The 43rd annual Kings Royal offered plenty to unpack beyond Anthony Macri's repeat victory at Eldora Speedway.
While Macri further cemented his place among the select few drivers to win multiple Kings Royals, the race also featured a heartbreaking near-miss, another runner-up finish for Rico Abreu, an unusually quiet week from the sport's biggest stars and a late fuel stop that again sparked debate.
Those storylines — and several others — are among the biggest takeaways from Saturday night's crown jewel.
Anthony Macri Solidified
One Kings Royal is career-defining. Two, on the other hand, are the beginnings of a legacy. Last year, Anthony Macri became the 23rd different Kings Royal winner. Now, with a second Eldora crown, he’s the ninth driver to join the exclusive multi-time Kings Royal club.
Last year’s victory at the Big E marked his breakthrough first traditional crown jewel. This one, however, felt more validating. Yes, he won another Kings Royal from the pole, but unlike last year — when he led all 40 laps with little resistance — he had to regroup after surrendering the lead on lap 13.
The caution on lap 33 certainly aided his pursuits Saturday, but Macri had done most of the legwork until then. Instead of relying on the cushion like he so often does, Macri beat Williamson around the bottom to complete the go-ahead pass on lap 38.
All those years of dominating half-mile tracks in Central Pennsylvania — where 64 of his 94 career victories have come — have clearly taken to Eldora. Macri now joins Donny Schatz as the only drivers to win consecutive Kings Royals. Schatz’s streak stretched to three straight from 2016-18, and based on what Macri has become at Eldora, there’s little reason to believe he can’t make a run at joining him next July.
Fuel Cell Frustrations
Smaller fuel cells are becoming more problematic with each passing year, as another marquee Sprint Car event was interrupted by an unfortunately timed — albeit necessary — open red for refueling after the caution on the final lap of the Kings Royal.
With 55 total laps, including caution laps, completed, officials had no choice but to stop the race on the lap-40 yellow for an open red. I don't cover nearly as many Sprint Car races as I once did, but this marked the second time in the past year I've seen 28-gallon fuel cells significantly impact an otherwise entertaining feature. The other came during last year's Pennsylvania Speedweek stop at Port Royal Speedway.
From my understanding, 33-gallon fuel cells are available, yet most teams continue to run the smaller 28-gallon tanks. Whatever the reasoning, fuel stops undermine the flow and prestige of Sprint Car's biggest races. Some suggest shortening the Kings Royal from 40 laps to 30, or the Knoxville Nationals from 50 to 40 — or even fewer — but I couldn't disagree more.
These are crown jewels. They should demand more than an ordinary feature, even if Sprint Cars can't realistically race the distances Dirt Late Models do. I know the solution isn't as simple as mandating 33-gallon fuel cells, and rule changes are hardly popular, but the sport has to find an answer. Otherwise, its longest and most prestigious races risk losing part of what makes them feel like true crown jewels.
Garet Williamson's Heartbreak
Garet Williamson came within four laps of his first national touring Sprint Car victory Saturday before settling for sixth in the Kings Royal.
The World of Outlaws sophomore led a race-high 25 of 41 laps and appeared poised to finish the job before three factors undermined his brilliant effort: untimely cautions on laps 33 and 39, Anthony Macri beating him to the bottom on the first late restart, and Williamson admitting afterward that he had abused his tires while protecting the lead — something he didn't fully realize until the open red on lap 39.
It's hard not to wonder how the race unfolds had the 40-lapper stayed green to the finish. Williamson handled the crushing defeat with striking maturity. After finishing third Friday and carrying a 10-race top-10 streak — including four podiums — into Kings Royal weekend, all signs point to his breakthrough arriving sooner rather than later.
Rico Abreu So Close
Had Rico Abreu started a couple rows closer to the front — even in Row 4 instead of Row 5 — he just might've been the driver to beat Saturday night.
No one sliced through the field more convincingly, charging from 10th to third in the first 18 laps before ultimately finishing second. He never got close enough to seriously bid for the lead, but it's hard not to wonder what could've been with better track position.
It's another painful near-miss for Abreu, who's now finished second in back-to-back Kings Royals after also settling for runner-up in Thursday's Joker's Jackpot. You can see how badly he wants an Eldora crown jewel in the determination he races with and the emotion he speaks with — not just for himself, but for his Tony Stewart Racing team and crew chief Ricky Warner, who's battled health issues away from the track.
Abreu isn't just knocking on the door of a crown jewel victory anymore — he's pounding on it. This’ll fuel him at the upcoming Knoxville Nationals all the more.
Abnormal Weeks for Gravel, Kofoid & Reutzel
The sport’s three top drivers this season — David Gravel, Buddy Kofoid and Aaron Reutzel — combined for just one podium finish during Kings Royal week, Reutzel’s runner-up Friday, which also stood as their lone top-five.
Together, they averaged a 13.8 finish across the four programs. Gravel went without a top-five in four straight races for the first time since Sept. 2024. He still timed in the top two Wednesday and Saturday, but mechanical issues derailed his Wednesday, while Saturday’s four-car invert in Heat 2 left him with too much ground to make up despite charging from 20th to 11th.
Kofoid salvaged a sixth-place finish Saturday after narrowly avoiding disaster when he was swept into an opening-lap heat race crash from the third row. He recovered to claim the final transfer before advancing 11 spots in the feature.
Reutzel, meanwhile, timed inside the top 10 in all three of his qualifying runs, but struggled to make headway. His week consisted of finishes of eighth from seventh on Wednesday, 14th from 15th on Thursday, second from fifth on Friday and 22nd from 23rd on Saturday, as he never seemed able to get his car to maneuver effectively in dirty air.
Stat of the Night
At 27 years, 1 month and 2 days old, Anthony Macri became the youngest driver to win multiple Kings Royals, surpassing the previous mark held by Donny Schatz, who was 31 years, 11 months and 8 days old he became the event's youngest two-time winner in 2009.
Correction: Fixes Schatz as previous youngest to multiple Kings Royal triumphs instead of Kinser, who was 34 years, 1 month and 15 days old when he won his second in 1988.