SAPULPA, Okla. — Creek County Speedway was circled on many calendars when the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series schedule dropped.
The Sapulpa, OK bullring is loved in the region. It’s tight racing. It’s multiple grooves. It’s white knuckles non-stop. Throw the best sprint car drivers in the world on “Creekadega,” and it’s bound to deliver. That’s exactly what happened Saturday night.
The Greatest Show on Dirt visited the “Sooner State” oval for the first time, and fans were treated to 40 laps of wildly intense sprint car racing. Four different drivers led as some of the most elite wheelmen battled it out at the Creekadega 40.
Bill Balog and Logan Schuchart swapped the top spot through the opening circuits. Then it was Michael “Buddy” Kofoid motoring by near the halfway point.
Next it was David Gravel’s turn at the top in the second half. Schuchart resurged as race dwindled to less than 10 laps remaining and ripped the fence around Gravel on Lap 33. But the two-time and defending champion didn’t get rattled. He remained committed to the bottom and rolled back by three circuits later. That was all she wrote as Gravel held off a late charge from Kofoid to win the Series debut at Creek County.
“I’ve got to thank my guys Pete (Stephens), Luke (Vaughn), Zach (Patterson), and Cody (Jacobs) for giving me a great race car at a place we’ve never been to before,” Gravel said. “You don’t know how it’s going to go. Not a lot of footage to watch on YouTube or DIRTVision. We qualified good then drew the eight (for the Dash), but we weren’t giving up. We wanted to get a row, and we were able to get fifth, and I was really happy with that because I knew they were going to till the bottom. I felt like we could get to fourth right away and were able to. Really, a couple cautions didn’t go our way. I felt like we were in front of Bill and in front of Logan, and the cautions came out, so I felt like we had to earn that one.”
The night marked Gravel’s third consecutive victory with the World of Outlaws aboard the Big Game Motorsports No. 2, the first time he’s topped three in a row. The Watertown, Conn., native is now up to 123 career victories, breaking a tie with Danny Lasoski to give him sole possession of sixth all-time.
Buddy Kofoid shook off some recent struggles by claiming the runner-up spot with the Roth Motorsports crew. Donny Schatz made a late run in the CJB Motorsports No. 15 to snag the final spot on the podium.
Spencer Bayston and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[5]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz[9]; 4. 17-Spencer Bayston[11]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[2]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[6]; 7. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog[1]; 9. 1A-Ashton Torgerson[7]; 10. 41-Carson Macedo[22]; 11. 23-Garet Williamson[4]; 12. 21H-Brady Bacon[14]; 13. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[15]; 14. 23B-Seth Bergman[13]; 15. 27-Emerson Axsom[18]; 16. 12X-Landon Crawley[12]; 17. 7S-Chris Windom[21]; 18. 2C-Cole Macedo[17]; 19. 74-Xavier Doney[16]; 20. 51-Scott Bogucki[10]; 21. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[20]; 22. 28M-Conner Morrell[24]; 23. 32-Bryce Lucius[19]; 24. 16C-Scotty Thiel[23]
