It's All Kofoid During Opening Act Of Buckeye Brawl Weekend

Buddy Kofoid in Millstream Speedway victory lane. (Tyler Carr photo)

By Jacob Seelman, SWN News Editor

FINDLAY, Ohio (Oct. 8, 2026) – Buddy Kofoid started his latest trip to his home-away-from-home in dominating fashion Thursday night, winning at Ohio’s Millstream Speedway during the opening act of Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend.

Kofoid – a Penngrove, Calif., native who raced in Ohio early in his sprint car career while living with driver-turned-owner Mike Linder and Mike’s wife Stephanie – started from pole and never looked back en route to his tour-leading 15th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the year.

The 24-year-old Roth Motorsports pilot led all 30 laps, banking $18,000 for his 37th career Outlaws feature victory. Kofoid is the only driver on tour to have won a race in every month this year since the season opened with Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals back in February.

“Man, it’s great,” said Kofoid in victory lane. “Just so many great people on this car. I’m having the time of my life, and I feel like it’s the best I’ve ever been in a sprint car in my racing career. I just feel like I have next-level comfort right now every time we hit the racetrack.

“There’s a lot to be proud of, for sure,” he continued. “Winning double-digit Outlaw races is an incredibly hard thing to do, especially in today’s day and age with how great everyone is, how many great cars there are, and where everyone’s got the same things underneath them. Everyone’s got great engines, so it really comes down to the people. And I feel like I have really great people on this car that believe in us and keep on fighting along with us.”

Kofoid got the jump on Gravel to turn one and opened up a full second over the two-time defending Outlaws champion by the end of lap two, but a slowing Brock Zearfoss from 10th place drew the first yellow of the race four laps in.

Gravel maintained pressure on Kofoid briefly on the ensuing restart, but Kofoid began pulling away shortly after, while reigning rookie-of-the-year Garet Williamson rocketed up to third place behind the lead duo.

Kofoid reached traffic just past the one-third point of the 30-lapper, and at halfway the Penngrove, Calif., native was only ahead of Gravel by .943 seconds as he knifed through slower cars.

But Gravel could get little closer than than, and actually lost the runner-up spot to a charging Williamson with 10 laps left just before a caution for the expired engine aboard 10th-running Steven Snyder Jr.’s No. 51.

That made for single-file restarts to the finish, which gave nothing but clear track to Kofoid on his way to a commanding 1.358-second victory, despite two more cautions inside the final nine circuits.

What made Kofoid’s car so good down the stretch even as one of his best friends tried to challenge?

“Just maneuverable, but also I feel like I could enter so hard and get my right front plugged in [the track] and not trip or feel like I was kind of sliding in [the groove],” he explained. “I feel like I could put my car where I wanted and always feel the right front [tire]. With the holes, you know, you kind of sometimes lose the left rear. But I feel like that whole race, I could keep the car wherever I wanted it to be.

“If I needed to pull out of line, I could do something good with it.”

Williamson hoped to add a second Outlaws victory to his growing resume, but instead had to settle for his 11th podium finish of the season.

“I feel like tracks like this just really suit our program. I feel like any time we unload at surfaces or track shapes like this, the [No.] 23 is really good,” said the Columbia, Mo., native. “From the start of the night, I felt like I had a phenomenal race car. Last year we were good here, as well, so I was really excited to get back here.

“We really had a good car there in traffic when I could move around, and I felt like I paced David really good before we got to traffic, but just probably took a little bit too long to get by him to have a shot at the [No.] 83 there,” Williamson continued. “I was really hoping we stayed green, just to see what we could do. But, yeah, lap traffic was gnarly. … It was like the desert out there.”

Gravel faded to third, but still holds a strong 136-point advantage as he chases a third consecutive championship with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Fourth and fifth went to Spencer Bayston and Parker Price Miller, respectively.

Haudenschild was never a factor during the first leg of his own weekend promotion, finishing seventh in the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18.

Chad Kemenah and Bryan Sebetto split the pair of 20-lap 305 sprint car features held as undercard mains at Millstream’s four-tenths-mile dirt oval.

Night two of NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl Weekend takes the World of Outlaws to the reopened Mansfield Speedway for the tour’s first visit since August of 1981, when Sammy Swindell went to victory lane.

Friday’s action kicks off at 6:15 p.m. ET, streaming live on DIRTvision, the exclusive live-broadcast home of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

The finish:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid [1]; 2. 23-Garet Williamson [4]; 3. 2-David Gravel [2]; 4. 17-Spencer Bayston [6]; 5. 71-Parker Price Miller [12]; 6. 7S-Chris Windom [8]; 7. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo [3]; 9. 2C-Cole Macedo [11]; 10. 27-Emerson Axsom [14]; 11. 16C-Skylar Gee [9]; 12. 33W-Cap Henry [17]; 13. 11N-Darin Naida [20]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart [16]; 15. 98-Ricky Peterson [23]; 16. 15-Donny Schatz [21]; 17. 5-D.J. Christie [19]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell [15]; 19. 15K-Creed Kemenah [18]; 20. 15C-Chris Andrews [24]; 21. 6-Bryce Lucius [22]; 22. 17B-Bill Balog [5]; 23. 51-Steven Snyder Jr. [13]; 24. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [10].

Lap Leader(s): Buddy Kofoid 1-30.

Hard Charger: 98-Ricky Peterson (+8)