By DDR Motorsports PR
Watertown, Conn.—Sept. 3, 2012 — With the speed and consistency that David Gravel has shown this season, he and his team have high expectations each and every time they roll through the pit gate. Following seventh and eighth-place showings that left them seeking more, they found what they were looking for in the form of a third-place finish at NAPA Auto Parts Wayne County Speedway in Ohio, on Sunday, Sept. 2, with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions.
Gravel opened the night at the three-eighths-mile by turning the second-fastest lap in time trials of the 27 drivers that were in attendance. He lined up third in the second eight-lap heat race and powered his way to a third-place finish, which put him in the dash. Gravel started on the pole in the dash and finished second to veteran Dean Jacobs, which earned him the outside front row starting spot in the 30-lap main event. At the drop of the green flag, the native of Watertown, Conn., ran second to Jacobs for the first several laps. Gravel would stay near the front of the field for the duration of the A-Feature, finishing third, which marked his ninth Top-Five finish of the season with the All Stars.
“It was a pretty good night at Wayne County,” said Gravel. “We’re getting closer on the car to being back where we need to be. Tyler (Swank) and Kyle (Ripper) continue to work hard each and every day and we are gaining on it. I can’t wait to get back to the track this weekend. We had a really good car last time we were at Port Royal, so I am pretty excited to head back there.”
On Saturday, Sept. 1, Gravel was in action at Attica Raceway Park with the All Stars for the third time this season. The 20-year-old was 12th-fastest in time trials of the 38 cars that took to the high-banked one-third-mile bullring in Ohio. He lined up on the outside of the second row in the fourth 10-lap heat race and finished fifth to earn a spot in the 40-lap main event. Gravel started the A-Feature in ninth and wound up finishing eighth to pick up his best finish of the season in four appearances at Attica.
“With the strong field that was at Attica, an eighth was not too bad, but we always want to finish more toward the front,” he shared. “We were just missing a little something at Attica and Lernerville the night before as well. We’ll keep working hard and find and get the car back to where we need it to be.”
Gravel kicked off the trio of races on Labor Day weekend on Friday, Aug. 31, at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania. The East Coast racer was seventh-fastest in time trials, which put him in the first heat race, where he finished second to earn a spot in the main event. Gravel started seventh in the 30-lap A-Feature and finished in that same position to garner his second Top-10 finish of the season at the high-banked four-tenths-mile located just outside of Pittsburgh.
“When you are kind of disappointed with a seventh-place finish against a strong field of cars, that shows how high we have set our sights this year,” said Gravel. “We are going to keep our heads down and keep working hard and our goal is to pick up a couple more wins before the season is over.”
Gravel is currently third in points with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions, on the strength of one win, along with 24 Top-10 finishes of which nine are Top-Five performances. He has been quickest in qualifying with the series six times in 2012, which ranks near the top of the leaderboard in that category. Gravel returns to action with the All Stars on Friday, Sept. 7, and Saturday, Sept. 8, at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania for the running of the two-day Tuscarora 50, which puts the wraps on the 158th Juanita County Fair. A full racing program is set for each night with a 30-lap main event on Friday and a 50-lapper on Saturday.
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.