BRADY BACON & DAVID GRAVEL TAKE HOME THE WIN IN NIGHT NUMBER 1 OF #LETSRACETWO

(Story courtesy of USAC PR)

Rossburg, Ohio (May 2, 2025)………In USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing history, only two drivers have hit the 60-win mark. Dave Darland was the first to accomplish the feat in 2018, and on Friday night, Brady Bacon became the second to join the ultra-exclusive club.

Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) led all 30 laps from the pole position and lapped nearly half the field in the process to capture his 60th career series win during the #LetsRaceTwo opener at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.

For Bacon, it was his third career USAC National Sprint Car win at Eldora following previous triumphant performances during the 2014 4-Crown Nationals and the opening night of #LetsRaceTwo in 2018. Bacon’s career USAC National Sprint Car win tally now stands just two behind Darland’s grand total of 62, which currently ranks number one all-time.

The third-place starting Bacon took control of the pace early in his Chris Dyson Racing/Concord American Flagpole – Macri Concrete/Triple X/Rider Chevy as he drifted out in front of outside front row starter and series point leader Kyle Cummins in turn one. A half lap later, Bacon tracked down pole starter Mitchel Moles and swooped across his nose in turn four to gain a lead in which he never relinquished.

In all practicality, Bacon had little in the way of a challenge from Moles or Cummins. However, sixth starting Justin Grant hustled to make his presence felt in the early going, swiping third from Cummins on lap eight before taking over second from Moles with a turn one slider on the 10th lap.

However, by then, Bacon’s lead had blossomed to a staggering 6.5 seconds as he began to work his way into lapped traffic where he’d remain for much of the 30-lap affair, setting a torrid pace around the circumference of the famed 1/2-mile dirt oval.

The delicate balance between aggressiveness and tentativeness weighed on Bacon’s mind as he kept his right foot on the pedal, possessing zilch knowledge of the massive lead he had established up to that point in time.

“It was really hard,” Bacon admitted of the balance. “You’re getting some good cars. Jake Swanson is pretty fast, but eventually, you’re going to have to say, ‘hey, you’re going to have to let me through or it’s not going to be good.’ I gave him a couple shots there but it’s all about momentum, and if you get caught behind someone, then you lose your speed on exit. It’s really hard to pass other guys. I don’t know how much of a lead I had and I’ve lost plenty of races here, so I wasn’t going to let up any and I just tried to get through lapped traffic as good as I could.”

With five laps remaining, Bacon continued to carve his way through the back half of the field, but in doing so, lost nearly 2.5 seconds of his advantage to Grant down the stretch. However, Bacon’s entire interval evaporated on lap 25 when Kevin Thomas Jr. (13th) and Korbyn Hayslett (12th) made contact in turn four, sending Hayslett spinning to a stop.

The lone caution of the race reset the hands of times on Bacon’s 4.1 second lead. While Bacon had thoroughly dominated the 25-car field throughout the event, the ensuing restart changed the game and breathed new life for the likes of Grant, Moles, Cummins, et al, each of whom now had another opportunity to strike.

“The restart really made me nervous,” Bacon acknowledged. “I didn’t really know what I should do, so I tried to maybe catch him off guard, and it looked like he got a decent run on me there. I knew if I cleared him, I was going to have to make some pretty big mistakes to lose.”

Grant took his shot underneath Bacon on the lap 25 resumption, but didn’t quite have enough mustard mustered up to beat Bacon to the spot at the top of turn two. Bacon kept his foot in it and powered around the outside of Grant to retain the lead, and for all intents and purposes, put the race on ice.

Bacon closed out the final five laps masterfully as he raced across the line 3.318 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Justin Grant while Kyle Cummins took third, Mitchel Moles fourth and Robert Ballou rounded out the top-five.

Kale Drake placed sixth in the finishing order after starting 15th on the grid, which earned him Rod End Supply Hard Charger honors for his plus-nine run. In 11 USAC national starts this season, Drake has now earned five hard charger awards. In all, he’s passed 81 cars in those 11 features.

Troy, Ohio’s own Korbyn Hayslett advanced seven positions in the feature to earn the Inferno Armor Move of the Night. Starting 20th, Hayslett worked his way up to 11th before a lap 26 spin relegated him to the tail of the field where he proceeded to drive his way back to 13th by the end of the race.

Logan Seavey recorded his 16th career Fast Qualifying time in USAC National Sprint Car competition, tying him for 30th all-time alongside fellow USAC national champions Rollie Beale, Jack Hewitt and Doug Kalitta. Seavey has won in all three USAC national divisions at Eldora, but on this night, he earned his first career Fast Qualifying award during Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying at a time 15.755 seconds.

(Story courtesy of WoO PR)

The defending champion gets his fourth win in his last six tries at the Ohio half mile.

David Gravel and Donny Schatz appear destined to duel for the checkered flag whenever the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series invades Eldora Speedway.

Rewind a year to 2024’s #LetsRaceTwo finale. The two Series champions swapped the lead multiple times, and Gravel sealed it with a last lap pass. Then there was last July’s Kings Royal when Schatz charged all the way from 20th and took the lead from Gravel with less than 10 laps to go. Gravel got back up on the wheel and took it back for his first Kings Royal crown.

Then the two titans found themselves in a similar scenario at Friday’s #LetsRaceTwo opener. Gravel started on the pole of the 30-lapper and led from the drop of the green, but the 10th starting Schatz was on the move.

The Fargo, ND native maneuvered the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 15 all over the Rossburg, OH half mile as he marched into second by Lap 20. Schatz closed quickly as the two navigated traffic, but it was Gravel finding a way to put a few lappers between himself and Schatz and holding on to complete a clean sweep of the night.

“Man, what a tricky track tonight,” Gravel said. “It was tough to feel grip, tough to exit well, and I felt the best against the cushion and didn’t feel as good down the track. But it’s hard to do that when you’re leading and your pace is fast. You can start basing off other guys and trying the bottom better. I don’t think Donny was that far up early on. He must’ve really got going late. I saw there were a lot of movers and shakers at the end. Cody (Jacobs), Zach (Patterson), and Pete (Stephens) just give me a good race car night in and night out.”

Gravel’s win was his fourth in his last six tries to go along with last year’s #LetsRaceTwo opener, the Joker’s Jackpot, and Kings Royal. He and Big Game Motorsports are up to six victories with The Greatest Show on Dirt in 2025, and Gravel upped his career total to 109. The Watertown, CT native’s seventh World of Outlaws win at “The Big E” gives him sole possession of eighth most at the half mile.

Making just the right amount of moves in traffic was the key to picking up yet another trophy from “The House that Earl Built.”

“I was just trying to be patiently aggressive there,” Gravel explained. “The 4 car was running a good pace up high and slowing me down a little bit, but he was going pretty good up there. I tried to pass him once or twice and feel like it really broke my momentum. I felt like I had to get back up and hustle again.”

Schatz settled for second, marking his fifth runner-up in his last six attempts at the track owned by his team boss Tony Stewart. He’s passed a total of 49 cars in his last three Eldora Features. Friday’s finish was Schatz’s best finish of the 2025 campaign, giving him and the No. 15 team reason for encouragement heading into a busy month.

“Everything seemed to be working tonight,” Schatz said. “We could really run anywhere, the top, the middle, the bottom. Making strides out of here really helped. It was fun to be able to see the leader and kind of get to him and pick through lapped traffic. That yellow really helped. We took off really good. I guess when the air pressures went down under yellow it helped a ton and got a few spots, but the longer I ran the worse I got.”

Rounding out the podium was a hard charging Cole Macedo in the TwoC Racing ride. The Lemoore, CA native ripped from 12th to third for the first top three of his rookie World of Outlaws campaign. Even more impressive was the fact he had to drive with a broken left rear shock in the latter stages of the race.

“Our race car was unbelievable before the left rear shock broke, and I feel like that actually hindered me from getting to second or maybe even battling for the lead there,” Macedo said. “Nonetheless I’m so pumped up for this TwoC Racing team and Wayne and Kasey and Bud and everybody that helps out. They’ve been working their tails off.”

Logan Schuchart and Michael Kofoid completed the top five.

Schuchart’s charge from 14th earned him the KSE Racing Hard Charger.

David Gravel grabbed his 131st career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to David Gravel (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Zach Hampton (Real American Beer Heat Two), Giovanni Scelzi (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Bill Balog (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Four).

David Gravel topped the Toyota Dash.

Ashton Torgerson received the SPA Technique #1 Redraw.

Emerson Axsom won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Bill Balog.