Gravel wins inaugural Jokers Wild; Swindell jostles for lead in opening stages of $50,000 finale
CARLISLE, PA. – July 20, 2016 – The running of the 33rd annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway will be remembered for many things. From a record tying car count on Saturdays finale (60 cars) to the successful three-night format, the event at Tony Stewart’s half-mile was also an opportunity for CJB Motorsports to showcase the speed and the momentum that the team has built over the past six weeks.
The Jokers Wild event opened the weekend on Thursday, July 14th. Both David Gravel and Sammy Swindell were among the 45 cars to take time for the $10,000-to-win event. Gravel was quickest in the second flight of time trials whereas Swindell was seventh quick in the first flight.
In heat racing action, Gravel started on the pole and won heat race three while Swindell finished 6th in heat one.
“Thursday night was one of those nights we’ve been waiting for,” said Gravel, pilot of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We timed in well, raced well in our heat race and in the dash. In the feature, Donny showed his nose and I knew it was time to kick it up a notch. We did that and were able to hold on for the win. Anytime you win at Eldora, its special. It was an excellent way to kick off the weekend.”
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(Click above to listen to Gravel in victory lane at Eldora.)
“We went out late in the first group there and timed in seventh,” said Swindell, driver of the Big Game Treestands, GoMuddy.com #1. “We were loose in our heat race. On the start, we dropped to the middle and got passed on both sides. The car was just loose on entry. We made some changes throughout the night and got better. In the feature, we were doing well but we got lapped and that just put us behind.”
Both teams returned to the “Big E” the following night for the $12,000-to-win Knight Before the Kings Royal. Forty-nine cars took time across two fights of time trials. Gravel timed in quickest overall with a 13.600 lap while Swindell clocked in 12th in the first flight. Gravel advanced to the feature via his heat race and the dash. Swindell raced his way in through the Last Chance Showdown for the second straight night.
“We started off the night in good position,” commented Gravel, who now has 33 top-5’s on the season. “The track was slick and slow during the feature I ended up finding my line and making some ground up. We fell back early but salvaged a fifth place finish out of it. It felt like a win on that night.”
“We went late in group one again for time trials,” mentioned Swindell, who has led 26 laps on the season. “We made our way through the heat race but had to go to the B (feature) again. We drove from 9th to 5th to make the A feature and then we got the car even better for that. We tightened the car up a lot because we didn’t have anything to lose starting at the back of the field. We had a used left rear tire on and it sealed up and that stop the good gains we made.”
A special anticipation and energy filled the pit area for Saturdays $50,000-to-win finale at the Kings Royal weekend. Sixty cars signed into the pit area, which tied an event record. Gravel was quick again, timing in 3rd overall with Swindell slotting in 21st. Due to the unique event format, Swindell ended up on the front row of heat race three. A good start propelled the veteran to victory and scored him a 4th place starting position in the 40 lap finale. Gravel finished fourth in the same heat.
“We were fast once again in time trials,” said Gravel, who started the Kings Royal in the 20th position. “Barry (Jackson) and I talked about it and were going to go high on the first lap and the go low in turns three and four on the second lap because that was by far the fastest way around. We were around 22nd quick on the first lap and then jumped up to third. We were kind of kicking ourselves after that but we’ve always been a team that aims to be as fast as we can every time we go out. We didn’t get a good jump in our heat race and ended up starting 20th in the feature. We tried a new tire and it wasn’t that good on the restarts. We were finally able to drive up to 11th.”
“We found the right spot to time in at,” said Swindell, who led laps 10-12. “Our car felt really good in the heat race and we won that. We started the feature in fourth and we had a chatter or a vibration. We were alright until the track slicked off and then I could really feel the tires skipping. We then got stuck in traffic and it was just a snowball effect and we fell back.”
Gravel carried his momentum from Eldora into the Lernerville Speedway near Sarver, Pa. The #5 team never lost a step as the Watertown, Conn. driver out dueled series points leader Donny Schatz for the victory in the $25,000-to-win Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup.
“The Silver Cup was another night where we just had everything go our way,” said Gravel, who now has five wins on the season. “We went out late in time trials and just had a ton of speed. We raced well in the heat and ended up second, which put us in great position for the dash inversion draw. The draw was kind to us and the car felt really good in the dash. In the feature, it all came down to lap traffic. Donny got by us and we had to get back after him. I think I made some good decisions and we were able to get the win. It’s really special for sure. There aren’t that many races that pay more than $10,000 anymore so it’s big when you get one.”
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(Click above to check out highlights from Lernerville Speedway.)
From Lernerville, it’s back to Williams Grove Speedway near Mechanicsburg, Pa. for Gravel for the Summer Nationals on Friday, July 22nd and Saturday, July 23rd.
Swindell and the #1 team will return to the Midwest for events with the National Sprint League at the Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex on Friday, July 22nd and Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on Saturday, July 23rd.
“The Grove is a tricky track,” said Gravel, who won the National Open at Williams Grove in 2014.
“Timing in is very important. Anytime we race at the Grove its big because it’s in our own backyard. We want to add more wins and will be looking to do that.”
“We’re looking to expand on what we have already learned at Jackson and Knoxville,” said Swindell, who has won his past two starts at the Knoxville Raceway. “I feel like we’ve got a great baseline and we’re just looking to fine tune what we have.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 52
Quick Times: 4
Wins: 5
Top-5’s: 33
Top-10’s: 43
Heat Race Wins: 16
Dash Wins: 5
Average Time Trial: 7.8
Average A-main finish: 6.1
Total Laps Led: 184
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 34
Quick Times: 2
Wins: 2
Top-5’s: 8
Top-10’s: 13
Heat Race Wins: 6
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 11.8
Average A-main finish: 11.3
Total Laps Led: 26
UP NEXT: David Gravel and the #5 team move on to Williams Grove Speedway near Mechanicsburg, Pa. on Friday, July 22nd and Saturday, July 23rd for the Summer Nationals.
Sammy Swindell and the #1 team will return to the Midwest with events at the Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex and Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway on July 22nd and 23rd.
BOX SCORE:
CAR #5:
| Date | Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 7/14/2016 | Eldora | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| 7/15/2016 | Eldora | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 7/16/216 | Eldora | 3 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 7/19/2016 | Lernerville | 25 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 39 |
CAR #1:
| Date | Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “B” start | “B” finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 7/14/2016 | Eldora | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 7/15/2016 | Eldora | 12 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 23 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 7/16/2016 | Eldora | 21 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 3 |
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.
