ROSSBURG, Ohio — It’s not common in short-track racing to have high-paying race in the middle of the week with another important race scheduled the following day.
But that’s the case during Kings Royal Week at Eldora Speedway. After Thursday night’s $100,000-to-win Joker’s Jackpot, which was sanctioned by High Limit Racing, teams are right back on the track tonight for the $25,000-to-win Knight Before the Kings Royal that leads into Saturday’s $175,000-to-win Kings Royal.
Jackpot winner David Gravel was just happy to win a big race and take another step toward winning the Kings Royal.
“It never sucks winning races no matter what day of the week it is,” Gravel said. “I’ve never won a big race here. It has always eluded me. I want to win the Kings Royal really bad.
“I don’t know where this event (Joker’s Jackpot) fits yet. Is this considered the Historical Big One? Is this event going to have the same name for the next 20 or 30 years? I’m the first winner of this event. Hopefully, it is something that is going to stick around for a long time, and they can keep building this big midweek event here at Eldora. I don’t know where the place is, but it definitely feels good to win a big one.”
Meanwhile, for those who experienced trouble on Thursday, Friday is a chance to get back on the horse and ride.
“You can go home and sulk and be upset, but at the same time we have to race tomorrow,” said Giovanni Scelzi, who led the first 33 laps before crashing.
• Donny Schatz entered the Joker’s Jackpot as the top earner during Wednesday’s preliminary program at Eldora and ultimately finished second behind Gravel. Still, the six-time Kings Royal winner knows his fortune can turn around in a hurry.
“I felt really good last night and it doesn’t feel so good today,” the 10-time World of Outlaws champion said. “I’ve been racing long enough to know that no matter what happens yesterday, whatever happens today isn’t going to have any bearing on tomorrow. I feel confident in my guys. They are coming into their own. We have a race car that is very competitive regardless of where it is at and that makes me feel very good headed into this weekend.”
• The family of late Eldora Speedway general manager Jerry Gappens was on hand Thursday night to accept the 2023 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Promoter of the Year award on his behalf.
•There was plenty of passing Thursday night at Eldora.
Rico Abreu raced from 20th to finish fifth in the 40-lap event, while Jacob Allen had an ignition box fail in his No. 1a after he ripped from 21st to fifth.
• Giovanni Scelzi and Kyle Larson led the majority of the race on Thursday night, running against the wall at the historic half-mile race track.
That’s not where eventual winner David Gravel wanted to run and ultimately that decision led to a $100,000 payday.
“I knew it was a long race. I was just trying to figure out where my car ran best,” Gravel said. “I tried to run up high where those guys were and I just didn’t feel very good up there. Sunshine (Tyler Courtney) getting a flat put me in decent position there and I got past Kyle. Me running second there, I thought I had an opportunity, but Gio was far away and if there wasn’t a caution, I don’t think we would have ever gotten to him. Luckily, there was a caution.
“I was able to put some pressure on him and he got in the fence and luckily he didn’t come down the track and take me out.”
• Third-place finisher Brad Sweet tried the high line and the low line and settled on the top of the track while making his way to the podium at the checkered flag.
“We were not able to run the lines that we wanted to like David and Donny,” Sweet said. “You always want to be good down the track, so that when you get to traffic you keep your tires cooler. When it went green, I kind of run down there and I was struggling. I knew I was probably in trouble.
“…I ran the top and tried not to plug it in the wall and keep my tires clean. The red (flag) helped us get the car a little bit better after the red. Short runs were good for us. When the tires were cool, we could run their pace, but when we got our tires hot, they started driving away.”
• While David Gravel and Donny Schatz, the top two in World of Outlaws points, claimed the top two spots in Thursday’s Joker’s Jackpot, five drivers from each national tour finished in the top-10 spots in the 40-lap main event.
Anthony Macri finished 14th and was the top driver, who is not committed to either national touring series.
• Californian Kalib Henry, who is racing in Ohio this summer, impressed at Eldora Speedway during the first two nights of Kings Royal Week. Henry finished sixth in his preliminary night feature and was 17th in the Joker’s Jackpot on Thursday.
• Third-generation Western Pennsylvania sprint car racer Sye Lynch was eighth in his preliminary feature and came home 19th in the Joker’s Wild main event.