FULL CIRCLE: Buddy Kofoid Claims $250,000 Huset’s High Bank Nationals Title

The Californian cashes in for a third straight six-figure check from Huset’s

BRANDON, SD (June 21, 2025) – There’s no doubt Michael “Buddy” Kofoid reached redemption last September at Huset’s Speedway, but now the story has come full circle.

The first heartbreaking chapter written in 2023 is well known. Kofoid and the Roth Motorsports team leading the $250,000-to-win BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards with less than 10 laps to go. Then suddenly the No. 83 slowed with mechanical issues, handing him a crushing defeat.

Mother Nature didn’t allow the 2024 running on its original June date, so the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returned to Huset’s on Labor Day weekend to finish it off. The result? Kofoid cemented his name as a Huset’s High Bank Nationals champion and pocketed $100,000.

This year the weather complied, and the event was set to go on as planned with the champion banking a record-tying $250,000. Kofoid kicked things off with a $100,000 score on Thursday at the Huset’s Hustle, and then two days later he added another six-figure payday.

The Penngrove, CA native started on the pole of the 40-lap Feature but lost the top spot early as Friday’s prelim winner Bill Balog ripped around him on the top. Kofoid refused to be rattled and began his pursuit. Balog stayed strong early on, but a restart on Lap 17 proved pivotal. Balog got slightly out of shape taking the green, and it left Kofoid an opening to rocket to his inside and finish a slide job exiting Turn 2. Balog got a little hung up in the cushion, preventing him from trying to crossover. That proved to be the winning move as Balog narrowed the gap in traffic late, but a caution with three to go gave Kofoid the clean track he needed to win. From a devastating DNF two years ago to his name being on the quarter of a million dollars check in 2025. Kofoid won the Huset’s High Bank Nationals.

“I think when it hits the bank account it’ll feel real,” Kofoid said in disbelief. “I’m at a loss for words and out of breath. The track was not what I thought it would be with the cushion being that choppy and that low. I thought the bottom would be good early, and Bill circled me right away. He’s been so good here. To go up against him and beat him here is special and against everyone here. I feel like we had every good Sprint Car driver in the country here. To beat all of them is just incredible.

“Dylan (Buswell) is so incredible at what he does. I’m so lucky I don’t have to race against him, and I’m so lucky to have him in my corner. He’s been the best thing that’s ever happened in my racing career. And of course, Nate (Knotts) and John (Snavely) do an outstanding job.”

Saturday’s win made it three straight six-figure scores at Huset’s for Kofoid. His third victory worth at least $100,000 put him in elite company as the seventh driver with at least a trio, joining Donny Schatz (13), Steve Kinser (four), Mark Kinser (four), Danny Lasoski (four), David Gravel (four), and Kyle Larson (four). He also joined Brent Marks and David Gravel as only the third competitor to cash two six-figure paychecks in the same week. Kofoid racked up $362,000 total for four nights of work at Huset’s.

The runner-up spot belonged to Bill Balog, capping a strong week for the “North Pole Nightmare.” The Hartland, WI resident finished seventh Wednesday, second Thursday, won Friday, and closed it out with another second. The performance earned him nearly $100,000 for the week. Balog felt he was simply missing a little speed that could’ve helped him better compete with Kofoid.

“I was just having a little trouble restarting there, and he was just right on me,” Balog said. “So, I was trying to go faster and stuff, and he finally got me there. But congratulations to Roth Motorsports, Dylan, Buddy, and all the guys over there. I thought maybe in lapped traffic we could do something, but it just didn’t develop for us.”

Sheldon Haudenschild brought the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 17 home in the third position. The Wooster, OH native challenged both Kofoid and Balog for the runner-up spot at various points of the race and had speed from start to finish. Ultimately, the result was the final step of the podium worth $25,000.

“I was just able to kind of get down to the bottom there, and I was squirting off the bottom good,” Haudenschild explained. “I feel like they really weren’t trying anything in (Turns) 1 and 2, and I was kind of able to move around. What an intense race. I was hoping to get to lapped traffic. It was getting pretty dicey there, just not how it played out.”

Garet Williamson and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Anthony Macri marched from 20th to 11th to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Heat Races belonged to Bill Balog (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Buddy Kofoid (Real American Beer Heat Two), Garet Williamson (WIX Filters Heat Three), David Gravel (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Four), Giovanni Scelzi (Toyota Heat Five), and Sheldon Haudenschild (NOS Energy Drink Heat Six).

The SPA Technique Polesitter Award went to Buddy Kofoid.

Landon Crawley won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Carson Macedo.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head back to the “Badger State” for two nights at New Richmond, WI’s Cedar Lake Speedway on June 27-28 with a massive fireworks show set for the final night. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog[2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 4. 23-Garet Williamson[3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[13]; 6. 2-David Gravel[5]; 7. 10-Ryan Timms[9]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[6]; 10. 2C-Cole Macedo[14]; 11. 39M-Anthony Macri[20]; 12. 88T-Tanner Thorson[21]; 13. 21H-Brady Bacon[17]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz[23]; 15. 9R-Chase Randall[11]; 16. 3-Tim Kaeding[22]; 17. 16-Riley Goodno[16]; 18. 55V-Kerry Madsen[8]; 19. 1A-Ashton Torgerson[15]; 20. 45X-Landon Crawley[19]; 21. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]; 22. 49-Brad Sweet[10]; 23. 21-Brian Brown[24]; 24. 41-Carson Macedo[18]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.