Watertown, Conn.—April 25, 2012 — The East Coast may be home for David Gravel, but he hasn’t seen too much of it in the last few weeks, as he has been racing in the Midwest. Following a pair of events in Missouri and Indiana last weekend, he and his DDR Motorsports team are headed back east this week for the second time this season, as a trio of races with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions await in Pennsylvania.
Gravel will first take to the track on Friday, April 27 at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., followed by a visit to Port Royal Speedway for the Bob Weikert Memorial on Saturday, April 28. The weekend concludes on Sunday, April 29 at Clinton County Speedway in Mackeyville, Pa.
Gravel competed at Williams Grove earlier this season in a weekly event, recording a 12th-place finish after lining up 18th in the main event, with a very strong 33-car field in attendance. He has raced twice at Williams Grove Speedway last season with the All Stars. In June, the young driver qualified 16th in a field of 35 cars, finishing 18th in the main event, while he came home 24th in the A-Feature at the end of April. Gravel also competed in the National Open with the World of Outlaws at the half-mile in 2011, an event that he set fast time in, during the 2010 edition, with a stout 58-car field in attendance.
“We ran pretty good last time we were at Williams Grove, so I am excited to go back there and race,” said Gravel. “I’m hoping for a good result. It’s always a challenge and a good measuring stick when you go up there. It’s all about track conditions, and it could be a completely different track than last time we were there.”
In his first visit to Port Royal aboard his Kistler-powered J&J this season, Gravel finished third in the third heat race to earn a spot in the main event. He started eighth in the feature, and quickly gained a couple of positions on the start, when the red flag flew for a multi-car incident, at which time rain began to fall, leading to the postponement of the feature. Gravel raced once at Port Royal last season with the All Stars in April, coming home 17th in the 30-lap main event. He opened that night by turning the 16th-fastst lap in time trials with 32 cars checked in. He would finish fourth in the fourth heat race to earn a spot in the main event.
“Port Royal is another track where time trials are very important, as well as keeping your nose clean,” shared the 19-yeard old. “If you wreck there, you know it’s going to be big. Being aggressive and time trialing well is the key. Even if you time in well, you still have to make it through the heat race to make it into the dash to start up front in the feature. It takes putting a whole night together to do well there.”
The native of Watertown, Conn. made his debut at Clinton County Speedway last season with the All Stars. He finished ninth in the main event at the high-banked 1/3-mile, after opening the night as the 10th-fastest qualifier of the 33 cars that were on-hand. Gravel finished fourth in the second heat race in that event.
“Clinton County is so much different than most of the tracks in Pennsylvania,” noted Gravel. “Everything is slowed down there compared to Williams Grove and Port Royal, but you try to approach it the same way. It’s definitely a short track and is usually pretty slick. Last time we were there, it was pretty slick and my crew chief Tyler (Swank) and I do pretty well on those types of tracks. I’m excited to go back there, because there is less pressure there than there is at Williams Grove and Port Royal. I think we can do really good there.”
Gravel heads into the weekend third in the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions standings on the strength of five Top-10 finishes, in addition to earning two fast time awards with the series. His last three starts have come with the World of Outlaws, recording in a pair of Top-10 performances in those events and finishing 11th or better in all three contests.
“It’s been a pretty good start to the season with the All Stars, but not perfect,” Gravel stated. “We’ve had good finishes we just have to pick up on the consistency. We’ve been consistent the last two weekends with the World of Outlaws, so if we can be consistent with them, I think we can be consistent with the All Stars.”
While he would like nothing more than to make a trip to Victory Lane, Gravel is realistic about his expectations for the weekend, knowing how tough the competition will be, as he faces the Pennsylvania Posse at Williams Grove and Port Royal. A stout field is also expected for the event at Clinton County Speedway.
“Making all three races is our first goal this weekend,” he said. “If we can make the feature all three nights and finish in the Top-10 in all three that would be a great weekend for us. Tyler (Swank) is doing a great job and we’ll just keep working hard and plugging away.”
David Gravel and DDR Motorsports would like to thank: J&J Chassis, JRC Transportation, Kistler Engines, Musco Fuels and P&M Transportation for their continued support.
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- Article Date: 4/25/2012 by DDR Motorsports PR