(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – HARTFORD, Ohio (May 22, 2023) – David Gravel guided Big Game Motorsports to a pair of top-five performances in Ohio last weekend with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Gravel has closed within 20 points of the leader in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
“I thought it was a strong weekend,” he said. “We drew the last pill at Attica, which is never a good thing. We qualified decent and were able to race our way into the dash.”
Gravel timed in fifth quickest in his group before advancing from third to second place in a heat race to make the dash. He placed sixth in the dash to line up on the outside of the third row in the main event.
“The car was okay in the dash and we didn’t gain any spots,” he said. “We were pretty good early on in the feature, but held on toward the end of the race. We were content with a top-five finish, but we were looking for a little more. Attica is such a tough track to get a hold of, one of the hardest. You just have to have the car nearly perfect to make it happen.”
Gravel’s fifth-place finish was his 14th top five of the season with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt.’
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Sharon Speedway, where Gravel set quick time during qualifying. He then won a heat race before pulling the highest number – eight – during the dash draw.
“We qualified awesome for a fairly late pill draw and we heat raced great,” he said. “Even though the dash draw sucked we were able to pull out of it and have a good run. You have to be resilient. You can’t let a pill draw define your night.”
Gravel maneuvered from eighth to fourth in the dash before he spent the entire feature in a great battle inside the top five, ultimately finishing in the runner-up position for his series-best 10th podium.
“We put ourselves in position,” he said. “Having a great race car helps. I was able to battle with Brad (Sweet) and Carson (Macedo). We had a car capable of winning. On the last restart I thought Donny (Schatz) was going to go to the bottom because he saw me down there just before the caution. It surprised me that he didn’t and I turned my car in the slickest part of the track and lost my momentum. I lost two spots in the blink of an eye. Luckily we had a good enough car to get those back to finish second.”
Up next for the team is a two-day event at Atomic Speedway in Waverly, Ohio, this Friday and Saturday.
“Atomic is an interesting track,” Gravel said. “It’s a track I’ve had success at in the past so I’m looking forward to going there two times this weekend.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 19 – Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 6 (6); Feature: 5 (6).
May 20 – Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 4 (8); Feature: 2 (4).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 4 wins, 17 top fives, 21 top 10s, 22 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Atomic Speedway in Waverly, Ohio, 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 oval located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through August, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Midwest Sprint Touring Series 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 May 22, 2023
- Article Date: 5/22/2023 by Inside Line Promotions