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Photo Ben Nichols/ Myracenews
The defending champion survives several restarts for 104th career victory
Last year David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports engineered an unforgettable season, and they’re out to top it in 2025.
There’s no taking the foot off the gas for the defending World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car champions. They made it to the sport’s mountaintop, and they’re determined to protect their territory.
It began with last month’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. Gravel couldn’t find Victory Lane during the four straight nights of racing to begin the season, but he bagged a trio of podiums. The only step of the podium left to climb in 2025 was the top one, and the Watertown, CT native did exactly that on Sunday at Volusia Speedway Park.
There was no stopping Gravel at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.” To start, he flexed his muscle early by taking the top spot on three consecutive attempts to begin the race. Then he smoothly worked through traffic to maintain the lead. And to seal the deal Gravel survived multiple late restarts and drove away to victory.
“The car was really, really good tonight,” Gravel said. “I thought, in the Feature, I was super maneuverable. At first, I thought I was top dominant, but really I could run the bottom, and I felt like I was just as fast down there.
“Tonight was just our night. We qualified well, got a good Dash draw, and with how the track was, it was good to start up front.”
Fuel issues became a concern late as the field ripped around a fast surface, but Gravel was mindful to the potential of coming up short and made sure to save whenever he could to help secure the trip to Victory Lane.
“Once we got going green, I just kind of pulled back to three-quarters, half-throttle to conserve,” Gravel explained. “Once that red (flag) came out, I shut it down as fast as I could and then leaned it down as much as I could under yellow (flag). I did my part. We run a big tank and fill it up. We did everything we could do, and it worked out.”
Gravel’s first win of the season was the 104th of his career, bringing him within one of Joey Saldana for seventh on the all-time World of Outlaws win list. Six of those triumphs have now come at Volusia, equaling the Florida track with Eldora Speedway and Knoxville Raceway for the third winningest track on Gravel’s résumé. He’s also only one away from equaling Brad Sweet for the second most Series victories at Volusia. Gravel has now won at least one World of Outlaws race in 10 consecutive years, and he’s confident Sunday’s score could be the first of many in 2025.
“It’s good to get the first one off our backs here,” Gravel said. “If we stay up front like this, we’ll be a lot of trouble all year.”
The runner-up spot belonged to Aaron Reutzel as he and Ridge & Sons Racing made their first appearance of 2025. The Clute, TX native showed consistent speed all night as he got his year started off strong. Reutzel’s result marked his 21st career podium.
“It’s really satisfying,” Reutzel said. “Like I said earlier, we’ve put a lot of hours in at the shop not just race car-wise. We’ve been getting that truck and trailer ready and getting our team organized, just getting prepared to go up and down the road.”
Rounding out the podium was Jacob Allen and the Shark Racing No. 1A team. It marked the Hanover, PA native’s first top three with The Greatest Show on Dirt since June of 2023. Allen’s efforts were aided by the fact that he had “Lethal” Lee Stauffer helping out with the car and making his job a little easier.
“Great team effort,” Allen said. “Lee has given me a bunch of confidence. Normally, I’m kind of thrashing around trying to figure out how I want to set up my car. Obviously, winning Outlaw races is a big deal. Starting on the pole has some pressure, but Lee took that pressure off me today. Felt really good to come home with a podium.”
Sheldon Haudenschild and Cole Macedo completed the top five.
Macedo’s drive to fifth started from 19th, giving him the KSE Racing Hard Charger.
David Gravel earned his 123rd career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.
NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Jacob Allen. WIX Filters Heat Three went to Carson Macedo.
Jacob Allen topped the Toyota Racing Dash after getting the SPA Technique #1 Redraw.
Chris Martin won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Logan Schuchart.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete the Bike Week Jamboree on Monday, March 3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.
FEATURE RESULTS:
NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen[1]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 5. 2C-Cole Macedo[19]; 6. 14-Spencer Bayston[13]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 8. 7S-Chris Windom[9]; 9. 83-Michael Kofoid[22]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[12]; 11. 13-Daison Pursley[14]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 13. 23-Garet Williamson[7]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[16]; 15. 6-Zach Hampton[25]; 16. 44-Chris Martin[21]; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6]; 18. 64-Andy Pake[24]; 19. 28M-Conner Morrell[23]; 20. 27-Emerson Axsom[4]; 21. 39M-Anthony Macri[10]; 22. 88-Austin McCarl[17]; 23. 17B-Bill Balog[11]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[20]; 25. 24D-Danny Sams III[18]
For complete results, CLICK HERE.
