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Kofoid captures Feb. 6 victory at Volusia, as Schatz charges to sixth from 21st

By Alex Nieten

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 6) - One of the biggest questions entering the 2026 World of Outlaws Sprint Car season was could Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and the Roth Motorsports team survive Volusia Speedway Park. That question was answered with a resounding yes on Friday night.

Volusia hasn’t been Kofoid’s worst track, but it certainly hasn’t been his best. Since joining forces with Roth, the Penngrove, California native made a dozen appearances at the half-mile with top 10 results in only half and a best finish of fourth entering Friday. But Kofoid promptly silenced the doubters by grabbing his first gator.

The 24-year-old lined up on the outside of the front row for the 25-lapper and blasted to the lead on the opening circuit. It was far from a cruise to victory lane, as defending Series champion David Gravel surged to second and closed in. The Big Game Motorsports No. 2 gave Kofoid everything he could handle, but he refused to let this one slip away.

“This place is tough on motors and crew chiefs and drivers,” Kofoid said. “I feel like we’ve finally been able to put it together and have things go our way, but this is only day one really. It’s a long year ahead. It definitely doesn’t hurt starting on the right foot, but there are a ton of tracks that David and Carson (Macedo) and everyone else on tour is really good at, probably some that they’re a lot better at than I am. I’ve just got to do the best I can and maximize everything to hopefully have a shot this year.”

Kofoid became the 25th different driver to top a World of Outlaws race at Volusia through 69 visits. With Friday’s race being the first full points night of the season, Kofoid is the officially atop the standings for the first time in his career.

David Gravel, Carson Macedo, Anthony Macri, and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz charged through the field once again Friday night, starting 21st on the grid following his Last Chance Showdown victory and finishing just outside the top five in sixth. Wisconsin’s Bill Balog started to the inside of Schatz at the start in 20th and finished 12th, while Scotty Thiel — also a Wisconsin-based driver — started 10th and slipped back to 16th at the checkered flag.

SUMMARY

WoO Sprint Cars:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 2. 2-David Gravel[3]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz[21]; 7. 23-Garet Williamson[1]; 8. 26-Justin Peck[8]; 9. 2C-Cole Macedo[17]; 10. 17-Spencer Bayston[22]; 11. 71-Parker Price Miller[6]; 12. 17B-Bill Balog[20]; 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[9]; 14. 10-Ryan Timms[14]; 15. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[16]; 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 17. 5-Brenham Crouch[24]; 18. 7S-Chris Windom[19]; 19. 16C-Scotty Thiel[10]; 20. 88-Austin McCarl[18]; 21. 27-Emerson Axsom[27]; 22. 44-Chris Martin[12]; 23. 1A-Ashton Torgerson[23]; 24. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[25]; 25. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[13]; 26. (DNF) 13-Tanner Holmes[15]; 27. (DNS) 28M-Conner Morrell

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[1]; 2. 39M-Anthony Macri[2]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[3]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 5. 2C-Cole Macedo[9]; 6. 5-Brenham Crouch[7]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 8. 21-Brian Brown[8]; 9. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[10]; 10. 77T-Tyeller Powless[11]; 11. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Justin Peck[2]; 2. 23-Garet Williamson[4]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[1]; 4. 13-Tanner Holmes[3]; 5. 7S-Chris Windom[6]; 6. 17-Spencer Bayston[8]; 7. 51-Scott Bogucki[7]; 8. 19-Brent Marks[5]; 9. 11-TJ Stutts[9]; 10. 0-Glenn Styres[11]; 11. 15T-Ryan Turner[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 71-Parker Price Miller[3]; 3. 16C-Scotty Thiel[2]; 4. 10-Ryan Timms[4]; 5. 88-Austin McCarl[6]; 6. 9-Daison Pursley[8]; 7. 4-Cameron Martin[10]; 8. 17GP-Hank Davis[7]; 9. 1A-Ashton Torgerson[5]; 10. 0D-Danny Sams III[9]; 11. 15K-Creed Kemenah[11]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[4]; 3. 44-Chris Martin[2]; 4. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog[6]; 6. 27-Emerson Axsom[8]; 7. 23D-Chase Dietz[9]; 8. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[5]; 9. 32-Bryce Lucius[7]; 10. (DNS) 48-Danny Dietrich

Dash (6 Laps): 1. 23-Garet Williamson[2]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[1]; 3. 2-David Gravel[4]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[8]; 6. 71-Parker Price Miller[6]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 8. 26-Justin Peck[5]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz[7]; 2. 17-Spencer Bayston[5]; 3. 1A-Ashton Torgerson[2]; 4. 5-Brenham Crouch[3]; 5. 19-Brent Marks[13]; 6. 23D-Chase Dietz[10]; 7. 9-Daison Pursley[4]; 8. 17GP-Hank Davis[12]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom[6]; 10. 51-Scott Bogucki[9]; 11. 21-Brian Brown[11]; 12. 4-Cameron Martin[8]; 13. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[15]; 14. 32-Bryce Lucius[16]; 15. (DNF) 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[14]; 16. (DNS) 28M-Conner Morrell