Gravel & Swindell Set to chase $150,000-to-win payday in Sprint Car Racings Biggest Event
CARLISLE, PA. – August 13, 2016 – No week in the sprint car racing world match the intensity of the 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals. With over 100 entries from all corners of the world and Australia, the competition is among the toughest anywhere on the schedule.
CJB Motorports driver David Gravel & Sammy Swindell kicked off their Nationals week by competing in the annual Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway near Okslaoosa.
Gravel timed in 3rd to set the tone for the evening.
“We had an alright car,” said Gravel, pilot of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We were going over there to have some fun and try to win the big prisze. The car felt good overall for the night and we had a good run.”
(Photo courtesy of DB3 Imaging)
Swindell was also stout in the event.
“We went out a little late in time trials,” said the pilot of the Big Game Treestands, GoMuddy.com #1. “The car felt good but we were just a little bit off all night long. We just couldn’t quite get there and we got held up a few times in traffic.”
BRANDT Professional Agriculture Qualifying Night was next up after the Front Row Challenge. Sammy Swindell and his #1 team were up first for team CJB at the Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. Swindell went out 30th of 47 cars in time trials and rocketed to second on the speed charts, which netted the Germantown, Tenn. a good start to the evening.
“We really wanted to get that last few thousandths to set quick time,” said Swindell. “That put us in the second heat race and with some guys that have won features across the country. We missed the invert by just one spot. We showed that we had a great car in the B feature. We won that going away. We also had a good drive up through the field in the A. We were back there with a lot of guys who were taking gambles and such. It was kind of exciting.”
The following night, Gravel took to the track for Toyota Qualifying Night. Like his night at Okslaoosa, the Watertown, Conn. timed in third again.
“Our car was really good in time trials,” said Gravel. “We ended up having to run the B like Sammy did but that’s the way that the format at the Nationals goes. You have to race really hard. Luckily, we did and made the A. Our car was really good for that as well. We were able to drive through the field pretty good.”
It all comes down to one final event. Fifty laps around the half mile track known as the Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. Should Gravel or Swindell be the first driver to cross the finish line, a new chapter will be added to the history books.
For Gravel, it would be his first victory in sprint car racings biggest event. If Swindell can capture the win, it would mark an end to 23 years of frustration.
“Every sprint car drivers wants to win this race,” said Gravel, who finished 13th in last years A-main. “It’s what we, as a team, work so hard for every year. It’d be a dream come true to win it. To do that, we have to beat the best sprint car drivers in the world. I think we have a car with the speed in it. We’re going to give it our all.”
“It’s a tough race,” said Swindell, the 1983 Nationals Champion. “I’ve had a lot of close calls and tough breaks there. I think we really have a car that can win. It would be a huge accomplishment at my age, 60. We’ve shown some speed and we’re going to try as hard as we can.”
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 58
Quick Times: 4
Wins: 6
Top-5’s: 35
Top-10’s: 48
Heat Race Wins: 16
Dash Wins: 6
Average Time Trial: 7.5
Average A-main finish: 6.0
Total Laps Led: 224
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 40
Quick Times: 2
Wins: 2
Top-5’s: 12
Top-10’s: 16
Heat Race Wins: 7
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 11.0
Average A-main finish: 10.5
Total Laps Led: 26
UP NEXT: The 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals are upon the CJB Motorsports team. All that is left is 50 laps around the track at the Marion County Fair Grounds on Saturday, August 13th. Fans can check out all of the action at www.thecushion.com
BOX SCORE:
CAR #5:
| Date | Track | Size | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “B” start | “B” finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 8/9/2016 | Osklaoosa | 0.5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 8/11/2016 | Knoxville | 0.5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 0 |
CAR #1:
| Date | Track | Size | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “B” start | “B” finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| 8/9/2016 | Oskaloosa | 0.5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 8/10/2016 | Knoxville | 0.5 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 13 | 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.
