Kofoid Wins at Attica; First of 2024

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid competing with the World of Outlaws at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

ATTICA, Ohio — The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series headed to Attica Raceway Park to take part in the Attica Sprint Car Showdown/Kistler Engines Classic.

During qualifying, Carson Macedo had the fastest lap around the track by pulling off a 12.649-second trial. Also during qualifying, the curse of the Turns 3 and 4 banking began as about four cars went off that banking while competing in the preliminary exercises.

To kick off the 35-lap main event, Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Kalib Henry led the field to the starting line in Turn 2. As the green flag dropped, Henry shot out into the lead exiting Turn 2. Kofoid slide-jobbed him going into Turn 3 and stole the lead from Henry before Henry got him back coming out of four. Kofoid returned the favor though, taking the lead back from Henry before they came out of Turn 2 again.

Halfway through Lap 3, Sheldon Haudenschild went upside-down in Turn 2. A car got into the back of him in just the right fashion, sending him flying because Haudenschild slowed on the bottom. Haudenschild’s team got to work right away on his car, putting a new wing on it along with doing a once-over to make sure everything looked OK. Haudenschild got back in his car and drove out to attach to the tail-end of the field.

Because there was some time available, Darin Naida and Cale Thomas also went in for some work. Naida had some fuel issues that he wanted to get looked at and Thomas got some maintenance done to his nose-wing. Both drivers also caught the end of the pack as well.

Once everyone got going again, Henry was feeling the heat in second place from Bill Balog. Balog had taken over second from Henry for a couple of seconds before falling back to run side-by-side with him. Finally, Balog got by Henry going into Turn 2 by running the bottom and sliding up in front of him.

Just as Henry thought that he could cruise in third and wait for Balog to mess up, Macedo arrived. He passed Henry without a second thought and had his sights honed in on the “North Pole Nightmare.”

Henry couldn’t catch a break no matter what he did. As soon as Macedo got by him, Brandon Spithaler was after him along with Craig Mintz. In a complicated game of cat-and-mouse, the three of them raced for fourth.

On Lap 11, the Turns 3 and 4 banking struck again and caused four cars to wreck, including one going on its roof. Kasey Jedrzejek, T.J. Michael, Craig Mintz and Kraig Kinser were all involved. Unfortunately, Mintz was the one who flipped and could no longer compete for one of the top spots as he took the high side to try and pass Spithaler. He hopped the cushion and flipped.

During the red flag, D.J. Foos decided that he would try and sneak into the work area to get something fixed. That didn’t work out well for Foos as World of Outlaws rules state that cars must be completely stopped during red flag conditions. Because Foos didn’t listen, he was automatically disqualified from the race.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Carson Macedo running side-by-side with the World of Outlaws at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio (Photo: Trent Gower | World Racing Group)

On the restart, Macedo was right on Kofoid’s coattails. But before Macedo could do anything, the banking struck once again and sent Haudenschild for a scary barrel roll. Haudenschild ran the top side when he dug into the cushion too hard and went sailing way over the track and near the back-most part of the catch fence in Turn 4.  Luckily, officials rolled the car away and the crew went to work on it. But because the fence needed some repair, open red flag conditions were initiated. By the time that was over, Haudenschild’s car was repaired enough for him to go back out once again to take part in the race. 

Going into Turn 3, Macedo went low and slid up in front of Kofoid to get the lead. Balog, running in third, tried to follow suit but didn’t have enough momentum and drafting to follow directly behind Macedo.

Then, T.J. Michael fell victim to Turn 3 once again as he slowed on the top, bringing out the caution. 

As the cars fired up and got moving under full power again, everything was good … except for the fact that Henry was gaining on Balog in third. He was right on him as they raced into the first turn.

Meanwhile, back in the pack on Lap 19, Logan Schuchart and Zane Devault were side-by-side for eighth. They weren’t wheel-to-wheel for long though as the field was spacing out. Traffic was also becoming a factor for the leading cars.

Kofoid saw that Macedo was struggling to get through the lapped traffic in front of him and decided to move in for the kill. Macedo took the high side and Kofoid went to the bottom as they raced side-by-side through the corners. Finally, Macedo got by a lapped car and put some space between himself and Kofoid. Kofoid showed that was no problem for him though and followed right behind Macedo.

With no space or cars between them, Kofoid tried his hardest to get past Macedo for the lead. Going side-by-side into Turn 4, Macedo drifted up just a little bit too high, which allowed Kofoid to sneak into first by sliding in front of him. Kofoid held the lead long enough to win the race; his first of the 2024 season.

“After Carson [Macedo] got me on the restart, I decided that the top wasn’t the place to be,” Kofoid said of his win. “I decided to pace him and I was able to move my wing back. Super happy to finally win a race this year and this is the best I’ve ever felt in a racecar.”