Gravel follows Outlaw tour while Swindell barnstorms Midwest
CARLISLE, PA. – June 1, 2016 – As the United States honored their fallen with the Memorial Day weekend, CJB Motorsports continued their pursuit of racing perfection at dirt tracks across the nation.
Fresh off of a podium finish in the Empire state of New York, David Gravel and his #5 team moved to New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway on Tuesday, May 24th.
“New Egypt was good,” said Gravel, driver of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We didn’t start out too well but we picked up steam throughout the night. We started the feature in the sixth row and we ended up salvaging a good night.”
The end of the week (Friday, May 27th) brought the team to the Dirt Track at Charlotte in North Carolina for the Circle K/NOS Energy Drink Showdown.
“Charlotte was one of those rare nights were we just didn’t have it,” said Gravel, who has an average finish of 7.2 in 2016. “We were quick in hot laps but struggled the rest of the night. We ended up finding something that was wrong with our car and quickly got it corrected.”
The #5 team headed back north to Port Royal (PA) Speedway the following night to race in the annual Bob Weikert Memorial. The track, a speedy half mile, plays host to a World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint car Series race late in the season. Gravel and his team were in the hunt all night long.
“Port Royal was very good for us,” said Gravel, who had led 75 laps this season. “We hustled it in the heat race and made it into the top-8, which set us up well in the feature. We race well and had a great car. We even had a shot at the victory.”
The team returned the following night and experienced even more success in the events finale.
“We followed up our first night with another great night,” said Gravel. “We charged forward in our heat race and ended up starting 4th in the feature. We ran well and a late race restart that allowed some guys to get close and it was a fight. We had about a third place car and just ended up fourth.”
The #5 team then made the overnight drive to Indiana and the Lawrenceburg Speedway for a Memorial Day tilt against the ‘Greatest Show on Dirt.’ CJB was the victorious team when the series had competed there in the fall of 2015.
“We had a good time in time trials,” said Gravel of his night. “Ended up second overall and we did really well in our heat race. That set us up well. We had a great dash where we gained three spots. That’s a lot in a dash and helped us out for the feature. We raced well in the feature and, by the end, had the best car on the track I felt. I found something with five laps to go and I was gaining on the leaders.”
|
|
(Click above to listen to Gravel after a podium finish)
While Gravel was cross crossing the east coast, veteran Sammy Swindell was out in the mid west at the Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. The event, sanctioned by the National Sprint League, gave Swindell and his #1 team a test.
“We were off a bit in qualifying,” said Swindell, pilot of the Big Game Treestands, GoMuddy.com #1. “I tried the bottom line and it was a bit slower on the second lap. We didn’t move up much in our heat race and, with Knoxville’s format, that put is behind for when the feature rolled around. The track ended up getting a little tight for the feature and that cost us as well.”
Swindell stayed with the NSL for a race the following night at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moines.
“We qualified better the second night,” said Swindell. “We ran that pole scramble after the heat races and ended up getting ourselves a fourth place starting spot for the feature. Our car was decent throughout the night. There were times when we were gaining on the leaders but would get caught up in traffic, which hurt us. I think if we had started a row ahead, we would’ve stayed out there. Our car was good.”
Gravel now opens the month of June with races in the upper Midwest. Fremont (OH) Speedway is on tap on Friday, June 3rd while the I-96 Speedway is up on the following night near Lake Odessa, Mich.
“I used to race Fremont a lot when I traveled with the All Starts but I haven’t been there in about three years,” said Gravel. “There will be a lot of cars there that are good and it’ll be some good short track racing. I-96 is a bit bigger and is a fun place to get around. I had a top-10 there last year so I’m hoping to improve on that with the CJB car.”
Swindell will remain in the Midwest and take on the NSL at Jackson (Minn.) Speedway on Friday, June 3rd and Knoxville Raceway the following night.
“They’ve done a lot of work to Jackson so it’ll be cool to see what that’s like,” said Swindell. “The pictures make it look great. We’re ready to get up there and give it a shot. We had some good runs there last year. We’re not really trying anything real crazy at Knoxville. We’re just trying to get better. What we had last year for a setup isn’t really working so we’re learning what this car likes. We’re going to keep going out on the limb a bit and keep trying to find things.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 35
Quick Times: 1
Wins: 2
Top-5’s: 18
Top-10’s: 25
Heat Race Wins: 10
Dash Wins: 1
Average Time Trial: 8.5
Average A-main finish: 7.2
Total Laps Led: 75
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 23
Quick Times: 1
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 4
Top-10’s: 8
Heat Race Wins: 4
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 12.8
Average A-main finish: 11.7
Total Laps Led: 0
UP NEXT:
David Gravel will continue to follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as they race into Ohio and Michigan with stops at Fremont (OH) Speedway on Friday, June 3rd and I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich. on Saturday June 4th
Sammy Swindell will race with the National Sprint League on Friday June 3rd at Jackson (Minn.) Speedway and then Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on Saturday, June 4th.
CAR #5:
| Date | Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 5/24/2016 | New Eygpt | 12 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 5/27/2016 | Charlotte | 16 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 5/28/2016 | Port Royal | N/A | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 5/29/2016 | Port Royal | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 5/30/2016 | Lawrenceburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
CAR #1:
| Date | Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 5/28/2016 | Knoxille | 8 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 5/29/2016 | Iowa State Fair Speedw ay |
6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
STAY CONNECTED WITH CJB MOTORSPORTS:
For up to the minute race updates and behind the scenes content from CJB Motorsports, please follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also listen to all of the racing action live at www.DirtVision.com.
DRIVER GEAR:
Check out the latest Sammy Swindell apparel and merchandise by visiting Sammy’s official online store as well as the R&R Racewear superstore, the webs largest collection of dirt track racing apparel and merchandise.
Click here for David Gravel’s apparel.
ABOUT CJB MOTORSPORTS:
CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with drivers David Gravel & Sammy Swindell. Founded in 2005, the Chad and Jenn Clemens owned organization has worked to establish a standard of excellence in short track racing through fielding competitive entries and providing exceptional exposure for marketing partners. The team is based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
CJB Motorsports would like to thank all of our loyal sponsors and product manufacturers for their support and great products. Click on the name of the partner below to be taken to their website for more information.
Partners: Mainstream Holdings, Big Game Treestands, Muddy, J.R.C.Transportation Inc., Bairs Tree Service, Nyce, Crete & Landis Block and Concrete, All Star Performance, Henry Dunn Insurance, C&S Lawn and Landscape, Ecynbro Trucking
Manufacturers: Astro Titanium, Arctic Cat, ATL Fuel Cells, Blackbeard Ltd., Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gaskets, Energy Release, Fastener Specialties, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne Shocks, High Performance Lubricants, HRP Wings, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Kistler Engines, KSE Racing Products, Lincoln Welders, Moose Blocks, Inc., MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Safety-Klean, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson, Sweet Engineering, TI22, Walker Performance Filters, Weld Racing, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance.
