Gravel turns back Larson, Schatz to win Doty Classic

SANDUSKY — David Gravel has had the best World of Outlaws car all year, and that continued Tuesday night. Gravel, from Watertown, Connecticut, grabbed the lead on Lap 26 and went on to win a caution-filled 36th Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park. It was Gravel's 10th Outlaws win in 35 starts this year. He leads the points race as the circuit heads to Eldora Speedway for a couple big-money events this weekend. "I was biding my time running a lot of different lines trying to figure out the best line I could use to get the lead," Gravel said. There were seven yellow flags in the 40-lap A-Main, including two on the first lap. "There were way too many," Gravel said. "It was hard to get in a rhythm. It was getting slicker and slicker every lap." The race ended close to 10 p.m. as inclement weather threatened to hit the area. On Lap 26, the cars took a delay to refuel as many in the crowd yelled, "Go! Go!" Gravel extended his lead on the final restart as two-time defending champion Kyle Larson slid off the track on the backstretch for a couple seconds, costing him valuable position. "I wish I could have that last restart back," said Larson, who won the Doty in 2020, 2022 and 2023. "Bummer I made that mistake. I fell back to fourth and had to battle to get back to third." Larson is winless in four World of Outlaws starts this year. Gravel worked his way through lapped traffic down the stretch to clinch the $15,000 first prize. He is the sixth multi-time winner at the Doty, which debuted in 1989. Gravel also won in 2017. Donny Schatz, who has won a record four Dotys, finished second. Larson settled for third while Carson Macedo, who led early, took fourth and Corey Day was fifth. Fan favorite Sheldon Haudenschild from Wooster, Ohio, got caught up in a wreck on Lap 1 after finishing second a year ago. Haudenschild, who started on the outside of Row 4, took a brief visit to the pits and returned to start in last place. He finished eighth. Logan Schuchart, who ran as high as second, stopped on the backstretch on Lap 26 after flames were seen under his car. A total of 46 sprint cars showed up for the second Outlaws show of the season at Attica. Doty, a former World of Outlaws star who won 18 races on the top sprint car circuit, has been co-promoter of the race since 2005 — the year the Outlaws began sanctioning the race. He was paralyzed in 1988 after a wreck at Eldora Speedway. Tuesday's event at Attica was the first of three big Outlaws shows in Ohio this week. The series moves to Eldora Speedway for races on Friday and Saturday, which pays $175,000 to win. Sandusky's Chris Andrews won the C-Main after starting on the outside of Row 1. Andrews and Castalia's Larry Kingseed Jr. were comfortably running 1-2 when the yellow flag came out on Lap 9 of the 10-lap race. Andrews kept his position to transfer to the B-Main, but Kingseed dropped to third behind Kelby Watt from Adel, Iowa, ending his night. "Yellows are never good," Andrews said. "They reset the field, the tires cool off. (Winning the C-Main was) nothing to brag about." Andrews finished 11th in the B-Main to end his night one race short of the A-Main. "We did not want to end it in the B-Main," he said. "We weren't good in qualifying and the heat did not go well. It's a tough group. (The Outlaws) do this for a living." Joel Myers Jr. won the Last Chance Showdown while Fremont's D.J. Foos took sixth. Four California drivers won the four heat races, all from the pole. Giovanni Scelzi won the first heat after winning the Simpson Quick Time Award in qualifying with a lap of 13.221 seconds. Carson Macedo won the second heat, Kyle Larson took the third heat and Michael Kofoid won the fourth. Cap Henry from Republic had a fast car in qualifying but didn't make it through the first heat race, finishing 12th after mechanical issues. Foos took sixth in the second heat. Sandusky drivers Andrews and Luke Griffith finished ninth and 12th, respectively, in the third heat. In the fourth heat, Fremont's Zeth Sabo finished third — the best showing among area drivers in the heats. Kingseed Jr. finished ninth in the fourth heat, one slot ahead of Findlay teen Bryce Lucius.