Surgery was a success for Geno Sphere, who has been modified from "critical" to "critical but stable" condition after a horrifying practice crash caused him to nearly drown in his own blood. The son of Extravaganza Champion G.G. Sphere remains in a coma at the McLeod Hospital in nearby Florence, South Carolina. The lack of on-track success this season was an enormous disappointment to Sphere and Twisted Metal Racing, who had attempted to re-energize their second team after the Brodrick Wittmann suspension left them in limbo two years ago. "It was a huge disadvantage for me not having a teammate to share information with" said Cristian Torres, who has the entire enterprise on his shoulders. "Geno's wisdom gave us an enormous advantage at Bristol and Dover this season. It was devastating to see what happened yesterday."
Matthew Dominique may have pulled off the most commendable points lead steal of all time, finishing 24th or better in the last 17 races. Despite only leading 45 laps during that span (2.6 laps per race), his average finish of 13.5 propelled him to the top while Rick Jackson and Tony Pizzaro fell into trouble down the stretch. He may become the second Extravaganza Series Champion in-a-row to win without a victory on the season. Rick Jackson and Alex Crapser are also on that path, leading 1,371 laps and recording 20 top-5's combined without a win. The two odds-on Championship favorites (Ryan Heuser and Tim McDonnell) to begin the season are both out, earning Pigeon Forge, Tennessee's Eddie Albers nearly $1,000,000 in winnings after an improbable bet. "This makes up for picking Aaron to win the Championship last season. He was the track champ at Flat Gap Fairgrounds across the street. I walked into the graveyard they built over the old track and a voice told me "McDonnell will crumble, and Heuser will tumble". I knew what I had to do from there." Eddie plans on buying a wind turbine with his earnings. "I don't have to hunt anymore. The birds fly right into them! I'll never go hungry again."
Current Points Positions (Race 26 of 36) 1. Matthew Dominique: - 2. John Battista: -5 3. Johnny Reed Foley: -10 4. Rick Jackson: -15 5. Tony Pizzaro: -20 6. Zach Michael: -25 7. Craig Lee: -30 8. Dave Miller: -35 9. Donald Stewart: -40 10. Alex Crapser: -45
Geno Sphere was rushed to the McLeod Medical Hospital after a devastating crash during the first practice session for the 2022 Southern 500. Geno flipped 21 times within 8 seconds after a direct impact to the passenger side. "A hit to the drivers-side door could have killed him instantly" said Extravaganza Series medical chief Dr. Terrence "Novacane" Suggs. He is currently in critical condition, with no specific injuries currently released. We will continue to update his condition throughout the week.
There are ten drivers racing for the final two chase positions in the deciding 400-miler at Richmond. Pole-sitter Alex Crapser comes in 22 points back, able to clinch if the starting grid becomes the final result. Bill Werkheiser starts 23rd. John Tharp starts 16th. Bink Lucas starts 27th. Zakk Miller starts 26th. Scott Jackson starts 9th. Logan Sheets starts 30th. Ryan Heuser starts 5th.
A lap 9 accident gives Adam Crapser his 11th DNF of the season, and his fourth in-a-row. He and Dave Butterworth glue together on the backstraightaway, colliding into the inside wall and up into Mike Carroll. All three drivers failed to finish inside the top-30.
Alex Crapser dominated the first 100 laps, at least four seconds ahead of the field for nearly the entire run. John Tharp, John Battista and Zach Michael were the only drivers within the same hemisphere as the #04, catching the lapped traffic 20 laps after Crapser would pass them. Surprise drivers Randy Dobbins, Dalton Lucas and Steven Spears remained inside the top-10.
Chase contenders Zakk Miller, Scott Jackson, Jimmie Stevens, Donald Stewart, Logan Sheets and Bink Lucas were all down on speed. All six drivers were down a lap by lap 100, more due to Crapser's dominating speed than anything else. Only 14 cars remained on the lead lap by lap 130.
A Jonathan Skrabacz engine stall on turn-2 brought out the second caution on lap 140. John Battista, Matthew Dominique, Zach Michael, Tony Pizzaro and Ryan Heuser all battled within the top-5 while Crapser pulled ahead for another three seconds. Lap 224 saw Bink Lucas and Kevin Corbat tangle in turn-3 while second-place Matthew Dominique tangled while trying to avoid the accident.
Despite the horrific damage to the rear end, Dominique was the only driver to stay out on old tires and lead the field to the green. Zach Michael worked for a couple of laps to pass by Crapser for second place, making his way by Dominique for the lead on lap 240. He, Crapser and Ryan Heuser would pull away from the field, easily the three dominant cars by the two-third's mark of the event.
Lap 69 saw Craig Lee fall out, finishing 41st for the second time in the last three weeks. Lee was down on speed the entire race, dropping from 14th to 26th and about to be lapped before the explosion. Tony Pizzaro earned the same fate 210 laps later while running in fourth, dropping from 2nd to 5th in the standings with a 36th place finish. Zakk Miller was running a dismal 26th as well before collapsing his chase hopes with an engine failure.
the #138 NOS Energy crew pulled off a miraculous pit stop and came out in front to lead the ensuing restart. A five-lap battle between he and Zach Michael ended with the #20 crossing the finish line to the caution a full nose ahead, putting him to the lead. Everyone but Michael, John Battista and Randy Dobbins would come in for fuel insurance and tires.
A 100-lap shootout to the finish saw the #20 Coca-Cola machine pull out to a hefty two-second lead before Battista put on a charge. He would take the lead seemingly outright with 48 laps to go. Unfortunately, he and Randy Dobbins decided to short-pit, proving their doubts on making it the rest of the way on fuel. Michael is on the same pit strategy, needing to hold off Ryan Heuser, Matthew Dominique and a miraculous effort by Steven Spears to ensure his second victory of the season.
Three cars directly behind and added pressure from the lapped traffic ahead proved nearly impossible odds for Zach Michael, also needing to save fuel in the process. He was able to do all three in an unbelievable effort to hold off Richmond king Ryan Heuser and his Quantum Racing counterpart for the vi
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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!
