From DDR Motorsports PR
Watertown, CT — (August 30, 2012) — With the 2012 season beginning to wind down, multi-race weekends are becoming few and far between. A handful still remain though for David Gravel, including a three-race swing this coming weekend through Western Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Gravel will kick-off the trio of events with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions on Friday, August 31, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. He’ll then head to Ohio for a stop at Attica Raceway Park on Saturday, Sept. 1, and the weekend will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 2, at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville.
“After having just one race last weekend, we’re ready to get back to the track for three nights this week,” said Gravel. “When you race that much it makes the following week go by quicker and then you are right back at the track again. I’m definitely ready for it.”
Gravel has made a pair of starts at Lernerville this season, with those coming in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30s with the World of Outlaws. The native of Watertown, Conn., finished fifth in the opening race of that event back in July, after starting 12th and was 19th in the finale, which inverted all of the lead lap cars from the finish of the first feature. Gravel opened the night by turning the sixth-fastest lap in time trials with a strong 40-car field in attendance. The East Coast racer finished a career-best second at Lernerville with the All Stars last fall. In 2010, he set fast time at Lernerville with the All Stars and picked up a pair of Top-10 finishes at the four-tenths-mile, after making his debut at the track just out of Pittsburgh in 2009.
“We ran really well at Lernerville with the Outlaws last month, and that’s a confidence booster for sure,” said Gravel. “That’s a fun track to race on and I always look forward to going back there. We are going to race there twice more this year, so we’re looking for a couple more good runs.”
Gravel has made three appearances at Attica Raceway Park this season, racing at the one-third-mile bullring during the two-night Spring Classic, as well as during Ohio Sprint Speedweek. He made his debut at Attica in 2009, and finished second last year in the Fall Classic, behind three-time and defending series champion Tim Shaffer. Gravel was one of the fastest drivers in time trials last season with the All Stars at Attica. He was second-fastest in time trials during the Ohio Sprint Speedweek stop at the high-banked oval with 47 cars in attendance and was fourth-fastest in the Fall Classic with a stout 38-car field on-hand.
“Attica gets 30-plus cars a week, and then we come in with the All Stars and that adds even more cars to the field, so it’s always tough there,” he noted. “That’s definitely one of the toughest tracks we go to. You can qualify well and then not make it through your heat race, and then the B-main is super tough. It’s going to be a challenging night and we’ll have to be on our game for sure.”
The young driver has made one start at Wayne County Speedway this season, with that coming during Ohio Sprint Speedweek, just missing qualifying for the main event by two spots in the B-main, with a very strong 45-car field checked-in. Gravel finished eighth at Wayne County in 2010 during Ohio Sprint Speedweek, which marked his debut at the three-eighths-mile.
“We kind of struggled at Wayne County during Speedweek,” Gravel said. “The surface was a little rough when we were there for Speedweek, and normally it doesn’t get rough there. Hopefully things go a little better for us this time around, and it would be a good end to the weekend to run up front there.”
Last weekend, Gravel was in action in the 23rd Western Pennsylvania Championship at Mercer Raceway Park. He finished seventh, after starting the 30-lap main event in the ninth position. He opened the night as the ninth-fastest driver in time trials, which put him in the third heat. He started fourth in that eight-lap contest and finished in that same position.
“We were able to pass a few cars in the feature, but we just missed it on the set-up,” said Gravel. “It’s always an uphill battle when you don’t make it in the dash and have to start a little further back. We were a little off in qualifying, and when that happens, you are fighting back all night long. When you finish seventh and are kind of disappointed, that shows how strong we normally are and what we have our sights set on.”
Gravel is currently third in the All Stars championship standings with less than 10 point paying events remaining on the 2012 calendar. He was victorious last month in Canada with the series at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, and has earned up 21 Top-10 finishes. Gravel has been fastest in time trials six times with the series, which ranks him near the top of the leaderboard with the All Stars in that category.
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