Gravel Bests Schatz In A Kings Royal Thriller

ROSSBURG, Ohio – David Gravel completed sprint car racing’s Triple Crown Saturday night with a victory in a hotly contested 41st running of the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

Having to fend off 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion and six-time Kings Royal winner Donny Schatz, Gravel led 30 of the 40 laps at the venerable half-mile dirt track to become the 22nd winner of the historic event.

The Watertown, Conn., veteran started from the pole and survived a feature that saw six lead changes among five different drivers – one of the most competitive races in event history.

Gravel won the battle to turn one off the initial green flag, but a red flag after third-starting Parker Price-Miller flipped behind him forced a complete restart and allowed Tyler Courtney to charge past Gravel on the outside when racing resumed.

Courtney led the first six circuits, but Gravel methodically worked his way back into contention on the bottom groove of the track before driving around ‘Sunshine’ to take the lead on the seventh circuit.

As Gravel opened up a one-second lead, Logan Schuchart overhauled Courtney for second and set up a lead battle featuring two drivers seeking their first Kings Royal victory.

Once the duo reached slower traffic, Schuchart stayed true to the inside berm to take the top spot on lap 15, while Gravel was committed to running right next to the outside wall. However, a yellow flag two laps later when Anthony Macri shredded a left-rear tire slowed the pace and bunched the field back up.

It also led to a quick open red-flag period for refueling, due to the extended length of the Kings Royal’s 40-lap distance. At that point, Schatz had driven through the field from 20th to eighth.

Once cars were refired, Schuchart elected the bottom for the ensuing restart, but Gravel roared around the outside to retake the lead as Schatz surged through the middle of the Eldora half-mile to advance from eighth to fourth in one lap.

From there, Schatz was on a mission. He picked his way to second by the halfway point, then began closing on Gravel rapidly. He reached the rear nerf bar of the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 on lap 26 and stalked Gravel for the next five laps before setting up the final battle inside of 10 to go.

With a measured roll on the inside, Schatz passed Gravel on lap 32 to an enthusiastic roar of the crowd, completing his charge to the front from the outside of the 10th row. But Gravel wasn’t done.

He reloaded, ripped the top, and snuck around the outside of Schatz coming to six to go to capture the lead for good. Though there was a momentary scare – after Gravel tagged the outside wall on lap 36 – he never lost momentum and drove home to his 99th career World of Outlaws win by .937 seconds.

It was the point leader’s 11th victory of the year as he pursues his long-awaited first Outlaws title.

Though Gravel’s relentless effort landed him in the winner’s circle, the first thing he recognized after climbing from his race car and celebrating atop the top wing was the talent of his longtime rival Schatz.

“Why is Donny Schatz so damn good? Damn,” said Gravel, who banked $175,000 for his sixth Outlaws win at Eldora. “You can’t put that guy away no matter where he starts. I saw he was eighth on the open red, and I was like, ‘I know he’s going to be a factor.’ And when I looked down, I thought maybe it was Logan, and there he is – Donny Schatz again. I just had to drive my ass off, do my best Haud line impression, and just run the s**t out of it.

“I’ve let it be known I don’t like to ride the wall, but it’s Kings Royal and you’re in the lead and you see Donny Schatz. I always try to save a little bit of a second gear, and was able to hit that second gear … plugged it in the wall, rode the wall for a little while, but luckily got out of it and didn’t hurt too much,” Gravel continued. I thought those lap cars were going to mess with me a little bit and kind of did. Hats off to Donny for racing the right way. I try to race as clean [and] as good as he does. Just a lot of respect for him.

“Like I said earlier, this is the coolest celebration for winning a crown jewel event, and to finally get that third crown jewel is just amazing.”

Gravel’s trifecta includes his Knoxville Nationals title in 2019, Williams Grove Speedway National Open wins in 2014 and 2017, and Saturday’s Kings Royal crown.

Schatz was hoping to extend his event record with a seventh Kings Royal win, but had to settle for runner-up honors. Indiana’s Justin Peck completed the podium, followed by the Shark Racing pair of Schuchart and Jacob Allen.

Emerson Axsom, Haudenschild, Zeb Wise, Brent Marks, and Buddy Kofoid closed the top 10.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season continues Wednesday, July 24 with a stop at Pennsylvania’s BAPS Motor Speedway, followed by the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove on July 26-27.

The finish:

Kings Royal A-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].

Lap Leader(s): David Gravel (Grid), Tyler Courtney 1-6, David Gravel 7-15, Logan Schuchart 16-17, David Gravel 18-31, Donny Schatz 32-33, David Gravel 34-40.

Hard Charger: 15-Donny Schatz (+18)