(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – PLACERVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2023) – Big Game Motorsports driver David Gravel highlighted the final weekend of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series West Coast Swing with a runner-up result last Friday.
Gravel kicked off the Tom Tarlton Classic at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., by qualifying third quickest. He then placed second in a heat race before advancing a position in the dash to end third.
“It was a good night,” he said. “We qualified well and heat raced okay. In the dash we felt pretty good and felt we had a good balance on the car. In the feature it started off okay. I couldn’t keep the front wheels on the ground, but once we burned off some fuel our car came to life the last 10 or 15 laps. Toward the end I felt like I had one of the fastest cars.”
Gravel battled inside the top five throughout the main event before using a late move to claw to second place in the closing laps. It marked his 43rd top-five outing of the season.
“I was committed to the bottom in turns one and two,” he said. “That was the best place to be. In turns three and four the guy in front of me was running the top so I ran the bottom. I wasn’t hitting it every time. I changed my entry and braking and throttle points. By the end of it I started getting it down pretty good.”
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday when Placerville Speedway hosted the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic. Gravel timed in seventh quickest in his group and was fourth in a heat race to start the main event on the outside of the seventh row.
“We needed to be a couple hundredths faster in qualifying to get on that front row in a heat race,” he said. “You can’t be off just a little bit or you’ll pay the price. I got a really good start in the heat race and tried to go for second and that cost me running third, which I would have started 10th instead of 14th in the feature. In the grand scheme of things we probably would have run 10th instead of 13th. We were out of the race track for the feature. When you start 13th it’s three wide with guys trying to get underneath you with no room and two guys outside of you. It’s a high risk of getting into crashes. We’re fortunate to roll it back in the box in one piece.”
Passing was at a premium on the bullring as Gravel gained one spot to place 13th.
Next up is a weekend in Ohio with races this Friday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg for the BeFour the Crowns Showdown and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford for the Federated Auto Parts Showdown.
“We’re excited to get back to normal tracks where our engine program can shine and we have a lot of space to race,” Gravel said. “We’ve been real good at both tracks and are capable of winning.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 15 – Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 2 (1); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 2 (3).
Sept. 16 – Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 4 (4); Feature: 13 (14).
SEASON STATS –
67 races, 10 wins, 43 top fives, 55 top 10s, 63 top 15s, 63 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, for the BeFour the Crowns Showdown and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, for the Federated Auto Parts Showdown 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 Sep 20, 2023
- Article Date: 9/20/2023 by Inside Line Promotions