Johnny Reed Foley Will not extend contract with Shake N' Bake Racing, several sponsors interested.
William Perry May extend contract with PHR Racing, Dodge sponsorship will stay with driver.
Jonathan Skrabacz Multi-year independent open to join multi-car team. Boeing will stay with driver.
Donald Stewart Rumors indicate Jonathan Cheeseman will be the new driver, no official word on sponsorship or interest in leaving team
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Ben Geer Released from Top Geer Motorsports. Sponsor will not stay.
Rob Scarberry Old Farts Racing going to single-car operation in 2022 due to owner points. Rob is rumored to ask for his release. STP sponsorship will stay with driver.
Mark Guthrie Will probably stay with Old Farts Racing, unless Scarberry leaves. Miller sponsorship will stay with driver.
Kevin Corbat One more year on his contract, looking for a buyout from another multi-car team.
Jack Paynter Currently no ride, no sponsors interested
Brandon Raines Currently no ride, low-funded Havoline sponsorship for Bonanza Series
Geno Sphere Bonanza Series driver for Cyrcle-Turn Motorsports. Will join Extravaganza team in 2022. Several sponsors interested.
Talladega looks to be the dark-horse event for all of the non-chase drivers to earn a victory, and clinch their way into the All-Star Race for 2022. For the Big-10, it could be the make-it or break-it event heading towards the half-way point of the final ten races. 45 drivers start, giving any DID-NOT-FINISH the highest penalty possible.
Pole-sitter Zach Michael comes in 10th in points to lead the first four laps of the event. Alex Crapser led the next six with a three-wide move on the inside. Rick Jackson led the next four.
Tim McDonnell took the lead on lap 15 and held point through lap 49, leading nearly the entire green flag run. He and Rick Jackson were side-by-side for several laps until the first round of green flag pit stops on lap 51.
Lap 80 saw teammates John Battista and Adam Crapser make contact on the backstretch, leading to a five car pileup towards the rear of the field. Bill Werkheiser, Alan Nesfeder and Aaron Cummings were also involved in the accident. After the restart, Zakk Miller and Brian Lowe stirred up and accident involving chase contenders Zach Michael and Tim McDonnell. They would finish 33rd and 27th on the day.
Matt Raboin, Matthew Dominique, Ben Geer, Craig Lee, Glenn Kaufmann, Dave Miller and John Battista would all endure engine failures. Battista dropped to 4th in points, while Lee fell to 7th with only six races left in the season.
Scott Jackson took the lead away from Logan Sheets on lap 125, looking to steal the points lead away from Ryan Heuser, who would go a lap down on fuel strategy later in the going. Jackson led 9 laps before Ryan led his only circuit of the event before having to come in. Mark Guthrie and Dan Johnston took the point before Jackson nabbed it back before the next yellow flag.
Dan Johnston was sandwiched between Ken Pettit and Scott Drake on lap 148, entering turn 4 with all three in a tailspin. Adam Crapser and Dakota Wilkins were catapulted into the outside wall, hindering Wilkins outside the top-25, while Crapser finished 16th with a hoodless racecar. Dakota was involved in the next accident with 27 laps to go. Points leader Ryan Heuser found his kryptonite, slamming into the outside wall on two wheels with Alex Crapser, Michael Henson, Jimmie Stevens and Mark Guthrie also involved. Ryan would finish 20th and drop to second in points to Scott Jackson. Chase contender Crapser was involved in his second crash, finishing 30th.
Bink Lucas led the ensuing restart with 21 laps to go, leading the next six laps before Scott Jackson took the point. Donald Stewart pushed Rick Jackson to the front during the same lap, leading the next three before Stewart and Tony Pizzaro took their turn late. Jackson re-took the lead with nine laps left.
Jackson flew several car-lengths ahead of the pack after navigating lapped traffic. This gave the edge to Tony Long with an unbelievable run entering turn 1 with only five laps to go. He took the lead, and would be surrounded by Race-2-Win teammates during the few waning laps.
Despite the horsepower of the teammates, pre-rookie Bonanza Series regular Bink Lucas flew by the #15 with two laps to go. A heavy push from Mike Carroll on the bottom would prevail the Lucas Racing protegy to the front, hoping to hold off the crowd of competitive Extravaganza regulars behind.
A crash between Logan Sheets and Al
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The Standings are tighter than ever after last and second-to-last in points both fought hard for good finishes at Bristol. Only 200 points separate the top-guns of Extravaganza with seven races to go. Chase contender Zach Michael comes in 200 points out to win the pole for tomorrow, with Craig Lee on the outside leading the Quick-Silver brigade. There will be 45 entries in this event, inviting more devastation for any of the big-10 to crash or loose their engine during the 188-lap scramble. Losing the lead draft could be the difference of 50+ points, so pit stops may play as the biggest role in this one if it stays green for more than 50 laps at a time. Spring race winner John Battista comes in 2nd in points, losing one spot to Scott Jackson after his big victory at Bristol. Jackson starts third today. Battista and points leader Ryan Heuser are off the grid 12th and 8th.
After a half-decade of up and down finishes, devastating accidents and several catch-fence concussions, Ben Geer will not resign with Top Geer Motorsports for 2022. His 40th place finish at Bristol added to the devastating results on short tracks this season. He has not recorded a top-20 in his five attempts. His devastating accident in the spring race at Atlanta forced him to miss Martinsville and battle hard for the top-35 in points for most of the season. He will join Johnny Reed Foley as the top-2 available free agents.
Ben Geer's 2020 season was a sign of optimism, recording 8 top-10's and a near-victory at Darlington in the spring. His season highlight was the fall Rockingham race, leading 82 laps and keeping up with Ryan Heuser, Battista and Lee all day. A near victory at Las Vegas just two weeks ago was a shade of that previous season. That may be the race that keeps his competitive Extravaganza career alive.
Pole sitter Adam Crapser looks like a dark horse coming into the final Bristol race of the season, looking to steal the spotlight from the chase contenders. Points leaders Ryan Heuser and John Battista start 19th and 25th, with a herd of cattle in front ready to be pounced.
Zakk Miller was the cause of major catastrophe on lap 1, after contact with Ryan on the start saw him go for a spin in turn 1. On the restart, he and Johnny Reed Foley made contact, slamming Zakk into the inside wall with severe force. The damage was devastating enough for him to come in and fix the damage. Coming out of the pits, he made contact with Mike Carroll, ending his 12-lap reign of horrifying luck. He wound up passing one car down the stretch, finishing 41st on the day.
Rick Jackson took the lead early, with Jonathan Scrabacz and Donald Stewart in tow. Pole-sitter Adam fell off fast and quickly skidded outside of the top-10, while chase contenders Ken Pettit, Alex Crapser and Zach Michael rolled towards the front.
Craig Lee was easily the fastest car on the racetrack, rolling from 11th to first to take the lead. Matthew Dominique was looking to steal the show from behind, eventually leading 26 laps on the day. Craig led 31.
Dominique and Jonathan Scrabacz swapped the lead while Tony Pizzaro and Philip Parker lurked from behind. Adam Crapser found his way back to the front as well, passing Zach Michael who dominated the day. Michael led 112 laps in total.
Jimmie Stevens got in on the action, looking to win a race at Bristol for the second season in a row. His redemption for not making the chase payed off in spades, leading 81 laps and recording a top-10 finish on the night.
During green flag pit stops, Matthew Dominique and Ben Geer made contact, sending themselves into a frenzy from hell entering turn 3. The two went for a minor spin, though the yellow flag only put 8 cars on the lead lap.
After the final restart, Bill Werkheiser and Scott Jackson were the main contenders for the victory. The W.A.S.P. Motorsports teammates look to battle it out hard at a non-speedway racetrack, a complete rarity in the past half-decade. There was still over 100 laps to go.
Alex Crapser came into the mix after several side-by-side battles slowed the teammates down. The three swapped the lead several times, with Bill leading the most laps between lap 400 to 449.
On lap 450, Scott Jackson took the lead away and never looked back. He navigated through lapped traffic perfectly, and put himself in perfect position to win with a full second advantage with less than 5 laps to go.
Crapser was able to pass Werkheiser for the second position, but it was Scott Jackson to his fourth victory of his well acclaimed comeback season at the checkered Congrats to Scott, crew chief Linwood Smalls and the entire W.A.S.P. Motorsports team for another excellent victory!
The historical standpoint of Bristol Motor Speedway added a new chapter last fall, handing an unbelievable upset to Mark Guthrie for his first career victory. He made the field again today, out in the back in 38th. Only Adam Crapser and Rick Jackson were able to crack the 14-second margin, with Adam earning his second pole of the season. He is looking for his first victory tonight at a track that has provided many upsets over the recent years. 2017 saw Michael Henson in victory lane for his only career win, with the aforementioned Guthrie three years later. Look for Jonathan Scrabacz to enter the fray as well, climbing up to 23rd in the standings over the past several weeks and starting in row #2. Points leaders Ryan Heuser, John Battista and Craig lee start 19th, 25th and 11th.
Tim McDonnell had gone on a miracle stretch of 71 straight events without a DNF. That streak ended when his engine expired on the tri-oval last week, ending his day in 36th. A horrifying accident took him out of the Charlotte race in 2019. It's been near-perfect sailing ever since.
Gill Shephard, also known as "Texan Gill", was an attemptee-mainstay in the Extravaganza Series from 1977 to 1985. His best ever finish was a third place at Nashville in 1980, driving a blue #39 unsponsored Oldsmobile for the Geckman brothers. During and after his racing career, he was a professional flute player for the Jethro Tull tribute band "Mother Goose". Gill had just turned 79.
What looked like an easy call to the office of Champions turned into a definitive blow for the two consistency dominators of the season. The tides will turn in the 3rd annual Eddie Money classic, seeing the horsepower dominators kill two birds while dominating the standings.
Pole sitter Scott Jackson lost the lead early to Dave Miller and John Battista, the latter looking to extend his 45-point lead in the points. There were no surprised up front, seeing the usual half-mile suspects like Rick Jackson, Tony Pizzaro and Ryan Heuser up front.
Johnny Reed Foley had lost his sponsor, though saw the front of the pack without needing binoculars all day. Tim McDonnell and Zach Michael look to rebound after poor performances last week, as Rick find the lead early en route to leading a race-dominating 48 laps.
Ben Geer looked unstoppable, pulling off his usual 3 out of 36 race dominance at the speedways. Pocono was the first, though there was something seemingly "experimental" about this car. Ben was easily the class of the field during the early to middle-stages.
Three crashes including three different chase contenders took out the competitive forces of Alex Crapser, John Tharp and Tim McDonnell. Two of the accidents were identical, with the final involving Tharp for a second time. Crapser would miraculously rebound to 6th, with Tharp 23rd.
A horrifying crash off of turn 2 set up the destruction of two powerhouse-players for the championship all season. Kevin Corbat and Tony Pizzaro went for a wild ride off of the fourth corner, seeing the #46 slide roof-first for thousands of yards while the #12 went through a miraculous infield flip in shades of Darlington last season. During the crash, Champion Tim McDonnell blew up on an upshift after narrowly avoiding the accident. It would be his first DNF of the season, as well as Pizzaro's. Points leader Battista was also involved, hindering his progress all day and resulting in an 18th place finish. He would drop to second in the standings.
Long green flag runs were abundant after the accidents, seeing a miraculous comeback from Alex Crapser and an emotionally wounded Johnny Reed Foley lead the field away from the frenzy behind. Ryan Heuser, Randy Dobbins, and the Jackson cousins also looked to join in on the action.
Ryan Heuser went from the lead to nearly outside of the top-10 after short-pitting during the final stretch. Crapser and Jackson flew by, with Craig Lee on everyone's tail with the freshest tires in the field.
Craig found his way past the Scott Jackson machine and pulled away from the field. A near race-leading 42 laps led from 31st starting position looked to be the stat-line towards victory lane, before a Steven Spears spin with less than 30-to-go forces a late-race restart.
On cold tires, Ryan pulled towards the front on the restart and miraculously made it by Craig. Scott Jackson took pursuit as well, with Ben Geer closing the gap in third. It was a three-car battle for victory towards the end.
Ben Geer made it past the #38 with 2 laps to go and gained all of the distance to catch the #138. It was to no avail, as Ryan defended to his 6th victory of the season and into the points lead for the first time all season. Congrats to Ryan, crew chief Mustard Mahoney and the entire Quick-Silver Racing crew for an excellent victory.
The points standings have already taken an ebb and flow of 155 points from Darlington winner John Battista. He is already 45 points ahead of second place, as we are finally seeing the big winners of this season also creep up to the top of the standings. Ken Pettit, Alex Crapser and Zach Michael faltered to the bottom of the totem pole last week after accidents ruined their lead-lap days. In fact, only two chase drivers finished in the top-6, leading to believe that the nothing-to-lose mentality is the way of the future. Dan Johnston and Aaron Cummings are looking for their second straight top-5 finish in the third annual Eddie Money Classic!
After missing the chase and only capturing 3 top-5's in 27 races, both Amp Energy and Coca-Cola have parted ways with the team for the 2022 season. This is a devastating blow for Foley, who has seldom seen the front all season and was hoping to resurrect the team with a manufacturer change to Toyota. This will also dissuade Adam Beresford's 6-race initiation effort for next season, and possibly lose his Busch Bonanza ride. Instead of battling the tide, Foley has elected to be released from his contract, which has one year left. It was approved this morning by Shake N' Bake co-owner's Mumford Walls and Jazzy Joel.
