Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40

The Californian fends off David Gravel’s late charge to secure his first Wilmot checkered flag

There’s no driver hotter on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series tour than Michael “Buddy” Kofoid right now.

It began with a major week at Huset’s Speedway where Kofoid finished on the podium all four nights of the Huset’s High Bank Nationals and won a pair of six-figure paydays, becoming only the third driver to do so in one week.

He and the Roth Motorsports crew followed that with two third place runs at Cedar Lake Speedway. An off weekend for the Fourth of July came next, but Kofoid and company didn’t let the summer break cool them off.

They rolled into Wisconsin’s Wilmot Raceway Saturday night and delivered yet another statement. Kofoid started on the pole of the Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40 and led every single circuit. Defending Series champion David Gravel offered up a couple challenges, but it wasn’t enough as Kofoid held on and kept the hot streak rolling with another checkered flag.

“We wouldn’t be standing up here having speed like this if it wasn’t for Dylan (Buswell), Nate (Knotts), and Gage (Tyra),” Kofoid said of his crew. “They work incredibly hard, and I feel like atmosphere-wise it’s been the best atmosphere and the most fun I’ve had in my career, and that’s all due to them and everyone above us that puts us here.

“I was kind of scratching my head under that yellow like, ‘Man, I don’t know where to be,’ just because there were 10 different things you could do. I was just sticking to what I felt was working for me which was driving across and trying to cut (Turn) 1 really short. Then I kind of gave up on the top in (Turn) 3 and was driving across. I don’t know if that was better or not, but I felt like that helped us finish off the race.”

Kofoid has now topped three of the last six races contest by The Greatest Show on Dirt. The Series sophomore’s seventh victory of 2025 already equals the mark he established last year during his rookie campaign. His first at Wilmot makes the 23-year-old the eighth different driver to win at the “Badger State” track. The 17th overall of Kofoid’s World of Outlaws career tied him with Kraig Kinser and Johnny Herrera for 35th all-time.

David Gravel came home second after throwing everything he had at Kofoid in the latter stages of the race. He fired a slider that came up just a tad short and look poised to make a late run before the yellow flag flew with two laps remaining. The Watertown, CT native closed on Kofoid coming to the white flag after the restart, but a final lap mistake sealed a runner-up fate for the Big Game Motorsports team.

“It definitely hurt our chances a little bit,” Gravel said of the final yellow. “But truly I had a shot on the green-white-checkered. I got a bad start, got through (Turns) 1 and 2 good, and then Buddy struggled through (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to the white. I tried to run the bottom and grab the moisture down low off of (Turn) 2, and about half the time I could do it and half I couldn’t, and that was a time that I missed it. That was a race car capable of winning tonight. Man, when I threw the slider in (Turns) 1 and 2, I swear I cleared him and there was no way he was getting back around me, and then he just probably closed his eyes, prayed, and went wide open around the cushion and got back around me.”

Carson Macedo brought the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 home third for his third consecutive podium finish as he continues to rebound after a tough week at Huset’s in late June. The Lemoore, CA native overcame restart problems to secure a strong finish. Macedo claiming third made it three straight races of the same three drivers occupying the podium.

“I was just getting really bad starts,” Macedo said. “My angle was so bad off of (Turn) 4 when I’d start behind Buddy on the bottom. He’d take off pretty early, which I would’ve too, but where I was at I had to turn twice and then exit right around that tire then I’d just be spinning down the frontstretch and be in trouble getting into (Turn) 1 almost every start.”

Chris Windom and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Giovanni Scelzi took the KCP Racing No. 18 from 16th to 11th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Bill Balog claimed his first Simpson Quick Time of 2025 in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Buddy Kofoid (Real American Beer Heat Two), and Chris Windom (WIX Filters Heat Three).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Carson Macedo for the third race in a row.

Buddy Kofoid topped the Toyota Dash.

Skylar Gee won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Hunter Schuerenberg.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Ohio for a major week of racing. It begins with the Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic presented by dac Vitamins and Minerals at Attica Raceway Park on Tuesday, July 15. For tickets, CLICK HERE. Then it’s over to Rossburg, OH’s Eldora Speedway for the 42nd running of the Kings Royal (July 18-19) with the champion banking a record $200,000. 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 (40 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 4. 7S-Chris Windom[5]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog[6]; 7. 21H-Brady Bacon[10]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz[9]; 9. 2C-Cole Macedo[13]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 11. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[16]; 12. 23-Garet Williamson[8]; 13. 6-Zach Hampton[17]; 14. 28M-Conner Morrell[14]; 15. 3N-Jake Neuman[11]; 16. 15K-Creed Kemenah[15]; 17. 79-Blake Nimee[20]; 18. 99-Skylar Gee[19]; 19. 87A-Austin Hartmann[24]; 20. 10V-Matt VanderVere[21]; 21. 13-CJ Malueg[23]; 22. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[18]; 23. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]; 24. 43-Jereme Schroeder[22]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.