(Photo by Paul Arch)
Inside Line Promotions – BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2021) – David Gravel earned a fourth-place result during all four nights of the sprint car portion of the 50th annual DIRTcar Nationals, making him one of only three drivers to score a top five in each of the races contested.
It was a stout debut with Big Game Motorsports at the fast Volusia Speedway Park, where Gravel began the action last Wednesday during the first night of back-to-back shows with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions. Gravel qualified fourth quickest and won a heat race to advance into a dash. A fifth-place run lined him up on the outside of the fifth row for the A Main.
“I was working the bottom really good in turns one and two,” he said. “I just couldn’t put Brad (Sweet) away. Every time I’d pass him (for second) he’d come back. If things went my way and I was able to put him behind me you never know if I’d have had a chance to win.”
Gravel advanced into second late in the race before a close call racing with Sweet cost him several positions. Gravel rebounded to secure the first of four straight fourth-place outings.
Gravel set quick time during qualifying on Thursday prior to a third-place finish in both a heat race and a dash. He started sixth and advanced two positions in the main event.
The ensuing night kicked off the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season. Gravel timed in second quickest in qualifying and he finished second in a heat race to make the dash for the third straight night. This time he drew the second-highest number and gained one position to place sixth, giving him the sixth starting position for the second consecutive night. Once again Gravel picked up a pair of positions to garner another fourth-place showing.
Saturday started with a stellar qualifying run as Gravel set quick time, but rain washed out the remainder of the program just as the heat races were about to begin.
“Setting quick time and then getting rained out was a bummer,” he said. “Qualifying well is just huge with the Outlaws format. If you qualify in the top four or top six every night you’ll start in the front row of your heat race. You get to control the start of your race. It makes your life a lot easier. If we can continue that and continue to have speed it’ll be very good.”
An afternoon show on Sunday wrapped up the busy event and the pill draw certainly didn’t play into Gravel’s hands as he went out later than desired. The track went away quickly thanks to the bright sun and heat, leaving Gravel with the 13th quickest qualifying time. He finished where he started – fifth – in a heat race to lock into the 13th starting position for the main event.
“To start 13th and run fourth was a good feeling,” he said. “We were in some dicey situations there and luckily we came out on the good end of those. It feels good to rebound. No matter where we start we can be in the hunt and that’s a good feeling. It’s important to be resilient.
“The week went really well. I feel we were rock solid all week. We qualified well every night that was in our control. Things didn’t go our way with the pill draw in dashes. We didn’t get to start in the top two rows (in the main events), but we went forward every night and that’s a positive.”
Next up for the team is a World of Outlaws doubleheader this Friday at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., and Saturday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala. Gravel has never raced at Dixie Speedway. He earned his first career World of Outlaws triumph after starting sixth in the most recent Outlaws event at Talladega Short Track in October 2011.
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 3 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 5 (3); Feature: 4 (10).
Feb. 4 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 3 (4); Dash: 3 (3); Feature: 4 (6).
Feb. 5 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (1); Dash: 6 (7); Feature: 4 (6).
Feb. 7 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 4 (13).
SEASON STATS –
4 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga., and Saturday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt
THE SHOWDOWN –
THE SHOWDOWN is one of the biggest weeks of racing for winged sprint car drivers. The action begins on June 20 with a $5,000-to-win 410ci winged sprint car event followed by two days of the Huset’s 50. All three nights are hosted by Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., before Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., showcases the famed AGCO Jackson Nationals June 24-26. The final five nights of THE SHOWDOWN are World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races with a total purse exceeding $500,000. Additionally, if a driver is able to win the final night of the Huset’s 50 and the AGCO Jackson Nationals he or she will bring home a whopping $180,000.
TICKET LINK –
Advanced tickets for THE SHOWDOWN can be purchased at https://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 Feb 08, 2021
- Article Date: 2/8/2021 by Inside Line Promotions