Gravel Champ 2
David Gravel (Frank Smith photo)

David Gravel Is First-Time WoO Champion

David Gravel was the most consistent driver throughout the 46th season for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and became the 11th driver to win the series championship.

Gravel’s title ended the five-year streak of Brad Sweet atop the World of Outlaws standings, as Sweet instead won the High Limit Racing title in 2024.

“It’s been a long, fun ride,” Gravel said. “I was Rookie of the Year in 2013. It’s a grueling deal. Donny (Schatz) has kicked our butt so long. I started out with the All-Stars, and Dale Blaney and Tim Shaffer kicked my butt every week, and you try to mold yourself around those guys and learn from those veteran guys how to win a championship. I’ve run third since 2015 and then second a couple years in a row. It was like, ‘Man, can I do this?’ You just never know. When you can finally put it all together, it’s really, really special.”

Driving Tod Quiring’s Big Game Motorsports No. 2 sprint car, Gravel drove to 15 World of Outlaws triumphs and 16 overall victories during the season.

It was the first championship for Big Game Motorsports. Crew chief Cody Jacobs, Stephen Hamm-Reilly and Zach Patterson made up the team’s road crew.

Thanks to a stellar final third of the season, Carson Macedo finished second in the standings, 80 points behind Gravel.

Driving the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41, Macedo 12 features while amassing a series-best 47 top-five finishes.

Ten-time champion Donny Schatz was third in the standings after a five-win season.

Michael Kofoid, who was named the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, was fourth with seven triumphs, while Sheldon Haudenschild wound up fifth on the strength of eight feature wins.

Three hundred and 84 drivers ran at least one World of Outlaws race.

The Points

  1. David Gravel 9,020
  2. Carson Macedo 8,940
  3. Donny Schatz 8,780
  4. Michael Kofoid 8,696
  5. Sheldon Haudenschild 8,594
  6. Giovanni Scelzi 8,576
  7. Logan Schuchart 8,542
  8. Bill Balog 7,940
  9. Brock Zearfoss 7,536
  10. Landon Crawley 7,196

Winners

David Gravel    15

Carson Macedo           12

Sheldon Haudenschild            8

Michael Kofoid            7

Donny Schatz  5

Giovanni Scelzi            3

Tyler Courtney            3

Kyle Larson      3

Rico Abreu      2

Logan Schuchart         1

Aaron Reutzel 1

Brent Marks    1

James McFadden        1

Brad Sweet      1

Corey Day        1

Brady Bacon    1

T.J. Stutts         1