From DDR Motorsports PR
Watertown, CT — (November 4, 2012) — There’s been a common theme every time David Gravel has hit the track with the World of Outlaws in 2012, and that is that he is a threat to set quick time aboard the No. 89G. He was able to achieve this in one of the two rounds of time trials during Kellogg’s Qualifying Night for the Sixth Annual PEAK Motor Oil World Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Gravel, who was sporting a special pink Beyond Boobs paint scheme to promote breast cancer awareness, earned his fifth fast time award of the season with the World of Outlaws during the second round of time trials on Thursday, Nov. 1. The native of Watertown, Conn., was the last driver to hit the track and turned a lap of 13.026-seconds to pace the 50 drivers that were entered for the event.
“To be fastest with 50 of the best cars in the country at the race is pretty amazing,” said Gravel. “I messed up in the first round of qualifying and was 21st, so setting quick time in the second round definitely made up for that. Qualifying well is the first part of the battle, then getting into the main event and dash is next and we were able to do that on Saturday night.”
Gravel stared 11th in the finale of the World Finals on Saturday, Nov. 3, with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action live. The 20-year-old would run 11th for the first 13 laps, before the first flag caution of the night flew. He would restart 10th and run in that position for a couple of laps, before falling to 12th. A pair of red flags on the 24th lap saw five cars ahead of him get caught up in a pair of incidents, with Gravel restarting seventh when the green flag came back out. He would drop a couple of spots on a pair of late-race restarts and would cross the finish line in 10th to earn his 11th Top-10 finish of the season with the World of Outlaws.
“There was definitely a lot going on during that feature and keeping your nose clean and taking care of your tires was pretty important,” explained Gravel. “We were able to finish in the Top-10 and roll the car on the trailer in one piece, so that was a great finish to the weekend for us. With the level of competition that was at Charlotte a Top-10 was like a win for us.”
Gravel opened the finale of the World Finals with a second-place finish in the first heat race, which put him in the dash. With an inversion of four, he lined up on the outside of the second row for that six-lap contest. Contact on the opening lap of the dash sent him to the work area. After another caution flew before a single lap was in the books, repairs to his car were completed and he was able to return to the track. He would finish 11th in the dash to lineup on the inside of the sixth row for the season-ending 30-lap A-Feature.
“I can’t say enough about my crew,” said Gravel. “Tyler (Swank) Kyle (Ripper) worked hard all year and it really showed during the dash when we had to go to the work area and they thrashed on the car and never gave up and were able to get me back out there. To be able to get a good finish at the end of the night is a testament to those guys and their hard work and dedication.”
During Friday’s portion of the PEAK Motor Oil Word Finals Presented by NAPA Auto Parts, Gravel lined up fifth in the first eight-lap heat race. Contract with another car on the opening lap forced him to the work area for front end repairs. The race went back green with Gravel still in the work, area, when another caution flew, which allowed him to rejoin the race at the back of the field. He would work his way back up to sixth, but with just four cars transferring to the main event, he found himself in the B-main, where he would come home eighth.
The World Finals brought an end to the season for Gravel, who wrapped up the 2012 campaign third in points with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. He earned one win with the All Stars, along with 28 Top-10 finishes and seven fast time awards. With the World of Outlaws, he recorded 11 Top-10 finishes, of which eight were Top-Five performances. He also earned five fast time awards, which was fourth-best in the series.
“We really wanted to win an Outlaws race like last year, but it was just not meant to be,” said Gravel. “We showed all year when we did run with them what we were capable of and more times than not had one of the fastest cars, especially in time trials. I always enjoy racing with the Outlaws, because it makes you a better driving to race against the best of the best. We’re definitely capable of running with those guys every night and being a threat to contend for wins.”
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