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TULARE, Calif. (Sept. 23, 2024) – 
The triumph was the 14 th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season for the team, which leads ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt.’ It also marked the most trips to Victory Lane in a single season during the three-plus seasons Gravel has driven for Big Game Motorsports.
“It was definitely a good weekend,” he said.
Gravel qualified sixth quickest both Friday and Saturday. He won a heat race on Friday and placed second in a heat race on Saturday to advance into the dash. A sixth-place result in the dash each night lined him up on the outside of the third row in the main event.
“The low spot of the night on Friday was the dash, but the boys got to work and made a bunch of changes and gave us a good car for the feature,” he said.
Gravel lost a position early in the main event before he found the bottom lane, which propelled him into the lead on Lap 19.
“I was searching around trying to find a lane,” he said. “I figured out I needed to be on the bottom of (turns) three and four. In (turns) one and two I was running high early. Once I moved down there was superior grip down there.
“Falling back to seventh you think your odds of winning aren’t very good. Once we found our lane and with the racing going green to checkered it bottled everything up. I was able to catch everybody and pick guys off two at a time sometimes and win by three seconds or something like that.”
Gravel followed the winning night by advancing from sixth to fourth place in the main event on Saturday. It marked his 40 th top five of the season.
“Drawing the eight for the dash wasn’t ideal, but we made the best of it and gained a row,” he said. “We had a good start in the feature and was in fourth right away. I got to third at one point. The track was treacherous on the top riding the wall and Sheldon (Haudenschild) got by me and then the track took rubber. It was a little disappointing there wasn’t multiple grooves and the last 15 laps were rubber down. At the end of the day I’m happy to get a top five.”
The team returns to Ohio this weekend to race on Friday at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville – a special track for crew chief Cody Jacobs – during the Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS Energy Drink and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford during the Federated Auto Parts Showdown.
“I haven’t been to Wayne County in several years so I’m curious to see how that will go,” Gravel said. “It’s Cody’s hometown and his family built that track originally so we’re looking forward to it. And we won the last time at Sharon. I’m excited to get back to the East Coast and looking to have a good, solid weekend.”
Gravel leads the World of Outlaws championship standings by 90 points with a dozen points races remaining this season.
“It’s tough because you’re always thinking about it and trying not to do anything to jeopardize it, but at the same time you don’t want to be too cautious,” he said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing we’ll be fine. We’ll take it one weekend at a time and try to keep up the good runs.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 20 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 6 (4); Feature: 1 (6).
Sept. 21 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 2 (2); Dash: 6 (8); Feature: 4 (6).
SEASON STATS –
61 races, 15 wins, 40 top fives, 54 top 10s, 59 top 15s, 59 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, for the Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS Energy Drink and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, for the Federated Auto Parts Showdown with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
X: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt
HUSET’S SPEEDWAY –
Huset’s Speedway is a dirt oval located in Brandon, S.D. The track opened in 1954 and has undergone a large renovation within the last few years, making it a premier destination for both marquee racing events and weekly programs. For more information, visit http://www.HusetsSpeedway.com .
JACKSON MOTORPLEX –
Jackson Motorplex is a 4/10-mile dirt oval located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through August, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Midwest Sprint Touring Series and more. For more information, visit http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com .
TICKET LINK –
To purchase online tickets for events at either Huset’s Speedway or at Jackson Motorplex, visit http://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=JKMV_PL_MPV&orgid=55369#/?view=list&includePackages=true .