From CJB
CARLISLE, PA. – June 29, 2016 – As June comes to a close, the argument could be made that CJB Motorsports is among the hottest sprint car teams in the nation.
David Gravel continued his trek up the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series points standings with a strong run at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Neb. on Wednesday, June 22nd. The Watertown, Conn. driver gathered his second quick time award of the season. From that point on, the #5 machine was on a rail throughout the night.
“We timed in really well and that got our night off to a really good start,” said Gravel, pilot of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We ran well in the heat race and the dash and was doing well in the feature when one of the support rods on the wing took a hit. Our right sideboard started coming apart and the car was just really hard to drive with that happening. We had a few yellows and I think that hurt us as well.”
Gravel then rejoined teammate Sammy Swindell at the Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex on Friday, June 24th. The race, held at the newly renovated speedway, was a “home race” for the team as major partner Big Game Treestands and GoMuddy.com are headquartered near the half-mile track.
Both CJB drivers timed in in the top-10 for the evening.
“We qualified really well at Jackson even though we went out late,” commented Gravel, who has an average time trial result of 7.7 in 2016. “We were good in our heat race and found something in the dash. Our car was great on long runs in the feature but there were some late race restarts that hurt us. The motor ran really well but stumbled a bit on the starts and that’s what hurt us. Every time we would take off, we’d lose a spot and it would take awhile to get going. Had it gone green, I think we could’ve won.”
“We went out late in time trials,” said Swindell, driver of the Big Game Treestands, GoMuddy.com #1. “The track had dropped off a bit so it was good that we were able to cut a few good laps. The first one I made was good but the second one was better and got us up the chart. We got into second in our heat race to make the dash and made up a spot there. We started the feature in 5th and were just taking our time, picking guys off on the bottom. Our car was pretty good. Eventually we got to third and were going pretty good when someone came across the bottom when I was in turn three and I had to lock up the brakes. That killed the motor and sent me into a slide. Someone got into us in the end and there was too much damage and too few of laps left. We had to settle for 22nd. We would have had a top-5, if not a top-3 had that not of happened.”
The following night, Gravel rolled east to Beaver Dam (Wis.) Raceway while Swindell trucked south for another tilt at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway.
“Beaver Dam was another great race for us,” said Gravel. “It was another solid night for us and we ran well through the heat race and dash. In the feature, a nozzle got knocked off and that hurt us a little bit. We still managed to get a great finish out of it.”
While Gravel was good, Swindell was better. The veteran put the notes gained over the past month to good use and strung together a very strong evening by collecting his second quick time of the season, advancing to the feature in his heat race and used the bottom groove to give the fans at the Marion County oval a true treat.
“We went in there with pretty much the same setup as we had the week before,” Swindell, who has spent the past four Saturdays at Knoxville. “We made a few small tweaks but it was largely the same. During time trials, I went to the top on the first one. That’s where everyone else was. I tried the second lap around the bottom and we picked up two-tenths. We started fourth in the main even and fell back to seventh early because I tried to go through the middle. Once we got settled down, I just got to the bottom and lowered my head and just clicked off the laps. The track really slowed down with about five to six (laps) to go. The car tightened up a bit. I waited to make my move and, when I did, it was the right time. It felt really good to get a win. Our car is feeling completely different and it has really helped us out a bit. I was glad to get this team to victory lane.”
The team now heads for the fourth of July weekend. Gravel will make a unique stop at Rockford Speedway near Loves Park, Ill. It’s unique in the sense that the high-banked, quarter-mile bullring will be covered with truckloads of clay for the first time in its history.
“It’s always cool to go to a new track,” said Gravel. “It presents a challenge and I like that. I also like that we’re all on even footing. It’ll be a huge race since we’ll have a lot of folks from Sears and Craftsman there.”
After the event at Rockford, Gravel will take on Badlands Motor Speedway near Brandon, S.D. on Saturday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 3rd.
“Badlands is a pretty cool race track,” said Gravel, who finished fourth at last years event on June 14th. “I’ve run it with the All Stars and had some success. It’s nice to have a two day show as well.”
Swindell will look to make it two in a row at Knoxville as the National Sprint League is staging an Independence Day weekend double header.
“We’ve got another engine that we want to try,” said Swindell. “It’s just something we want to try now that we feel like we have a good handle on the car. It’s just some added notes for us. It was an engine that we tried last year at the World Finals at Charlotte. It was pretty good for us.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 46
Quick Times: 2
Wins: 3
Top-5’s: 26
Top-10’s: 35
Heat Race Wins: 15
Dash Wins: 3
Average Time Trial: 7.7
Average A-main finish: 6.5
Total Laps Led: 114
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 30
Quick Times: 2
Wins: 1
Top-5’s: 7
Top-10’s: 12
Heat Race Wins: 4
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 11.6
Average A-main finish: 11.2
Total Laps Led: 0
UP NEXT: David Gravel and the #5 team heads to Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Ill. on Wednesday, June 29th before making a two night stop at Badlands Motor Speedway near Brandon, S.D. on Saturday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 3rd.
Swindell will take on the National Sprint League in a two-night show at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on Friday, July 1st and Saturday, July 2nd.
