CJB team shows speed and poise; set to heat into the Great North
CARLISLE, PA. – August 15, 2017 – The Knoxville Raceway was abuzz with excitement as the 57th annual 5 Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals neared its halfway point. Watertown, Conn.’s David Gravel had proven that his CJB Motorsports #5 was the class of the field by leading the first 22 circuits of the fifty-lap event.
However, as Gravel contended the 23rd lap, something went amiss under the hood that hushed the entire crowd of 30,000 plus spectators at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
“I started to hear something coming apart in the engine going down the back stretch,” explained Gravel. “By the time I reached (turns) three and four, I knew we were done. It’s very disappointing, no doubt. I really would have liked to have seen how that night would have played out. I felt like we were very fast. The car was pretty much driving itself right before we had our issue.”
The result was not what the team was hoping for, given how the car had performed on Toyota Qualifying night just two evenings prior on Thursday, August 10th. Despite the setback, Gravel and the CJB team feel as though they made a statement with their Nationals performance.
“We certainly showed some speed,” said Gravel, driver of the GoMUDDY.com, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “I think if all the things stay the same, we should be able to come back next year and be very competitive. We’re looking forward to that, actually. We are very proud, though, of how we ran all week.”
The team now resets their focus on capturing the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series title. Car #5 is well within striking distance in third, only 128 markers behind points leader and Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz as the series makes its’ second stop at River Cities Speedway near Grand Forks, N.D. on Friday, August 18th. Gravel won the June event there earlier this year.
“The North Dakota swing will be fine,” said Gravel, whom is seeking his 14th Outlaw win of the season. “Grand Forks is a fun place. I haven’t been to Fargo (Red River Valley Speedway) since we ran the All Stars there. That’ll be a fun stop on Saturday night. We wrap it up with Minot (Nodak Speedway) on Sunday night. North Dakota certainly has a lot of sprint car action going on. It’s a fun time of the year. A World of Outlaws Championship is certainly a possibility but we’re going to have to run pretty much perfect here. If we can duplicate the run we had at Knoxville, we’ll be in really good shape.”
BOX SCORE:
| Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “A” start | “A” finish | Laps Led |
| Knoxville | 1 | 21 | 22 |
2017 STATS:
Events: 60
Quick Times: 10
Wins: 14
Top-5’s: 35
Top-10’s: 51
Heat Race Wins: 18
Dash Wins: 7
Average Time Trial: 6.8
Average A-main finish: 5.9
Total Laps Led: 302
*Stats from Williams Grove event on 7/22 not yet added.*
STAY CONNECTED WITH CJB MOTORSPORTS:
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JOIN THE CRAFTSMAN CLUB:
CJB Motorsports gets the job done in the pits with Craftsman tools. Craftsman, one of the most enduring names in the tool industry, is a proud partner of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. You can experience the benefits of this legendary brand by joining the Craftsman Club here. CJB Motorsports would like to express their gratitude to Craftsman for supplying the team with dependable tools for their use, night in and night out.
ABOUT CJB MOTORSPORTS:
CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with driver David Gravel. 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, 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, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson, Sweet Engineering, Walker Performance Filters, Weld Racing, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance.
