(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 27, 2023) – Big Game Motorsports driver David Gravel produced one of the biggest moments of his career on Saturday when he captured the 2nd annual BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by MENARDS.
The finale of the four-day World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event at Huset’s Speedway paid $250,000 – the largest winner’s share in the history of winged sprint car racing.
“It still hasn’t really set in,” he said. “Winning the Knoxville Nationals is really prestigious and the Kings Royal is a really prestigious race. Now the High Bank Nationals is really prestigious. It’s motivating to want to check off the big races off your list. It’s Eldora now.”
Gravel and the BillionAuto.com backed Big Game Motorsports team enjoyed the best week out of the 50-plus drivers throughout the crown jewel event as he recorded a top-five finish each night to extend his streak to seven straight races with a top five.
He set quick time during qualifying to open Wednesday’s preliminary night. A seventh-place outing in a heat race was followed by a charge from 12th to second in the A Main – the second-most positions gained.
“We had a lot of parity overall with the week,” he said. “We qualified good and thought I had a good start in the heat race. Someone slid in front of me and I was seventh off turn two. I was able to start 12th in the A Main and salvage the night by getting up to second. On the double-file restarts I was able to get through the middle and pass some cars.”
Gravel timed in third quickest and powered from sixth to fourth in a heat race on Thursday. He hustled from seventh to second in the main event.
“I thought Thursday went a lot better for us,” he said. “We qualified good for when we went out and heat raced better than we did the day before. We had a better car than the previous night and I had a lot confidence.”
Friday was another efficient night as Gravel qualified third quickest again before placing fifth in both a heat race and the feature.
“Having a 20-point lead after the first two preliminary nights you think you’ve got a decent buffer,” he said. “Our team had the mindset to test and tune a little bit, but we still had to attack because people could score more points. And with their worst night being thrown out drivers could still have two good nights overall like we did the first two nights. We changed some stuff in the heat race and weren’t very good. We didn’t have a good feature redraw and started seventh for the second straight night. The track was fast and we had a good car, but not as good as the night before.”
Gravel ranked third in event points to miss locking into the King of the Hill event by only one spot. However, a dominating qualifier win on Saturday advanced him into the King of the Hill. He placed fourth in it to line up on the outside of the second row in the 40-lap A Main.
“We got through the qualifier with a decent start,” he said. “It rained and then we did the King of the Hill. We probably should have been more in qualifying trim and we were in race trim. We were still really confident.”
Gravel quickly maneuvered into the runner-up position on the opening lap. He raced in that spot throughout the first half of the feature before dropping to third for a few laps. Gravel rallied back into second place just prior to a caution when the leader dropped out of the race because of mechanical woes. That gave Gravel the lead with 10 laps remaining.
“We were able to jump to second right away,” he said. “I tried to pace myself and go easy and conserve my stuff. When Logan (Schuchart) got by me I had to turn the wick back up. That cost me with Buddy (Kofoid) getting a lead on us. With 10 laps to go he blew up. Who would have known if we could have caught up, but I felt I had more in the tank and could have pushed harder.
“It was definitely a good feeling because it was a single-file restart. That ended up being perfect for me. It was one of those things that felt good and I was confident in what we had to be able to win it.”
Gravel mostly stayed committed to the cushion around the high-banked track as he led the remainder of the race en route to the prestigious triumph – his seventh total win of the year.
“It was just relief, happiness, with everybody there,” he said. “With being at Tod’s track with the Billion Automotive guys there. Jill was there. Levi was there. My parents were there. It was a great feeling, the stuff you dream about and strive for.”
Next up for the team is the Independence Day Spectacular this Friday and Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 21 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 7 (6); Feature: 2 (12).
June 22 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 2 (7).
June 23 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 5 (7).
June 24 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifier: 1 (1); King of the Hill: 4 (3); Feature: 1 (4).
SEASON STATS –
37 races, 7 wins, 27 top fives, 33 top 10s, 35 top 15s, 35 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 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 Jun 27, 2023
- Article Date: 6/27/2023 by Inside Line Promotions