By T.J. Buffenbarger
(July 20, 2024) — Kings Royal 41 is in the history books with David Gravel taking home two, six figure paydays out of Rossburg, Ohio. After a highly entertaining weekend of racing, here are my three takeaways.
- One of the defining moments of the 2024 Kings Royal were in the closing stages of the race when David Gravel and Donny Schatz were racing side by side for the $175,000 payday, the crown, and title of Kings Royal winner of the 41st edition. It’s the down to the wire moment that any sports fan would be happy to witness, and sprint car fans were able to see one of the crown jewel events produce this kind of action.Not only was Gravel able to check off a box on his career achievement list by winning the Kings Royal for the first time in his career but did so going head-to-head with one of the greatest drivers to ever strap into a sprint car.It was a clash of titans that was brewing throughout the weekend. Gravel had shown great speed all week and Schatz had showcased being able to drive through the field no matter where he started. After the three previous nights of racing, the fastest two drivers consistently through the weekend had their game seven moment in the final laps of the Kings Royal.Gravel visibly picked up his pace as soon as saw the nose of Schatz’s car. In the post-race press conference when Gravel was asked what one does in that situation, his reply was “instead of 100% throttle you to give it 120%”. Schatz was also quick to credit Gravel for doing what needed to be done to win the race.
When looking back on this edition of the Kings Royal, Gravel’s preservice from losing the lead twice and gaining it back and Schatz’s amazing charges through the field throughout the week will be two of the most discussed. It will be a race that people will talk about for years to come, and likely will draw a few more people to find whatever green grass there is on the hillsides around Eldora Speedway, which was few and far between with a gigantic crowd witnessing the event.
- Some of the most talked about young stars in the sport of sprint car racing did not make the Kings Royal finale, but three that may not get as much attention did find their way into the starting field.Landon Brooks driving for Shannon Wheatley appearing as an entry for Eldora didn’t draw a lot of attention, but when presented with an opportunity in the sixth heat race, Brooks hung with some of the biggest names in the sport in the sixth heat race at the Kings Royal, which may be the highest profile preliminary event of the weekend due to the winner of the race earning the pole position for the main event.While Brooks had Gravel and Brent Marks get by him, Brooks was a strong third place finisher that forced Spencer Bayston, Brad Sweet, and Scott Bogucki among others into the B-Main.Landon Crawley has been through a rough stretch of late but rose to the occasion when his car owner Jason Sides was given the honor of “sovereign king” that gets the honor of crowning the winner of the Kings Royal in commemoration of Sides victory at the Kings Royal 20 years ago. Crawley stepped up for the occasion and ran a strong heat race, finishing third to transfer directly to the A-Main.
Emerson Axsom, who I jokingly dubbed the Roy Kent of sprint car racing (He’s here, he’s there, he’s every f—ing where) due to his expansive travels scored an impressive sixth place finish to end the Kings Royal week.
Cole Macedo’s journeyman season continued on a high note Saturday putting Kevin Newton’s entry into the Kings Royal. Macedo’s week started out rough destroying a car in a vicious accident. Newton gave up his car for Macedo to use, and Macedo answered the call by working tirelessly on the car every day leading up to the Kings Royal on Saturday. After just missing the transfer in his heat race, Macedo was able to put the car in the show with the final transfer spot in the B-Main.
Other young up and coming drivers like Sye Lynch, Emerson Axsom, and Skylar Gee (who has put together a solid season around Ohio) also put their cars in the show while some of the sports’ brightest stars and best up and coming talent were on their trailers watching the feature.
If you enjoy sprint car racing this is encouraging news. There is a depth of young talent in the sport right now that is exciting to watch develop. Week to week, region to region, we are seeing young people developing into great sprint car drivers right before our eyes at a collectively faster pace than ever. That has me excited about what we might get to see in the years to come.
- I’ve been attending the Kings Royal for most of my life and have been fortunate to cover the event for approximately 23 years now. While driving back to the hotel my father and I agreed that we could not remember a better Kings Royal weekend of racing from start to finish.From the gorgeous weather all four days that even a pair of rain showers could not spoil, the on-track action lived up to expectations all four nights to the point where any race fan should be able to go home saying they were entertained.After a rough 2023 edition of the Kings Royal that was plagued by rain and overshadowed some by the Eldora Million, the 2024 Kings Royal regained its swagger along with Eldora’s track prep crew by producing a highly entertaining racing surface for four nights in a row, which is a big ask for any racetrack in the world.Seeing the growth and excitement with Kings Royal weekend over the past 10 years has been fun to watch. Hopefully the trend can continue when we all convene in Rossburg, Ohio in July of 2024.