Watertown, Conn.—Oct. 5, 2012 — Eight laps and a tiny part that cost a couple of dollars. That’s all that separated David Gravel from a potential career-best finish and possibly a win at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park with the World of Outlaws back in May, as an aluminum heim that connects to the throttle pedal broke while he was running second. Gravel will look for redemption this weekend as he returns to the sprawling five-eighths-mile in upstate New York.
The World of Outlaws second visit of 2012 to Rolling Wheels Raceway Park located in Elbridge, New York, is set for Saturday, Oct. 6, and will be part of Super DIRT Week XLI, which encompasses the biggest week of racing in the Northeast.
“I’m definitely ready to get back to Rolling Wheels,” said Gravel. “Hopefully we can repeat our performance and have nothing break this time. Getting a couple of good laps in time trials will be important, and hopefully from there we can make it into the dash and put a complete night together.”
Gravel was fourth-fastest in qualifying earlier this season at Rolling Wheels. He finished sixth in the third-heat race, which put him in the dash. The dash lined up for six laps and the native of Watertown, Conn., finished fourth to earn a starting position on the outside of the second row for the 25-lap main event at the “Fast Track.” He used a strong start to gain two spots on the opening lap to move into second, as he chased leader and eventual winner Paul McMahan.
“The track will probably be a little bit heavier this time around, since it will be quite a bit cooler out than last time we were there,” he noted. “The engines like the cool air and will probably run even better. Rolling Wheels is always a fast place, no matter what the conditions are like.”
Gravel made his Rolling Wheels debut during Super DIRT Week last year with the World of Outlaws. He finished 15th in that 25-lap contest, after opening the night as the 17th-fastest driver in time trials, followed by a sixth-place showing in the second eight-lap heat race. He lined up 17th in the main event and gained a couple of spots over the course of the 25-lap contest.
Gravel has made a pair of starts on five-eighths-mile tracks in New York this season, with the second coming on May 19 at Orange County Fair Speedway, in Middletown, N.Y. In that event, he rebounded from a flat tire on the 21st lap to finish fifth. The East Coast racer has four career starts on wide, open five-eighths-mile surfaces, all coming in the state of New York.
“Early in the night at the bigger tracks you keep your foot to the floor, but the track generally slow down as the night goes on,” explained Gravel. “It’s a big track for sure and you try to go ‘hammer down’ as much as you can and try to keep your momentum up around that place.”
Last weekend, Gravel competed in the Morgan Hughes National Open at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., with the World of Outlaws. He raced his way into the dash in the finale of the two-night event, by winning the fifth heat race. He would come home 12th in the dash, which put him on the outside of the sixth row for the 40-lap A-Feature. He would finish the caution-plagued event on the lead lap in 17th. After a late qualifying draw on the opening night of the National Open, Gravel faced an uphill battle with his night ending in the B-main.
Gravel has earned nine Top-10 finishes this season with the World of Outlaws, with seven of those being Top-Five showings in a limited number of starts. He also has stopped the clock first in time trials on four occasions with the series. The 20-year-old is currently third in points with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. He has one win with the series this year, along with 28 Top-10 finishes. He has been fastest in qualifying with the All Stars on seven occasions aboard his Mopar-powered J&J.
“A good, solid Top-10 finish would make it a good weekend for us at Rolling Wheels,” Gravel stated. “We always want to make it into the dash and start as far toward the front as we can in the main event. It would be to be in the Top-Five there or even get a win, but a Top-10 against the World of Outlaws at a place like that would make us happy.”
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.
Keep up-to-date with David Gravel and DDR Motorsports by visiting www.DavidGravel89.com. Follow David on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DavidGravel89g. Like David on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gravel-Racing/143538695709198.
- Admin Account on Oct 07, 2012
- Article Date: 10/5/2012 by DDR Motorsports PR