(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – HAUBSTADT, Ind. (April 12, 2021) – David Gravel captured a sixth-place result to highlight a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series doubleheader in Indiana last weekend.
The Big Game Motorsports driver led early and rebounded late for a 12th-place finish on Friday at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo followed by the top-10 outing at Tri-State Speedway on Saturday.
The weekend began on Friday with Gravel qualifying fourth quickest at Kokomo Speedway. A victory in a heat race locked him into the dash.
“It started off really well at Kokomo,” he said. “Going out late we were a little nervous about getting qualified well, but we were fourth quick. I thought that was a good effort. That put us on the front row of a heat race and we were able to win that.”
Gravel also won the dash to garner the pole position for the 40-lap main event.
“We led the early laps and we were pretty good in open track,” he said. “We got into traffic and couldn’t maneuver like (James) McFadden could. At the end of the race the track started getting slicker and our car started coming to life. I had a shot to win in my eyes. I kept going lower and lower on the track and clipped an infield tire. I could have settled to run second, but I tried to push it and it cost us a good finish.”
Gravel, who led the first 10 laps of the race, was running second when he narrowly clipped an infield tire with his left front tire. It spun him out and he was forced to restart at the rear of the pack with only three laps remaining. Gravel rallied to place 12th, marking only the second race this season that he didn’t finish in the top 10.
“It’s one of those things that if you have a chance to win you go for it,” he said. “If you have a chance to run eighth instead of ninth it’s not worth it. Something like this, trying to get as low as you can get and hitting an infield tire, usually it just pops the front end up. I wasn’t seeing that spin in my future and it’s one of those things that if I graze it a different way I don’t spun out.”
The weekend wrapped up the ensuing night at Tri-State Speedway. Gravel qualified second quickest in his group and scored a second-place finish in a heat race to move into the dash. He gained a position in the dash to finish third.
“Qualifying good makes life a lot easier for the rest of the night,” he said. “Getting in the dash gives you another shot to be on the track. I drew the best number that I could and gained a spot in the dash. I didn’t feel real good with the balance of the car, but we kept working on it. In the A Main it was a little similar to Kokomo where about two thirds through the feature we started feeling a little better. We fell back to about 10th early and started passing some guys back. We just have to figure out how to be a little better early in the main event and still be good at the end.”
The World of Outlaws races this weekend are Friday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., and Saturday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the Texas Outlaw Nationals.
“Last year was my debut at Lawton Speedway and we ran a pretty strong third,” Gravel said. “We’ve earned some podiums at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, too. Not that that place owes me one, but I feel like I’ve been good there and I’ve been there enough to know the characteristics of the track. Hopefully we can get our first win there.”
QUICK RESULTS –
April 9 – Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Ind. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 1 (2); Feature: 12 (1).
April 10 – Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (1); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 6 (3).
SEASON STATS –
15 races, 1 win, 7 top fives, 13 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 15 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., and Saturday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the Texas Outlaw Nationals 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 $6,000-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 Apr 12, 2021
- Article Date: 4/12/2021 by Inside Line Promotions