World of Outlaws Putnamville Showdown

The two drivers atop the points come together in the final corner, and the defending champion holds on for the victory

Anticipation was high Friday night as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returned to Lincoln Park Speedway, and it didn’t disappoint.

The Putnamville, IN track is famous for so many reasons. It’s a high banked bullring. It routinely builds a monstrous cushion. It produces some of the best Sprint Car racing fans will ever see. The “Hoosier State” oval lived up to every bit of its reputation as The Greatest Show on Dirt came back for the first time in nine years.

David Gravel and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid gave the packed stands a show they won’t soon forget. The two began their battle right off the bat as Kofoid started third but drove by polesitter Gravel on the second circuit to take the top spot. Gravel was far from done as he rallied and reclaimed it on the 13th lap as Kofoid struggled in traffic.

The mid-portion of the race unfolded, and Gravel managed to put some distance between himself and the Roth Motorsports No. 83. Then Kofoid found speed as he migrated his line to the huge curb at the top of the racetrack. The gap between the two shrank and shrank until Kofoid finally pulled the trigger on a slider coming to two laps to go. Gravel crossed under him exiting Turn 2 then moved to the top to take away Kofoid’s line. The two took the white flag, but then the red lights flashed for a flipping Brady Bacon.

The red set the stage for a wild restart. The green flag flew, and Kofoid threw a huge slide job on Gravel in Turns 3 and 4. Gravel dipped below him on the front straightaway to retake command as the white flag flew. Kofoid hammered the cushion to pull alongside Gravel on the backstretch. Kofoid committed to the top in the final set of corners. Gravel slid toward the cushion, but Kofoid was already there and the two made contact. The result? A spun around Kofoid as Gravel drove away to the checkered flag.

“Obviously, you don’t want guys to come together on the last corner racing for the win,” Gravel said. “We were equal, wheel-to-wheel there. I just think we were racing for the same spot, last lap, last corner for the win. I felt like I kind of had position on him down the backstretch. I felt like he kind of forced it to go outside of me. He knew I was going to the cushion. I didn’t wreck him on purpose. I know that, and hopefully he does as well. I don’t want to get into a crash and knock the guy out that we’re racing in points either. I want to win in fair and square. I just got to thank Cody (Jacobs), Zach (Patterson), Pete (Stephens), and Luke (Vaughn) is here helping us out.”

The Watertown, CT native is now up to 16 World of Outlaws victories in 2025 with the Big Game Motorsports team. Gravel elevated his career total to 119, moving him within three of equaling Danny Lasoski for sixth all-time.

Instead of a potential win, a disappointed Kofoid was left with a 14th place finish.

“I felt like we were kind of side by side,” Kofoid said of the final lap. “Then we went into (Turn) 3 he was kind of coming up, and I was kind of already there and didn’t really have an option to move down. I thought for a split second there was a hole and felt like I got most of the way or next to him, and then it just closed up last second. I feel bad for all of the Roth Motorsports crew guys and the whole team. Whether it’s my fault or not, I feel like I let them down.”

Carson Macedo charged the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 from 10th to the runner-up spot and was in line for victory had Gravel also gone around as a result of the contact. The Lemoore, CA native is up to 25 podiums this season.

“I was just in the cat-bird seat hoping that maybe calamity would happen, and I could squeeze in for the win,” Macedo said. “From what I saw, it was just a racing deal. A guy really going for it there. I didn’t think it was going to work, and it didn’t.”

Kofoid sliding down the finishing order allowed Bill Balog to climb onto the podium. A third place run marked the “North Pole Nightmare’s” ninth top three of his sophomore World of Outlaws season.

“We had a super good race car,” Balog said. “I definitely think it was probably a little bit better than the way I was driving it maybe. We had a good car all night. I have to thank Honest Abe Roofing, Anderson’s Maple Syrup, and everybody that helps us out. We just try to do a good job for them. Hats off to Putnamville. Awesome racetrack. This is the kind of thing we needed right here. A short track, great racing, a big curb, and a lot of fun.”

Cole Macedo and Garet Williamson completed the top five.

Kerry Madsen took the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 15 from 21st to ninth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Buddy Kofoid earned his third Simpson Quick Time of the year and set a new track record in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Cole Macedo (Real American Beer Heat Two), Darin Naida (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Logan Julien (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Darin Naida.

David Gravel topped the Toyota Dash.

Kerry Madsen won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Buddy Kofoid.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take on the second leg of a three-state tripleheader on Saturday, Oct. 18 at La Salle, IL’s LaSalle Speedway before finishing the weekend at Sun Prairie, WI’s Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 19. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[1]; 2. 41-Carson Macedo[10]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[4]; 4. 2C-Cole Macedo[8]; 5. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[9]; 7. 71-Parker Price Miller[12]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz[11]; 9. 15S-Kerry Madsen[21]; 10. 27-Emerson Axsom[20]; 11. 85J-Logan Julien[6]; 12. 51-Scott Bogucki[15]; 13. 37-Bryce Norris[7]; 14. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 15. 7S-Chris Windom[19]; 16. 18-Cory Eliason[22]; 17. 21H-Brady Bacon[16]; 18. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[23]; 19. 99-Skylar Gee[17]; 20. 6-Zach Hampton[18]; 21. 34-Sterling Cling[24]; 22. 24-Cole Duncan[14]; 23. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[13]; 24. 2MD-Darin Naida[2]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.