King David the 41st: Gravel Outruns Schatz for Kings Royal Victory

David Gravel with crew chief Cody Jacobs and crew in victory lane at Eldora Speedway after winning the 41st Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. (T.J. Buffenbarger Photo)

By T.J. Buffenbarger

ROSSBURG, Ohio (July 20, 2024) — David Gravel realized a career dream Saturday night at Eldora Speedway by winning the 41st Kings Royal with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Gravel, from Watertown, Connecticut, took the lead from Tyler Courtney and had to fend off challenges from Logan Schuchart and defending Kings Royal champion Donny Schatz, losing the lead to both for a pair of laps each before taking the top position back.

The victory gave Gravel two six figure victories for the weekend, backing up his $100,000 victory in the Jokers Jackpot with the $175,000 payday for winning the Kings Royal.

Gravel and Tyler Courtney started on the front row for the 40-lap Kings Royal finale. The initial start immediately drew a red flag for Parker Price-Miller flipping in turn two. Price-Miller was able to exit the car under his own power.

During the second start Courtney led Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild while Schuchart moved up into fourth spot. One lap later Schuchart drove by Haudenschild to enter the top three.

Seven laps into the race Gravel moved past Courtney to take the lead. Schuchart was able to follow Gravel around Courtney for the second position and began to catch Gravel for the lead.

Schuchart made his move lap 16 to take the lead. One lap later the second caution flag appeared for Anthony Macri slowing with a shredded left rear tire. This necessitated an open red flag period for refueling and for teams to adjust their race cars.

Following the open red Gravel was able to retake the lead while Schatz, who had already moved up to eighth position when the fuel stop occurred, charged through the pack three wide at times to enter the top three, then drive by Schuchart for the second position on lap 20.

Schatz was able to catch Gravel quickly in slower traffic and took the lead on lap 32. Gravel continued to run the top of the race track and was able to drive by Schatz two laps later on lap 33. From there Gravel was able to put a lapped car between himself and Schatz and hold on for his first career Kings Royal victory.

Schatz finished second while Justin Peck was able to displace Schuchart for third position with four laps to go to round out the podium.

“This is really, really cool,” Gravel said in the media center after the race. Brent was the first one to do it a couple of years ago. I was happy with how the week went no matter what happened. Losing the lead from Logan (Schuchart) and then was able to get a good restart and then kind of had the lead and I saw the 15 car below me and then had to really step it up and ride the wall. It was stressful, but really cool to get it done and finally get this crown jewel.”

Gravel and Donny Schatz raced for the win in the closing stages of the 40-lap main event. After Schatz got the lead, Gravel had to change his line to use the top of the racetrack.

“I could have easily folded there and lost that race and to recover from me riding the wall like that,” Gravel said of hitting the wall too hard on one occasion. “I thought maybe the ladder was knocked out or the right rear tire had a hole in it, but the car recovered well. I knew half the laps off the two I was hanging in the other half I was getting off decent. I knew that was my weak point. I felt really good through three and four, but the lap cars were kind of in my way. They were kind of running in three quarter lane at the top one and two, so I thought that gave the advantage to Donny. It feels good to win one that way. Winning one riding the wall and Eldora, that’s what you dream about,” said Gravel about racing Eldora’s top side in the later stages of the event. “It’s something I don’t like to do, I like what Donny was doing tonight, but my car didn’t like it down there, so I had to bang the boards”

Schatz’s incredible run from 20th to second was done using the same techniques he used throughout the week to pass cars, running through the middle and the bottom, and was disappointed yet gracious in defeat.

“I’ve said it 100 times in the last eight to 10 laps of this race are a whole different dynamic,” said Schatz. “What you can do with your race car after the abuse and tire heat and wearing the racetrack out. In this point did the same thing again and we were good at the end. David just he got up on there and he won it. I mean, he bounced off the wall once I didn’t think he was coming out of that, but he did and that’s why he won.”

41st Kings Royal
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Eldora Speedway
Rossburg, Ohio
Saturday, July 20th, 2024

Sea Foam Qualifying
1. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.933[59]
2. 39M-Anthony Macri, 12.982[10]
3. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.996[1]
4. 21-Brian Brown, 13.051[6]
5. 70-Kraig Kinser, 13.083[4]
6. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.133[12]
7. 16T-Cole Macedo, 13.174[2]
8. 26-Zeb Wise, 13.195[9]
9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.196[14]
10. 33W-Cap Henry, 13.199[5]
11. 23B-Devon Borden, 13.219[3]
12. 2-David Gravel, 13.221[58]
13. 27-Emerson Axsom, 13.240[32]
14. 42-Sye Lynch, 13.268[34]
15. 13-Justin Peck, 13.269[40]
16. 83SR-James McFadden, 13.296[18]
17. 7S-Landon Crawley, 13.301[28]
18. 45-Landon Brooks, 13.345[13]
19. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.355[20]
20. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.366[33]
21. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.372[24]
22. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 13.382[62]
23. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.385[19]
24. 19-Brent Marks, 13.389[21]
25. 24D-Danny Sams III, 13.402[23]
26. 1-Brenham Crouch, 13.406[30]
27. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.415[25]
28. 6-Kelby Watt, 13.422[39]
29. 83-Michael Kofoid, 13.424[36]
30. 32-Bryce Lucius, 13.442[8]
31. 18T-Tanner Holmes, 13.444[38]
32. 21H-Brady Bacon, 13.462[56]
33. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.473[47]
34. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.475[7]
35. 25-Daison Pursley, 13.480[26]
36. 5-Spencer Bayston, 13.485[49]
37. 55W-Chris Windom, 13.499[16]
38. 14-Corey Day, 13.510[44]
39. 9-Kasey Kahne, 13.515[22]
40. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.528[41]
41. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.534[11]
42. 10-Scott Bogucki, 13.538[31]
43. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.539[17]
44. 19H-Joel Myers Jr, 13.563[15]
45. 55-Kerry Madsen, 13.581[61]
46. 101-Kalib Henry, 13.593[54]
47. 41-Carson Macedo, 13.595[53]
48. 29-Logan McCandless, 13.595[57]
49. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek, 13.607[29]
50. 23-Garet Williamson, 13.644[45]
51. 2MD-Darin Naida, 13.651[35]
52. 2KS-Chase Randall, 13.659[55]
53. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.665[37]
54. 8-Cory Eliason, 13.693[52]
55. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.709[50]
56. 23J-Cale Thomas, 13.739[42]
57. 55T-McKenna Haase, 13.845[46]
58. 15K-Creed Kemenah, 13.848[43]
59. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 13.942[27]
60. 50YR-Gary Taylor, 14.023[60]
61. 28-Brian Paulus, 14.031[51]
62. O1-Tyler Gunn, [48]

Heat Race #1 (10 Laps)
1. 24-Rico Abreu[4]
2. 1A-Jacob Allen[1]
3. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]
4. 16T-Cole Macedo[3]
5. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[9]
6. 55W-Chris Windom[7]
7. 24D-Danny Sams III[5]
8. 81-Lee Jacobs[8]
9. 18T-Tanner Holmes[6]
10. 49X-Tim Shaffer[10]
11. 28-Brian Paulus[11]

Milton Hershey School Heat Race #2 (10 Laps)
1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]
2. 42-Sye Lynch[2]
3. 26-Zeb Wise[3]
4. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]
5. 21H-Brady Bacon[6]
6. 23J-Cale Thomas[10]
7. 14-Corey Day[7]
8. 19H-Joel Myers Jr[8]
9. 1-Brenham Crouch[5]
10. 23-Garet Williamson[9]
11. O1-Tyler Gunn[11]

Heat Race #3 (10 Laps)
1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]
2. 99-Skylar Gee[1]
3. 13-Justin Peck[2]
4. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg[5]
5. 15-Donny Schatz[4]
6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[6]
7. 9-Kasey Kahne[7]
8. 55-Kerry Madsen[8]
9. 2MD-Darin Naida[9]
10. 55T-McKenna Haase[10]

Heat Race #4 (10 Laps)
1. 9P-Parker Price Miller[1]
2. 83SR-James McFadden[2]
3. 21-Brian Brown[4]
4. 33W-Cap Henry[3]
5. 6-Kelby Watt[5]
6. 57-Kyle Larson[7]
7. W20-Greg Wilson[6]
8. 101-Kalib Henry[8]
9. 2KS-Chase Randall[9]
10. 15K-Creed Kemenah[10]

Heat Race #5 (10 Laps)
1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]
2. 83-Michael Kofoid[5]
3. 7S-Landon Crawley[2]
4. 23B-Devon Borden[3]
5. 70-Kraig Kinser[4]
6. 25-Daison Pursley[6]
7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[7]
8. 41-Carson Macedo[8]
9. 17B-Bill Balog[9]
10. 25R-Jordan Ryan[10]

Heat Race #6 (10 Laps)
1. 2-David Gravel[3]
2. 19-Brent Marks[1]
3. 45-Landon Brooks[2]
4. 5-Spencer Bayston[6]
5. 49-Brad Sweet[4]
6. 10-Scott Bogucki[7]
7. 8-Cory Eliason[9]
8. 32-Bryce Lucius[5]
9. 29-Logan McCandless[8]
10. 50YR-Gary Taylor[10]

C-Main (12 Laps)
1. 55-Kerry Madsen[3]
2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[5]
3. 24D-Danny Sams III[1]
4. W20-Greg Wilson[4]
5. 101-Kalib Henry[10]
6. 8-Cory Eliason[6]
7. 1-Brenham Crouch[8]
8. 23-Garet Williamson[14]
9. 2KS-Chase Randall[16]
10. 15K-Creed Kemenah[21]
11. 2MD-Darin Naida[9]
12. 25R-Jordan Ryan[22]
13. 55T-McKenna Haase[15]
14. 19H-Joel Myers Jr[2]
15. 41-Carson Macedo[11]
16. 50YR-Gary Taylor[23]
17. 32-Bryce Lucius[12]
18. 29-Logan McCandless[18]
19. 81-Lee Jacobs[7]
20. 18T-Tanner Holmes[13]
21. 17B-Bill Balog[17]
22. 49X-Tim Shaffer[19]
23. O1-Tyler Gunn[20]
24. 28-Brian Paulus[24]

MicroLite Last Chance Showdown (15 Laps)
1. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg[3]
2. 21H-Brady Bacon[2]
3. 5-Spencer Bayston[6]
4. 16T-Cole Macedo[1]
5. 49-Brad Sweet[12]
6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[9]
7. 70-Kraig Kinser[11]
8. 23J-Cale Thomas[8]
9. 6-Kelby Watt[10]
10. 23B-Devon Borden[5]
11. 57-Kyle Larson[16]
12. 14-Corey Day[14]
13. 8-Cory Eliason[24]
14. 25-Daison Pursley[17]
15. 55W-Chris Windom[13]
16. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[7]
17. W20-Greg Wilson[22]
18. 9-Kasey Kahne[15]
19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[20]
20. 101-Kalib Henry[23]
21. 33W-Cap Henry[4]
22. 24D-Danny Sams III[21]
23. 10-Scott Bogucki[18]
24. 55-Kerry Madsen[19]

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps)
1. 2-David Gravel[1]
2. 15-Donny Schatz[20]
3. 13-Justin Peck[15]
4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[4]
5. 1A-Jacob Allen[7]
6. 27-Emerson Axsom[13]
7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]
8. 26-Zeb Wise[14]
9. 19-Brent Marks[12]
10. 83-Michael Kofoid[11]
11. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]
12. 5-Spencer Bayston[23]
13. 39M-Anthony Macri[19]
14. 83SR-James McFadden[10]
15. 11-Hunter Schuerenberg[21]
16. 99-Skylar Gee[9]
17. 21H-Brady Bacon[22]
18. 24-Rico Abreu[6]
19. 21-Brian Brown[16]
20. 7S-Landon Crawley[17]
21. 45-Landon Brooks[18]
22. 16T-Cole Macedo[24]
23. 42-Sye Lynch[8]
24. 9P-Parker Price Miller[3]

41st Kings Royal
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Eldora Speedway
Rossburg, Ohio
Saturday, July 20th, 2024