Scott Jackson is looking for career victory #79 as we come back to the Charlotte fall oval-race under the lights! Scott's Cinderella comeback season was put to the test last week, driving from 28th place to 11th and pulling ahead by 67 points after Ryan Heuser dropped from 1st to 32nd in the event. Scott will start 3rd behind pole-sitter Dave Miller and Donald Stewart.
Starting Position For the "Big Four" Scott Jackson: 3rd Ryan Heuser: 36th John Battista: 5th Ken Pettit: 31st
Zach Michael has won the Charlotte Road Race event, breaking a 43-race winless-streak that started after winning two in-a-row at Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen in 2020. More brightly, his finishing races streak is much longer, with his last DNF in the Talladega fall race in 2019. That was 74 races ago. Just one week later, Zach's refuse-to-lose mentality nearly initiated the greatest three-wide racing move of all time at Charlotte, where we are at this week! Here is the move:
With the points race as tight as it is, this may be par for the course under the lights at Charlotte!
The newly formed Lifesaver Racing has been formed after a three-year contract with Bink Lucas extends their relationship with Extravaganza! His Talladega victory may be the ingredient that stirred the pot for the biggest move of the silly season so far, the catalyst for Bink replacing Kevin Corbat in the #46 Ford. There is no word on where Corbat will run in 2022, rumoured to join Doug Spark in the Bonanza Series full time.
The rumours are official. Long-time independent Glenn Kaufmann will retire from Extravagazna Series racing by the end of the 2021 season. The #54 car will be dismissed from the team, leaving only the #55 ready to roll for 2022. "We were planning to drop both teams by the end of the season if we couldn't find a sponsor for Donald." said Kaufmann. "He's been outperforming our equipment for years, and deserves a chance to compete for the Championship one day. Thanks to his determination, we have a provisional spot for next season regardless of who the driver is". Rumours say that Jonathan Cheeseman will take over the ride if Donald Stewart decides to leave the orgianization. "It's going to be a different Series without seeing aqua-blue in the field" says Tony Pizzaro, who got his start in Extravaganza with Gear-5 racing over a decade ago. "My ability was showcased in his cars, and I am forever grateful". Gear-5 Racing will continue on as a full-time two-car Bonanza team, with Glenn expected to run a part-time schedule. In three decades of racing, Glenn has one top-tier Series victory at Las Vegas in the Bonanza Series in 1998. He has four more events to record his second, easily becoming the most popular victory in sports history if he can pull it off.
The precipice of the season is here. Any way the wind blows, we have come to a road course in the latter stages of 2021. This will be the fifth and final of the season, with Scott Jackson and Ryan Heuser at a deadlock for the Championship lead.
Ryan Heuser led the opening 16 laps with Johnny Reed Foley in tow. He pulled off to over a second lead, leaving Zakk Miller, Tim McDonnell and Alan Nesfeder on the charge for second place.
Within laps, Alex Crapser was able to pass all of them for the second position. The #04 was unable to catch Heuser in time, but looked to be the second-fastest car in the field. He was hoping to gain ground on points leader Scott Jackson, who was mired back around the 30th position.
Heuser would relinquish it to Crapser on lap 17, coming in for an unscheduled pit stop and coming out of the pits mid-pack. He made contact with his teammate Craig Lee entering the first right-handers, spinning into the outside tire barriers and destroying his racecar. For the entire event, he would fight a tow-in problem that had him fall off the lead lap mid-way through the race. The Heuser and Mahoney duo would get it corrected by the end, keeping up with the leaders but to no avail in getting his lap back. He would finish 32nd on the day, in what he claimed best road course car of his career.
Tony Pizzaro shot from the 17th starting spot to first at the halfway point. He would lead the next 19 circuits, hoping to rebound back to form after an unbelievable first 26 races.
Jimmie Stevens, Ben Geer and Randy Dobbins all endured accidents during the middle-portion of the event. Stevens, who was inside the top-10 all day, crashed hard on the inside-backstretch-straightaway after contact from Adam Crapser. He would finish 22nd on the day. Geer and Dobbins both went a lap down after their incident and finished outside the top-30.
Two drivers looking for their first victories of the season were neck-and-neck for the second position. Ken Pettit was holding his own after some horrible finishes at road courses in the last couple of seasons. He would make the pass on Johnny Reed Foley, enjoying his last days at Shake N' Bake Racing in grand style.
The Fenway Park crew missed a lug-nut on their pit stop as the Red Sox Fusion vibrated profusely, forcing Pizzaro to give up the lead, and his hopes of winning his second race of the season. His teammate led a 1-2-3 group of non-winners in 2021, with Foley and Zach Michael ready to pounce.
Alex Crapser led 32 laps, and was in the 4th position when his engine let go. A devastating blow to the #04 bunch, dropping them to 10th in the standings after another unbelievable road course run. Late in the going, Scott Drake went for a ride across the asphalt to bring out the final caution.
Zach Michael made his move during the waning laps, already past Foley and drafting up to the Ken Pettit machine. He dove underneath the #8 entering the backstretch chicane and pulled off the pass in style as Domino's and Zach Michael look to win their first race for Team Danger Zone.
Even the Scott Drake caution couldn't stop the momentum, as Michael soared to a near two-second advantage in just three laps to score his first victory of the season in race 32 of 36. Congrats to Zach, crew chief Justin Knapp, and the entire Team Danger Zone team for a excellent victory!
Scott Jackson and Ryan Heuser are currently 1-point apart atop the points standings. Ryan dominated the show in qualifying, putting up a lap over 1-second ahead of the rest of the field. This is the first time in modern Extravaganza history that this has happened, putting up a 1:20.128 over Johnny Reed Foley's 1:21.138. It's doom or die for Scott Jackson, who is 3.5 seconds slower and starting 38th. Scott hasn't finished worse than 11th in the chase, and looks to keep that streak going as he inevitably passes the slower traffic. Here are the results for both drivers during the chase:
Scott Jackson Darlington: 9th Las Vegas: 3rd Bristol: 1st Talladega: 7th Martinsville: 11th
Ryan Heuser Darlington: 5th Las Vegas: 1st Bristol: 5th Talladega: 20th Martinsville: 5th
David Butterworth backs out of the Charlotte Road race with back issues, something that he has been struggling with for the entire season. "I feel multiple pops every time I turn the wheel, like someone is throwing fireworks into my abdomen." says Butterworth. "I'll spot Dan through the traffic. He'll need as much help as me." Dan will start 31st today as Butter grabs the binoculars for the first time.
John Battista has his eyeballs geared for a 10-victory season. He will be the first since Brandon Beyke in 2007 if he can accomplish the feat. Battista led the most laps during the Charlotte road event in 2020, and looks to maintain the positive momentum coming out of Martinsville. He starts 6th in a field filled with road-racing prowess up ahead, looking to gain ground on the front two in the standings.
Tony Pizzaro won the fabulous inaugural Charlotte road race event last season. This season has been rumoured to be the curtain-call for the event, as Pizzaro looks to sweep the only two Charlotte road events in Extravaganza. He has only been in victory lane one time this season, seeing the headlines dwindle ever since the chase started five races ago. He will start 17th on the grid, looking to re-gain his confidence after a horrifying Martinsville race, and a 9th place in the points.
John Battista comes in with seven victories on the season, looking for a rebound after Talladega sent him to fourth in points. Scott Jackson, Ryan Heuser and Ken Pettit are all within 100 points of each other atop the standings, starting 8th, 11th and 20th respectively.
The caustic winds grow cold in the Martinsville autumn air, as Zakk Miller flies by pole-sitter Tim McDonnell for the lead. Dave Miller and Alex Crapser would linger inside the top-4 for the first 40 laps.
Miller led the first 178 laps of the event, with Ryan Heuser making a charge at the tail-end of the run. He had crawled methodically from the 11th position, and encapsulated the grandeur of victory across the grandstands.
Before lap 200, Tim McDonnell made his bid for the lead and did so successfully. He would stay on top for 64 laps, hoping to earn his right to win his third straight Championship crown after a slow start to the chase.
Dave Miller took the lead around the halfway point of the event, leading a couple laps before the caution flag fell and sent everyone into different strategies.
Rick Jackson stayed out on older tires, leading 121 laps before the fuel run sent him into the pits.
John Battista and Dave Miller were two of the three strongest of the cars with more fuel, stretching as far as they could to make it on just one more stop.
John Tharp looked to head back into the Championship picture, nabbing top-10 finishes all season, though still eluded with that first victory of 2021. He, Ken Pettit, Zach Michael, Johnny Reed Foley and Matthew Dominique have been the biggest snub surprises so far.
Ben Geer and Steven Spears came out of the pits entangled and clipped leader Battista, damaging the #39's front end and giving Dave Miller the lead coming to the caution flag. Miraculously, Battista would beat Miller out of the pits and re-take the advantage, leading to a final shootout to the finish with Battista heading the restart.
Alan Nesfeder was the fastest car on the track in the late-going, barraging up to second place before knocking Dalton Lucas out of the way in turn 1. It would bring out the final caution of the event.
Battista cruised through the final 30 laps, through lapped traffic and all, to keep a couple car-length distance between he and Nesfeder to win his 8th race of the 2021 season at Martinsville. Congrats to Battista, crew chief lew Money, and the entire Lucas Racing crew for an excellent victory!
Tim McDonnell starts on the pole at Martinsville in the same race he won last season in rain-shortened style. That race turned around his chase, leading to his second-straight Championship. It is clear skies in the forecast this time, hoping to hold back race favorites Matt Raboin and Ryan Heuser. Points leader Scott Jackson starts 8th in the field, looking to win his first Championship in 12 years in a career-rebound season. It's a very conventional top-20 on the grid, so the cream-of-the-crop is already up front. Grab your wildfire corn-cobs from Nashville and get final Martinsville showdown of 2021 on the way!
Quick-Silver Motorsports opens the guns early on the Johnny Reed Foley recruiting. The Quick-Silver headquarters are known for their five-star curbside and kitchen, and have offered Foley a 24-7 on-call food service as a lure to join the team. This goes with the millions of dollars that will surely be paid on the side to the musician-turned Extravaganza superstar.
