(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 27, 2022) – David Gravel improved his feature finish each night throughout four straight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races at Huset’s Speedway last week.
The Big Game Motorsports driver drove a special Billion Auto scheme from fourth into the lead on Wednesday before a crash resulted in a DNF during the Ace Ready Mix/Myrl & Roy’s presents the World of Outlaws. Gravel then posted results of sixth and fifth during Huset’s High Bank Nationals preliminary nights before scoring a fourth-place finish in the $100,000-to-win main event on Saturday.
“It was a pretty good week,” he said. “We were very competitive and fast every day. I wish we could have got the win on Wednesday, but we had to put that behind us and move on to the next one. We came back fighting the next day and had a solid night. We improved even more on Friday night to put ourselves in a better position and be the high-points driver heading into Saturday.”
Gravel timed in fourth quickest, placed second in a heat race and advanced from sixth to fourth place in the dash on Wednesday. He continued to march forward in the feature and found the lead near the midpoint of the race. However, Gravel narrowly caught the frontstretch wall while trying to lap a competitor.
“I just got up riding the wall on the frontstretch,” he said. “It grabbed the front end over and away it went and flipped. It definitely stings a little bit, but racing three times in the next three days helps you forget.”
Gravel rebounded from the incident by qualifying second quickest in his group on Thursday. He maneuvered from sixth to fourth place in a heat race and from ninth to sixth in the A Main. The results were similar on Friday when Gravel timed in fourth in his group, picked up two positions to finish third in a heat race and gained a spot in the feature to end fifth.
Once the combined points throughout the two preliminary nights were calculated Gravel was atop the standings of the nearly 50 drivers. That locked him into the main event, in which he started second following a second-place showing in the King of the Hill.
“I felt good,” he said. “You get a hot lap and the King of the Hill and see what you get. You just never know how the track is going to be or play out. Last year at the Knoxville Nationals the track was different on the final night. The track is often going to be different on Saturday compared to the other nights. It was kind of a guessing game on where to be on setup for the race car, but everything was going good and I was biding my time. I was letting the race play out.”
Gravel ran second throughout the opening stage of the race before a competitor hit the wall on the frontstretch, which popped open the damaged door in the wall and Gravel hit it with his right rear tire.
“I thought I hit the wall,” he said. “I guess Carson (McCarl) hit the gate and it stuck out just enough for me to hit it with my right rear. It messed the wheel up pretty big. Luckily the car didn’t vibrate like I thought it was going to. It was still manageable and we were able to finish. We knew we were going to leave the tire on. I told them if I couldn’t drive it just be ready for me to change the tire. We were prepared to, but I was going to try to tough it out if I could.”
Gravel salvaged a fourth-place result despite the damaged right rear.
The team returns to World of Outlaws competition this Friday and Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., during the Independence Day Spectacular.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 22 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (2); Dash: 4 (6); Feature: 20 (4).
June 23 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 6 (9).
June 24 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 5 (6).
June 25 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – King of the Hill: 2; Feature: 4 (2).
SEASON STATS –
32 races, 2 wins, 17 top fives, 27 top 10s, 29 top 15s, 31 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., for the Independence Day Spectacular with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt
HUSET’S SPEEDWAY –
Huset’s Speedway is a dirt oval located in Brandon, S.D. The track opened in 1954 and has undergone a large renovation within the last few years, making it a premier destination for both marquee racing events and weekly programs. For more information, visit http://www.HusetsSpeedway.com.
JACKSON MOTORPLEX –
Jackson Motorplex is a 4/10-mile dirt track located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through September, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Tri-State Late Models and more. For more information, visit http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com.
TICKET LINK –
To purchase online tickets for events at either Huset’s Speedway or at Jackson Motorplex, visit http://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=JKMV_PL_MPV&orgid=55369#/?view=list&includePackages=true.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jun 27, 2022
- Article Date: 6/27/2022 by Inside Line Promotions