan Heuser looks to capture another victory at one of his home racetracks, while the road-ringers scurry behind in attempt to defeat the rocket-man. Alex Crapser, John Tharp and Jimmie Stevens are all on the outside looking in for the Championship crown, and all have the ability to win at this wonderful facility.
The green flag arose to a roaring crowd in sheer jubilation. Zakk Miller made his bid for the lead on the initial lap, passing the #138 on the right-hander and keeping the pace for six more laps. John Battista would take the top-spot on lap 7, leading for one before handing it back to Miller.
A horrible crash on the no-name straightaway sent the leaders into a frenzy for the ages! Battling for fourth on lap 17, Jimmie Stevens and Tim McDonnell slid into the infield guardrail. Stevens ricocheted into Craig Lee, sending the #2 into a miraculous pirouette. After several summersaults, his car landed with the driver in a daze. Speedy would finish last and out of Championship contention. Lee dropped from 2nd to 4th in the standings.
Zakk Miller passed through John Battista to re-take the top-spot on lap 21. William Perry joined in the battle to lead his third event in his last four races. One lap later, Battista retained his ground on top.
David Baldinger, Tony Pizzaro, Miller and Battista spent the remaining green flag run atop the leaderboard, swapping positions and making their name known in the popular Connecticut fan-base. Pit stops occurred around the lap 50 mark, with Adam Crapser and Tony Pizzaro trading the top-spot numerous times as they raced past the halfway mark. Johnny Reed Foley had crawled his way into the mix, seemingly having the fastest car in the field.
A lap 83 crash between Foley and Battista brought the battle for 5th to a halt as Zakk Miller took the lead to the caution flag. The following restart saw Mark Guthrie's life possibly saved, becoming the first test-driver for the "Forrest Grove" barrier. John Tharp hit the same barrier a few laps afterward, collecting Adam Crapser and Zach Michael in the process. Foley, William Perry, Guthrie, Michael and Crapser would all fall victim to the DNF bug. Zach would drop to 8th in the standings, in danger of missing the cutoff with two races left.
David Baldinger came out atop after the multiple melee's, still searching for his first Extravaganza Series victory. Scott Jackson would up near the front as well, leading multiple laps and attempting to re-capture his 2021 summer stride late into 2022. By the end of the run, the Race-2-Win duo of Tony Pizzaro and Rick Jackson found themselves at the top.
The miracle road course run for Rick came to a tire-squealing halt after he and his teammate collided while battling for the lead. The two nearly tangled in the previous corner as well, racing hard for the the points lead that would ironically go to both drivers anyway. Jackson limped home to 26th, while Pizzaro miraculously crawled to 8th with a beat-up racecar. He would be the new points leader by 7 over his teammate by the end.
As the road-ringers continued to collect themselves in accidents, Scott Jackson and Logan Sheets battled for the win along with their first victory of 2022. Jackson led for the first 12 laps of the run before Sheets made his move through the chicane at the 10-to-go mark. He would be going for his first Extravaganza Series career victory. Can he pull off the feat?
With five laps to go the leaders would tangle once more as the New England crowd roared like it was Fenway Park! The Fenway machine would get involved, as Jackson and Sheets tagged together and slid across the turn-4 grooved into oncoming traffic. Randy Dobbins and Donald Stewart were the first to barely squeeze through and take the lead. Both are looking for the first road course victories of their career.
Ryan Heuser ties points leader Rick Jackson with his fourth pole of the season at Lime Rock Park. He won the inaugural road course event in 2022 and looks to continue his recent streak of dominance in grand style. Jackson on the other hand has a platitude of work ahead of him, mired back in 16th at a racetrack he has struggled at in the past. He has no room for error either, as the top-8 in points are separated by only 105 points. Either of these drivers can come away with the points lead after this race:
Current Points Positions (Race 23 of 26) 1. Rick Jackson: +285(+3) 2. Craig Lee: +265(+1) 3. Matthew Dominique: +248(-1) 4. Johnny Reed Foley: +247(-3) 5. Tony Pizzaro: +235 6. Dave Miller: +215 (+2) 7. John Battista: +214(-1) 8. Zach Michael: +180(-1) 9. Donald Stewart: +37(+3) 10. Zakk Miller: +12 ----------------------------------- 11. Bill Werkheiser: -12(-2) 12. Alex Crapser: -59(-1) 13. John Tharp: -74(+2) ... Read more »
Another trip to the Great Lakes region, where racing continues strong for 50+ years. From the Bonanza foothills of Berlin to Michigan International Speedway, high horsepower and mass durability will be the key. Ryan Heuser is on the pole for the third time this season, looking to strike first for a sixth different event in 2022.
Rick Jackson and Ryan Heuser raced side-by-side for the opening two laps. Ken Pettit made a charge on the #138 on lap-5 but to no avail, dropping to 7th while stuck on the inside lane. Heuser would continue to lead the field to the first caution involving Bink Lucas and Steven Spears on the frontstraightaway.
Dave Miller took charge two laps after the restart, bolting past Heuser with draft help from Zakk Miller on the inside lane. He would continue the pace through the next green flag stop and onward despite multiple charges from Ben Geer. Alex Crapser also ventured for the lead numerous times but to no avail.
Dave Miller led through the halfway point before a miscue through lapped traffic gave Crapser his first lead of the race. He would lose his advantage after green flag pit stops, handing Miller the short-pit advantage with a 2+ second lead. He would be caught by the pack by lap 130 with Ryan Heuser, Tim McDonnell and points leader Johnny Reed Foley attacking the inside line.
Foley wound up with the lead after a failed pass attempt by his teammate Tim McDonnell. The #3 would sit atop the board through lap 147 before Miller passed him back in a draft line with Tony Pizzaro. Foley took the spot back six laps later, racing side-by-side with Rick Jackson for the lead before the final green flag stops halted their progress.
The #90 Marlboro machine gave the Michigan crowd a roar for the ages after another excellent pit stop put him back at the heap. Miller dropped back to third after a freight-train power move by Crapser and Heuser sent them to the top. These two would pull away from the field and race for the victory.
Alex Crapser hasn't led more than 10 laps in an Extravaganza Series event all season, and has failed to record a top-3. He is looking to conquer those demons at his home Superspeedway in grand style, racing and edging out the dominator during the final green flag stretch. He would lead all of his 36 laps on the day, squeezing through lapped traffic with ease en route to what could be his first victory of the season!
A horrifying occurrence coming to seven laps to go, initiated with contact between Ken Joynt and Rob Scarberry. The two cars collided into the leader in a desperate attempt to remain on the lead lap. Crapser spun upwards into Rod Weston, knocking the #04 downward into a violent collision with Steven Spears directly on the racing groove.
Ben Geer and Adam Crapser atom-bombed the rear end of the Pennzoil machine, knocking him up the track once more into the path of Jimmie Stevens. The blow to the AMPIO ford sent him for a 107 mile-per-hour ricochet from hell, helicoptering from one direction to another within milliseconds. Surprisingly, a concussion and a broken heart were his only serious injuries.
Johnny Reed Foley, Adam Crapser, Jimmie Stevens and Ben Geer all went from a top-11 run to a DNF after 190+ laps of work. Foley would drop to fourth in the standings after leading the points for ages. Rick Jackson would narrowly miss the wreck and finish 10th, taking the points lead for the first time in years. Somehow second place Ryan Heuser was able to miss the wreck entirely after a bold move to the inside lane. He and Dave Miller would race to the checkered flag in a three-lap dash for the cash.
Johnny Reed Foley maintains his points lead after his 11th-straight top-20 finish. Matthew Dominique, Craig Lee and Rick Jackson are deadlocked for the second position just 40 points behind, looking to earn the five bonus points per position entering the chase. Four races remain, beginning with Michigan and followed by a duel road course stretch in the Northeast. Alex Crapser and Zach Michael hope to stand strong after a blistering summer stretch, searching for reprieve at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. Drivers like Bill Werkheiser and Dave Miller will have to earn the most at the high-horsepower facility this week to make-up for their shortcomings at the right-handed corners. Miller won this race last season on excellent tire strategy. He will start 15th two rows behind Bill. Ryan Heuser continues his hot-streak with his third pole of the season, with the hopefully resurging Ken Pettit on the outside row at one of his favorite racetracks. Ken has finished exactly 41st five times this season. Perhaps a victory today will lighten his spirits.
Current Points Positions (Race 22 of 26) 1. Johnny Reed Foley:+285 2. Matthew Dominique:+246 3. Craig Lee: +245(+1) 4. Rick Jackson:+244(-1) 5. Tony Pizzaro: +178 6. John Battista: +166(+1) 7. Zach Michael:+140(-1) 8. Dave Miller:+133 9. Bill Werkheiser:+16 (+1) 10. Zakk Miller:+1(-1) ----------------------------------- 11. Alex Crapser:-1(+1) 12. Donald Stewart: ... Read more »
