By DDR Motorsports PR
Watertown, Conn.—August 14, 2012 — The last three weeks of racing have been pretty kind to David Gravel, as he embarked on the annual Thunder Through the Plains mini-series with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. Along the way he picked up his first win of the season, along with earning a fast time award and five Top-10 finishes.
During a quick break in the Thunder Through the Plains schedule last week, he headed to the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa for the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals, where he earned a spot in the 50-lap main event, following a runner-up performance on the third qualifying night, that saw him lead a number of laps and turn in the fastest lap in qualifying.
The native of Watertown, Conn., wraps up Thunder Through the Plains this week at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D., on Wednesday, Aug. 15. He then heads back east for an All Stars event at Butler Speedway in Quincy, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 18.
Gravel and the his fellow All Stars competitors were scheduled to compete at Red River Valley Speedway on July 28, but that event was rained out. The East Coast racer finished seventh at the high-banked three-eighths-mile last season. In 2010, came home ninth at the track, which is operated by the family of four-time World of Outlaws champion and recent Knoxville Nationals winner Donny Schatz.
“We’ve run pretty well there before and have some good notes for Fargo,” said Gravel. “The track there can do a lot of different things, so we’ll just have to wait and see what it’s like when we get there and make changes throughout the night. Hopefully we have a good night and can carry some momentum back east with us.”
The 2010 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year raced at Butler last season with the All Stars, finishing seventh in the 30-lap A-Feature. He opened that night 11th in time trials at the three-eighths-mile. He lined up third in the second eight-lap heat race and finished in that same position. For the feature, he started from the inside of the sixth row.
“Butler is a tight track and can be a tough place to get around,” said Gravel. “Track position is always very important there. Qualifying up front and getting in the dash gives you a chance to start up front, and that’s what we’ll be shooting for. We have been fast in time trials most of this year, so hopefully we can lay down a couple of good laps there and put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the night.”
Gravel recently qualified for the main event of the Knoxville Nationals for the first time in three trips to sprint car racing’s biggest event. He finished second on Friday, Aug. 10, during the third qualifying night, which was a new addition to the format this year. That runner-up performance, which saw him lead several laps, locked him into the 50-lap main event on Saturday, Aug. 11. He would be running at the end of the A-Feature, and finished in the 22nd position, in an event that saw four former Knoxville Nationals champions fail to qualify for the championship race that capped the week.
“Our goal was to make the show and we did, so it was a good week at Knoxville,” said Gravel. “We didn’t finish exactly where we wanted to in the feature, but we made a pretty big step by making it in the main event. I’m proud of my team. Tyler (Swank) and Kyle (Ripper) worked hard every day at Knoxville and gave me a fast car every time I hit the track, and I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Gravel enters this week third in points with the All Stars. He has one win this season to go along with 19 Top-10 finishes. The 20-year-old has been fastest in time trials on six occasions with the All Stars this year, and also has five fast time honors with the World of Outlaws. Gravel has finished sixth or better in each of his last four starts with the All Stars, as the season hits the stretch run.
“I really want to get a few more wins this season,” said Gravel. “We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year, and it’s worked so far. We’ve been very fast and very competitive. To get some wins would be a perfect way to wrap up the year and to reward Tyler (Swank) and Kyle (Ripper) for all of their hard work.”
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.
Keep up-to-date with David Gravel and DDR Motorsports by visiting www.DavidGravel89.com. Follow David on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DavidGravel89g. Like David on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gravel-Racing/143538695709198.