By DDR Motorsports PR
Watertown, Conn.—June 14, 2012 — When you cross the state line to enter the Keystone State, you know that you are going to be facing some of the most voracious competition in the nation, because the Pennsylvania Posse is known for being harder than a rock.
On Friday, June 8, David Gravel and the rest of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions drivers took to the track at Williams Grove in Mechanicsburg, Pa., follwed by a visit to Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, June 9, with the weekend wrapping up at Utica Rome Speedway in New York on Sunday, June 10. At the end of the three-race swing, Gravel had collected two more top-10 finishes and remained in the third position in the series overall point standings.
There is nothing like a Friday night at Williams Grove and Gravel continued to run near the front with the “Posse.” The Connecticut driver began his night by qualifying seventh out of 36 cars. After just missing a transfer spot in his heat race, Gravel came back and finished second to three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart in the B-Main. In the A-main, the young racer lined up in the 13th position at the beginning of the 30-lap contest. Over the course of the race, Gravel picked up several spots and was able to bring his Kistler-powered J&J home in the ninth position.
“We really qualified well, so it was disappointing that we had to run to B-Main,” Gravel explained. “After that we had a pretty decent run. We are definitely getting better and more consistent there. It is really important to know how to face Williams Grove, because we run there quite a bit. I am becoming more comfortable each time we run there and we are definitely perfecting our set up there.”
The following night at Lincoln Speedway, Gravel got up to speed quickly turning in the second quickest time during qualifying. For the second night in-a-row, the native of Watertown, Conn., would have to get it done in the B-Main and he did, finishing in the second position. In the feature event, Gravel started 12th, but the night did not go his way. At the end of the 30-lap race, he found himself in the 21st position.
“Lincoln is very challenging,” said Gravel. “It is an awkward track to get the perfect set up on. It’s hard to compare it to any other track. I tend to struggle there finding the right balance. We qualified well and then did well in the B-Main. Then in the feature we did not have a great handle on the car. The track was really slick and I made a few mistakes during the race.”
On Sunday, the third consecutive night for the All Stars, racing was on-tap at Utica Rome Speedway. Gravel began the night by qualifying eighth and raced his way into the main event through his heat race. In the feature, Gravel had a quick start and was running in the Top-Five by the end of the 10th lap. The Connecticut pilot raced as high as the fourth position, but lost two positions in the final laps and brought the No. 89G home in the sixth position.
“I think we could have been a lot better in qualifying,” Gravel stated. “We could have easily made the dash and had a better start in the feature, but eighth was not bad. We finished in the top-six, but I think we would have been able to finish better if we had started up front. The guys who started up front seemed to stay there. We had a great car in the feature, so I wish we could have gotten a handle on it earlier in the night.”
Gravel and the DDR Motorsports team will be taking this weekend off to prepare for the 30th Annual Ohio Speedweek. The week of racing action will start on Friday June 22, at Attica Raceway Park, and will feature nine grueling consecutive nights of racing action at eight different tracks across the Buckeye state.
David Gravel and DDR Motorsports would like to thank: J&J Chassis, JRC Transportation, Kistler Engines, Musco Fuels and P&M Transportation for their continued support.
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Follow David Gravel on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DavidGravel89g and receive live updates from the track each and every race night. Results are also posted to the David Gravel Racing site on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gravel-Racing/143538695709198. Also visit, www.DavidGravel89.com for racing updates.