We're down to three. Jackson, Miller, Dominique. Dave gets the pole, hoping to lead the first lap and shrink Rick's Championship lead down to 1 point. Rick starts 35th at a racetrack he has dominated in the past, looking to tie Mert Socks as a four-time Extravaganza Series Champion. Matthew will need both drivers to suffer trouble. Good luck to all three, and may the best man win the 2022 N.O.R.L. Extravaganza Series Championship!
Last week the top-4 finishers were outside of the top-10 in points at The Rock. Expect it to be different this time, with the Quick-Silver bunch in dominant form at one of their favorite racetracks. Dave Miller comes in only 37 points behind Rick Jackson for the Championship lead. Jackson will take the green in 3rd with Miller mired in 15th.
Pole-sitter Zach Michael led the first couple of laps. Championship leader Rick Jackson earned his five bonus points early with the first lead change of the day. He and Tim McDonnell would swap the lead multiple times in shades of their 2019 Championship battle.
The top-spot was held by McDonnell through lap 41 before Ryan Heuser took the advantage on the frontstretch. John Battista made his bid on lap 53, taking the position away and matching Rick Jackson's bonus points with 5 of his own. Battista came in 98 points behind in the Championship lead, needing to dominate the final two events to ensure his chances at the title.
Battsta and Heuser swapped the lead several times during the first green flag run. The side-by-side racing at the front kept Jackson, Johnny Reed Foley and Craig Lee within the mix. Alan Nesfeder, Randy Dobbins and Adam Crapser came in for early pit stops during this time, putting them behind the 8-ball the rest of the day.
A crash on lap-84 brought out the first yellow flag of the race. Contact between Donald Stewart and Jonathan Skrabacz in turn-2 sent the #48 rear-first into the outside barrier. He would limp the rest of the day to a 34th place finish.
John Battista led the field to the green, pulling ahead and dominating the event. He would lead through lap 178 before Tony Pizzaro intervened. John would enjoy another halfway bacon bonus, the second-straight for the Lucas Racing bunch. He would also lead the most laps on the day with 108.
Disaster struck for the Championship leaders! Rick Jackson and John Tharp made contact battling for the second position, sending Jackson hard into the inside frontstretch wall. Miraculously he would keep on trucking! The left-side was pancaked, but Rick toughed it out and continued on with an askewed racecar. His team fixed the damage and stayed inside the top-20, miraculously limping to 10th place by the finish and keeping his points lead! Horrible luck also befell Battista, overshooting his pit and locking his transmission! By the time he was able to backup and complete his service, he was a full lap down. He would never get it back, finishing 28th despite having the dominant car of the race. This would eliminate him from the Championship completely.
The lead was inhereted to Ryan Heuser after the cycle, staying up front for 30 laps and a 9-second advantage. A Jimmie Stevens engine failure bunched the field back up, giving rookie Logan Sheets the opportunity to make his move for the win. He is currently leading the Rookie of the Year points and would tie Bink Lucas in wins if he could pull off the victory today.
A late crash between Ken Joynt and Tony Long set up the finish. The field would bunch back together, giving Rick Jackson the opportunity to battle his way back into the top-10. There would be less than 50 laps remaining, with 10+ drivers fast enough to steal the victory away.
Second-in-points Dave Miller battled through the attrition to sneak his way into the lead late! Johnny Reed Foley and a hard-charging Ryan Heuser were the only two in contention by the end, with Sheets and Craig Lee drifting back. Heuser made his move with six laps to go, clearing Miller with ease off the exit of turn-2. Johnny Reed Foley would follow, losing Miller the points lead to Rick Jackson in the process.
Dave Miller pulled off a miraculous run, coming out of nowhere to finish third and climb only six points behind Rick Jackson for the Championship coming into Homestead! His teammate Ryan Heuser ea
... Read more »
Points leader Rick Jackson starts in the third position with a 34-point gap ahead of Dave Miller coming into Phoenix. Jackson finished first and second last season at the facility, leading 225 combined laps of the 624 possible. Miller finished second to him in the fall race. He will start 15th. Zach Michael and Ryan Heuser are on the front row coming to the green flag for the second-to-last time in 2022! John Battista and Matthew Dominique are still within a one-race distance of the Championship lead. They will start 39th and 40th respectively.
Current Points Positions (Race 34 of 36) 1. Rick Jackson: - 2. Dave Miller: -37 3. John Battista: -98 4. Matthew Domninique: -112 5. Craig Lee: -179 6. Tony Pizzaro: -223 (+2) 7. Johnny Reed Foley: -241 8. Alex Crapser: -246 (-2) 9. Zach Michael: -252 10. Donald Stewart: -289
Rick Jackson is pulling off a miracle run for the Championship after being written off by one of the Extravaganza elite. Ironically, that driver is not in the Championship chase. Pole sitter Johnny Reed Foley is, 162 points back from leader Jackson coming into Rockingham. Dave Miller comes in 8 points behind him starting 15th on the grid, with Jackson qualifying 8th.
The green flag waved with Johnny Reed Foley attempting to earn back the 162 points lost during the first seven events. He would lose the lead to Logan Sheets early, with David Butterworth traversing from 7th place to the lead. His last top-5 finish was at this facility in the spring, looking to replicate his performance in grand style.
Multiple lead changes were the norm during the early going. The only driver with the powerhouse to pull away from the field was Scott Jackson, starting 14th and taking the lead during the first green flag run. He would remain up front for 62 laps.
Ryan Heuser took over the top-spot, racing Jackson side-by-side for several circuits after the green flag stop. Dave Miller was able to earn his five bonus points over Jackson, taking the lead for 24 laps hoping for another Quick-Silver domination in shades of last week at Charlotte. Lap 142 saw a big crash on the frontstretch involving Aaron Cummings, Tony Long, Cristian Torres, Zakk Miller and Dalton Lucas.
Quick-SIlver Racing teammate Craig Lee took the lead away from Miller after the restart, leaving all the drivers with double-digit laps led for the second straight week. Alex Crapser stole it back while representing the other 39 teams on lap 153. He led the remaining 45 laps during the green flag run before coming in early for a minor short-pit.
Devastation occurred on lap 214 after a Steven Spears spin caused by contact with Michael Henson. The #65 slid down the turn-4 banking directly into the path of Alex Crapser, who looked to have the dominant car of the evening. The impact was enormous, obliterating the right-front of the #04 and ending his Championship hopes altogether. Spears flew up the racetrack on impact and ricocheted into Brian Lowe. Lowe was immediately pulverized by the Tony Long machine, rolling over four times and landing onto the frontstretch grass. All four drivers would fail to continue on.
Another accident in turn-4 took out chase contender Johnny Reed Foley. Contact between him and former Shake N' Bake protege Cristiano de Sa made contact. David Courtney and Dalton Lucas both slammed into the accident head-first. Second place points man Dave Miller recieved front-end damage in the crash, already a lap down after getting trapped during the last caution. He would miraculously fly through the field and wind up in 14th place by the end, keeping in full distance with Rick Jackson for the title.
Tim McDonnell had inhereted the lead from Craig Lee after a miraculous pit stop during the Brian Lowe caution. He would lose it on the restart after the next caution flag, handing Randy Dobbins the top-spot for several laps before Lee re-took the position. The #101 NOS Energy chevrolet led from lap 239 to 244. Dobbins took it back from him and led through lap 269. From behind, points leader Rick Jackson attempts to get one of his two laps back after a loose lug nut forced him to come in early.
A complete miracle for Rick Jackson! Towards the end of green flag stops, Markell Murphy spun in turn 4 to bring out the caution, barely giving Rick both of his laps back just laps before he had to take fuel. Dave Miller was still trapped a lap down, swinging the difference a full 100 points during the cycle. Matt Raboin had led through the entire green flag run before Donald Stewart earned himself the lead to steal a few bonus points.
The final green flag stint saw more of the same from Matt Raboin, who led throughout and looked to earn his fourth victory of the season. Second place Donald Stewart entered the pits on lap 340, with Raboin comin
... Read more »
We are ready to dominate the masses at Rockingham for the second time this season! Donald Stewart, Bill Werkheiser, Dave Butterworth, Dan Johnston, Dalton Lucas, Bink Lucas and Trey Larkin accumulated perhaps the most unlikely top-5 in Extravanagza Series history here in March. All three points leaders Rick Jackson, Dave Miller and John Battista led double-digit laps during that event. This week they will qualify 8th, 15th and 22nd, needing to fly through the field to earn that well-needed bonus point. Johnny Reed Foley and March winner Donald Stewart will start on the front row!
Current Points Standings (Race 33 of 36) 1. Rick Jackson: -(+1) 2. Dave Miller: -8(+1) 3. John Battista: -42(-2) 4. Matthew Dominique: -69 5. Craig Lee: -153(+3) 6. Alex Crapser: -154(+1) 7. Johnny Reed Foley: -162(-1) 8. Tony Pizzaro: -186(-3) 9. Zach Michael: -231(+1) 10. Donald Stewart: -294(-1)
The top-two in the Championship standings are mired in the top-2 qualifying positions. It appears that the remaining 40 cars will be in dire straits, though pre-race favorites Tony Pizzaro and Ryan Heuser linger loosely inside the top-12. We've seen some quality runs from drivers outside of the top-20 in points before. Expect a few more in this event, with a familiar face likely to still take the crown.
Points leader John Battista leads the field to the green with his fourth pole of the season. It is a welcome relief, easily earning a Bud Shootout entry in 2023 after missing it this year despite an eight-victory season. Ryan Heuser also earned eight wins in 2021, taking the lead on lap 14 after Tony Pizzaro earned his five bonus points.
The lead was swapped once more between Heuser and Pizzaro before Bill Werkheiser made his bid on lap 22. Craig Lee took the top-spot the next circuit and handed it back to the #6 one lap later. By lap 30, it was the Fenway Frank Fusion back at the heap.
Craig Lee regained the lead and stayed up front until the first green flag pit stop around lap 67. Cristian Torres had worked his way to 5th before the stop, coming out 2nd and taking the lead over Werkheiser. He would lead 5 laps before the Heuser-Pizzaro duo took back the reigns, tagging Alex Crapser along.
Points leader John Battista pulverized the engine in his Wendy's Chevrolet Monte Carlo. An enormous blow to the Championship chase, finishing last and dropping from points leader to 42-back in the standings after this event. Lucas Racing teammate Alex Crapser picked up the slack by taking the lead on lap 85.
A terrifying crash towards lap 97 started with contact between Matt Raboin and Tony Pizzaro. Chase contender Donald Stewart was wedged into outside wall entering the dogleg, with Johnny Reed Foley attempting to follow though unsuccessfully in the same tire-tracks. From behind, Michael Henson and Dan Johnston hit attempting to avoid the #12 and slid into newfound points leader Rick Jackson. The impact to the front-end destroyed the #44, though he was able to limp to 25th and miraculously keep his points lead due to the attrition of this wreck, as well as engine failures late in the go. John Tharp, Scott Jackson, Ben Geer, Rob Scarberry, Jimmie Stevens, and Aaron Cummings were also involved in the accident, with most unable to continue.
The lead was handed to Champion Ken Pettit just before the big crash. Craig Lee took over the spot for the third time on lap 108, though he gave it up to teammate Dave Miller five laps later. Dave would lead through the second green flag pit stop, currently with the title of 2022 points leader due to the misfortune of Battista and Jackson.
A spin by Brian Lowe brought out the first caution of the race before the big wreck, initiated by contact by his son Stephen exiting turn-2. An accident coming off the same corner between Bink Lucas and Alan Nesfeder brought out the next yellow right in the middle of green flag pit stops. Leader Dave Miller, Craig Lee and Alex Crapser were all trapped a lap down in the process, giving the points lead back to Rick Jackson.
Excellent pit stops per usual put Tim McDonnell up at the front for the first time all day. He came from outside the top-30 on the grid to clinch the Halfway Bacon Bonus, with miracle-man Stephen Lowe up to the second position. Ryan Heuser would find his way past the #24 and took another bid for the top-spot, giving himself the lead both before and after the lap 200 mark. He and McDonnell would swap the lead multiple times throughout the next 20 circuits.
The Busch Bonanza Championship stood at a standstill after a horrifying crash on the backstretch on lap 209. Rod Weston was having the race of his career in fourth position before contact with Ken Pettit sent him flying into the inside wall. Rod hit the concrete barrier at 198 miles-per-hour and flipped violently across the backstretch apron. Miraculously h
... Read more »
The fall Charlotte event has been forwarded to a 1:00 PM ET start time! The Extravaganza faithful will wake up 8 hours early due to what Charlotte farmers are calling a "cataclysmic event" occurring. "My cows are mooing louder than natural" says Beattie's Ford native "Rooker" Otis. "It's time to buggy on out."
Crew chief Kenzou Yamada won his first points race with Tim McDonnell last week at the Charlotte Road Course. Tim dominated the spring 600-miler, finishing second to Zakk Miller after leading 183 laps. He also won the All-Star Race the week prior, becoming one of the pre-race favorites foe the victory this week. On the front row is our top-2 in the standings. Pole-sitter John Battista currently sits four points ahead of Rick Jackson, attempting to pull a two-way monopoly for the Championship heading into Homestead. Battista is now only one pole away from tying Ryan Heuser for the series lead with five. Good luck to all at Charlotte!
Current Points Positions (Race 32 of 36) 1. John Battista: - 2. Rick Jackson: -4 3. Dave Miller: -89 4. Matthew Domninique: -131 5. Tony Pizzaro: -150 (+1) 6. Johnny Reed Foley: -157(+2) 7. Alex Crapser: -190(-2) 8. Craig Lee: -192 (-1) 9. Donald Stewart: -277(+1) 10. Zach Michael: -302(-1)
Pole-sitter Michael Henson will try to hold on to the top-spot after lap 1. The Championship chase is directly behind him, with Rick Jackson and John Battista mired 23rd and 8th on the grid. Cousin Scott Jackson is on the outside front row, and the favorite to lead the first lap.
As predicted, the #38 ATEUP chevrolet beat Henson off of lap 1 and cleared him entering the first right-hand corner. A three-wide scare entering the first backstretch chicane survived points leader Battista and Alan Nesfeder. Both would progress into the top-5 while John Tharp runs down the leader.
A crash between Ken Joynt and Dan Johnston on the frontsretch chicane brought out the first caution flag on lap 5. The second crash involved Matt Raboin 18 laps later, getting stuffed into the turn-1 barricade after contact with teammate Matthew Dominique. All three drivers would finish 38th or worse on the day.
John Battista takes over the points lead while his teammate Alex Crapser puts himself back into Championship contention after his victory at Talladega. They have a distinct advantage over Rick Jackson and Dave Miller at the Charlotte Road Course, with Miller qualifying a marvelous 10th on the grid. Miracle hot-lapper Michael Henson earned his third pole of the season, nearly cracking the 1:18 barrier. It will be interesting to see if he can defend the Extravaganza elite for the entire 109 lap event. Winner last season Zach Michael will start dead last after near spin in the backstretch chicane. Can he make it through the field to capture a second-straight victory? Can winless Matthew Dominique crank out victory? Can Rick re-pass Battista for the points lead despite the obvious handicap? We will find out at Charlotte!
Current Points Positions (Race 31 of 36) 1. John Battista: (+1) 2. Rick Jackson: -9(-1) 3. Dave Miller: -29 4. Matthew Domninique: -74 5. Alex Crapser: -107(+2) 6. Tony Pizzaro: -119(+2) 7. Craig Lee: -126 8. Johnny Reed Foley: -172(+1) 9. Zach Michael: -197(-4) 10. Donald Stewart: -216
