Gravel & Swindell now set for 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals
CARLISLE, PA. – August 8, 2016 – When momentum is with you, it’s hard to stop.
With a win in the Prelude to the Ironman 55 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Friday, August 5th, David Gravel and his #5 CJB Motorsports team extended the notion that they are among the hottest sprint car teams in the country right now.
The night began with David Gravel and the #5 team timed in fourth, finished second in the heat and won the dash. The driver, the most recent series winner at Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway, head the best view in the house for the 35 lap feature.
“We just had an excellent car,” said Gravel, pilot of the Big Game Treestands, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “Barry and my crew gave me a piece that was just great all night long. We anticipated what the track was going to do and our setup was awesome. It’s really cool to get win number seven on the year. We had to beat a little rain to do it but it was still awesome.”
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Click above for highlights from the Prelude to the Ironman 55.
The following night, the race length was extended by 20 laps and $12,000 more was on the line in the annual Federated Batteries Ironman 55. Gravel timed in 14th, raced from fourth to third in his heat race and started the feature in the 10th position.
“They reworked the track a ton before the feature,” said Gravel. “We were thinking it was going to slick off sooner than it did but it stayed really good for most of the race. Unfortunately, we were tight because of it. We got to rolling really good near the end but it was just too late.”
One final night of racing awaited the #5 team on Sunday evening as the 5th annual KCP Capitani Classic presented the final opportunity for track time before the beginning of the 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway.
“We tried a few things in the Cappy,” said Gravel. “We just were a little off all night long. We ended up fifth in the B feature and that just wasn’t good enough. We are going to change some things for the qualifying night. Go back to the car we ran there earlier this year.”
Now all eyes turn to the Granddaddy of them all, the 56th annual 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals. With Gravel surging in recent weeks and Sammy Swindell’s victory in the Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville 360 Nationals, both teams are feeling excitement heading into the sports biggest event of the season.
“It’s a nerve racking experience for sure,” said Gravel, who won will compete on Toyota Qualifying Night on Thursday, August 11th. “I just want to get qualified into the show on our night. There is such an importance on your time trials and the heat races. Once you get through that, you can breathe a little bit.”
“Their format for the Nationals is unique,” said Swindell, who will compete on Brandt Qualifying night on Wednesday, August 10th. “They have a lot riding on the qualifying points and, if you’re quick, they invert eight so you have to really race hard in the heat race to get to fourth to make it to the feature. Otherwise, you are looking at a long night. I think our equipment will be up to the task. The car is really good in race trim so we just need a little help in time trials. I’m excited.”
*Note – Both teams are now due to compete in the Front Row Challenge at
Southern Iowa Speedway near Oskaloosa, Iowa on Monday, August 8th.
CAR #5 2016 STATS:
Events: 57
Quick Times: 4
Wins: 6
Top-5’s: 35
Top-10’s: 47
Heat Race Wins: 16
Dash Wins: 6
Average Time Trial: 7.6
Average A-main finish: 6.0
Total Laps Led: 224
CAR #1 2016 STATS:
Events: 38
Quick Times: 2
Wins: 2
Top-5’s: 12
Top-10’s: 16
Heat Race Wins: 7
Dash Wins: 0
Average Time Trial: 11.4
Average A-main finish: 10.5
Total Laps Led: 26
UP NEXT: The 5 Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals are upon the CJB Motorsports team. Sammy Swindell and the #1 team will take to the track on Wednesday, August 10th for their qualifications during BRANDT Qualifying Night. David Gravel and the #5 team will try to make the field for the $150,000-to-win main event on Toyota Qualifying Night on Thursday, August 11th.
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 |
| 8/5/2016 | Pevely | 0.25 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 8/6/2016 | Pevely | 0.25 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| 8/7/2016 | Knoxville | 0.5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | – | – |
CAR #1:
Not in action.
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.
