(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 24, 2023) – David Gravel etched his name into the sprint car racing history book on Saturday night at Huset’s Speedway, where he earned a record $250,000 for winning the final night of the 2nd annual BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by MENARDS.
The quarter million dollar top prize was the biggest winner’s share in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series history and it was doled out in front of the largest crowd in Huset’s Speedway history.
“It’s good to take some of the boss’s money tonight,” said Gravel, who drives for Huset’s Speedway owner Tod Quiring and was running a special BillionAuto.com paint scheme throughout the four-day event. “The crowd was amazing. It just shows you when a track owner commits to trying to build an event here at a race track it pays off. He’s paying big money. There’s big fans. It was a great event. Mother Nature tried to mess it up, but it honestly made the track okay.”
The event was delayed approximately an hour and a half when a storm invaded the track just after the qualifiers concluded. It made for a fast track and a fast feature as there wasn’t a caution until Lap 31, when Buddy Kofoid, who led the first 30 laps, slowed with a mechanical problem.
Gravel, who hustled from fourth to second on the opening lap, ran in the runner-up position for the first half of the feature before Logan Schuchart passed him on Lap 22. Five laps later, Gravel returned the favor and the duo traded slide jobs for a lap before Gravel settled into the second spot. He then inherited the lead after Kofoid pulled into the infield with only 10 laps remaining.
“I felt like I got a good start,” Gravel said. “Once I got to second I just kinda paced myself and tried not to overdrive it. I was too cautious and Logan got by me. Then I had to step it back up. That was the winning move was to get back by Logan. Buddy had a really fast car. It’s a shame for him. He was running really, really good; a really fast pace.”
A red flag on Lap 33 was the final stoppage of the race before the final eight laps were caution-free. Gravel entered traffic with two laps remaining, but was able to fend off Rico Abreu to garner the crown jewel event victory.
“We were kinda mediocre all week to be honest,” said Abreu, who was impressive charging from eighth to third in the King of the Hill event. “Ricky (Warner) really made a big swing at our car and made some big changes, which allowed us to get in the hunt.
“Unbelievable event, Tod and everybody apart of his organization. I know Doug Johnson does an unbelievable job here. The place was packed Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night to see the grandstands full is heathy for sprint car racing.”
Kyle Larson recorded a third-place result as he finished a car length behind Abreu.
“It was a fun race,” Larson said. “I was just kinda struggling for the first while. A lot of us probably were hoping for a caution just to let the track settle and clean off some. Once we got the cautions there the track kind of switched over and my car got really good.
“Tod does a great job with this facility and this event. The purse is really what makes events special and big. You’ve added his name to the list. It’s for sure in the top three, for sure, for biggest race of the year.”
Schuchart placed fourth and Carson Macedo rounded out the top five.
Gravel, Giovanni Scelzi, Larson, Macedo, Sheldon Haudenschild and Abreu each won a qualifier to kick off the night. Following the rain delay, Brooke Tatnell claimed the C Main, Kofoid emerged victorious during the King of the Hill event and Tyler Courtney picked up the Last Chance Showdown triumph.
Prior to the action beginning on Saturday evening, Huset’s Speedway officials announced that the BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by MENARDS will return next year. The four-day event will run June 19-22, 2024, with the finale paying $250,000 once again.
Huset’s Speedway will be dormant next weekend before resuming action on July 9 for Bike Night presented by Indian Motorcycle of Sioux Falls featuring the Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars, the Nordstrom’s Automotive Late Model Street Stocks and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series.
NIGHT 4 OF THE BILLIONAUTO.COM HUSET’S HIGH BANK NATIONALS PRESENTED BY MENARDS RESULTS AT HUSET’S SPEEDWAY (June 24, 2023) –
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel (4); 2. 24-Rico Abreu (3); 3. 57-Kyle Larson (6); 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart (2); 5. 41-Carson Macedo (7); 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (5); 7. 49-Brad Sweet (22); 8. 5-Spencer Bayston (10); 9. 11-Cory Eliason (9); 10. 1A-Jacob Allen (11); 11. 15-Donny Schatz (13); 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (21); 14. 20G-Noah Gass (16); 15. 3-Tim Kaeding (18); 16. 7S-Robbie Price (19); 17. 11S-Parker Price Miller (17); 18. 21-Brian Brown (12); 19. 25-Lachlan McHugh (23); 20. 83-James McFadden (14); 21. 83JR-Michael Kofoid (1); 22. 83H-Justin Henderson (15); 23. 88-Austin McCarl (24); 24. 17B-Bill Balog (20).
Last Chance Showdown (15 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (2); 2. 49-Brad Sweet (1); 3. 25-Lachlan McHugh (4); 4. 88-Austin McCarl (5); 5. 9-Kasey Kahne (3); 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier (7); 7. 81-Jack Dover (6); 8. 52-Blake Hahn (9).
C Feature (10 Laps): 1. 16-Brooke Tatnell (1); 2. G5-Gage Pulkrabek (4); 3. 11M-Brendan Mullen (5); 4. 105-Cody Ihlen (10); 5. 22-Riley Goodno (3); 6. 17D-Ryan Bickett (8); 7. (DNS) 6C-Carson McCarl; 8. (DNS) 2AG-Trent Pigdon; 9. (DNS) 3J-Dusty Zomer; 10. (DNS) 5X-Kerry Madsen.
Qualifier 1 (10 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel (1); 2. 11-Cory Eliason (3); 3. 83H-Justin Henderson (5); 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (2); 5. 9R-Chase Randall (4); 6. 19-Ayrton Gennetten (6); 7. 16-Brooke Tatnell (7); 8. 2AG-Trent Pigdon (8); 9. (DNS) 2K-Kevin Ingle.
Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (2); 2. 5-Spencer Bayston (1); 3. 20G-Noah Gass (3); 4. 9-Kasey Kahne (4); 5. 52-Blake Hahn (6); 6. 101-Cody Maroske (7); 7. 6C-Carson McCarl (5); 8. 3J-Dusty Zomer (8).
Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson (2); 2. 1A-Jacob Allen (3); 3. 11S-Parker Price Miller (5); 4. 25-Lachlan McHugh (4); 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr (6); 6. 24W-Garet Williamson (7); 7. 49-Brad Sweet (1); 8. (DNS) 6-Bill Rose.
Qualifier 4 (10 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo (1); 2. 21-Brian Brown (2); 3. 3-Tim Kaeding (5); 4. 88-Austin McCarl (3); 5. 5T-Ryan Timms (4); 6. 22K-Kaleb Johnson (6); 7. 22-Riley Goodno (7); 8. 17D-Ryan Bickett (8).
Qualifier 5 (10 Laps): 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (1); 2. 15-Donny Schatz (4); 3. 7S-Robbie Price (3); 4. 81-Jack Dover (7); 5. 14T-Tim Estenson (5); 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (6); 7. G5-Gage Pulkrabek (8); 8. (DNF) 5X-Kerry Madsen (2).
Qualifier 6 (10 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu (1); 2. 83-James McFadden (3); 3. 17B-Bill Balog (2); 4. 13-Mark Dobmeier (5); 5. 29-Sye Lynch (4); 6. 24T-Christopher Thram (6); 7. 11M-Brendan Mullen (7); 8. 105-Cody Ihlen (8).
UP NEXT –
July 9 for Bike Night presented by Indian Motorcycle of Sioux Falls featuring the Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars, the Nordstrom’s Automotive Late Model Street Stocks and the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series
ABOUT BILLIONAUTO.COM –
Henry Billion first opened Billion Motors in 1935 as a single, new car franchise in Sioux Falls, S.D. Today, Billion has 16 new car franchises and locations in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. These locations include Sioux Falls, Worthing, Dell Rapids and Rapid City, S.D.; Sioux City, Iowa City and Clinton, Iowa, as well as Worthington, Minn.
Billion Automotive offers one of the most complete service facilities around, with multiple service departments, a full-service collision center and the largest parts department in the state of South Dakota. For more information, visit http://www.BillionAuto.com.
ABOUT MENARDS –
A family-owned company started in 1958, Menards® is headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisc., and has more than 300 home improvement stores located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. For more information, visit http://www.Menards.com.
HUSET’S SPEEDWAY MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HusetsSpeedway.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HusetsSpeedwaySD
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HusetsSpeedway
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/HusetsSpeedwaySD
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.
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 25, 2023
- Article Date: 6/25/2023 by Inside Line Promotions