CARLISLE, PA. – November 12, 2017 –  Nine wins and a top-5 finish in the final series points standings during the 2016 campaign set the stage for both David Gravel and CJB Motorsports to experience a career year in 2017

  

“2016 was really cool,” Gravel said. “We won quite a few races and so forth but we knew there were some areas we needed to improve upon. Barry (Jackson) went to work hard in the off season and we came out this year with an even better package. It was very impressive.”

 

 

Gravel and the CJB team scored their first of twenty wins at the annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville, FL. It was their only Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions win on the season. Their overall performance from the five nights of racing also meant that the team was the champion of the event.

 

From there, the season kicked into high gear as the team scored three World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victories on the tours’ first west coast swing. The team also did well on the east coast in May as they went three for four during one particular stretch in May.

 

“All of the Outlaw wins were special,” Gravel said. “The wins in Pennsylvania at Lincoln (Speedway) and Williams Grove (Speedway) were very special since they were so close to where our shop is. New Eypgt (Speedway) meant a lot to me because it is pretty close to where I grew up so we had a lot of family and friends there.”

 

 

Gravel and the team kept up their winning ways as June and July took over the calendar. A win in the Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park on July 11th, opened a very strong “Month of Money” for the CJB organization that culminated in a dominating performance at the 57th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals. Car #5 timed in quickest overall on Thursday’s qualifying night. Gravel then went on to win his heat race and the feature to score a perfect, 500 points on the night. He became the first driver in 25 years to accomplish such a feat.

 

 

 

The GoMuddy.com machine started on the pole for the $150,000-to-win event and had victory in hand before a mechanical failure ended their night.

 

“Losing the Nationals was pretty heart breaking, for sure,” Gravel explained. “We really did have an amazing machine there. It does give us confidence for when we go back there next year.”

 

 

The team didn’t let the setback stop them as the continued to grab race wins throughout the months of August and September. The team slightly avenged their Knoxville Nationals loss by winning the Champion Racing Oil National Open at Williams Grove Speedway in the fall.

 

 

“That one was very special for Barry & the Clemens family,” said Gravel. “I’ve won a National Open before but this was the first one for them and it meant a lot. It means a lot to me too. It’s a huge race. We’re very proud and grateful that we won it.”

 

Gravel and the team put an exclamation point on their season by winning the final race of the year at the Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte. The win locked the team into third place in the Outlaws final points standings.

 

“Getting to twenty wins on the year was something that means a lot to us,” Gravel said. “We wanted to get into double digits, but this was far and away something else entirely. It makes us proud as a team that we were in position that much to win races. That is how you win championships.”

 

 

For now, Gravel and the team will head home to prepare for 2018.

 

“We obviously still have the goals of winning an Outlaws championship, a Knoxville Nationals title and a Kings Royal. That never really changes for a lot of teams I don’t think. We have identified some areas where we can get better. Some stretches of the season where we need to improve on. We’ll get there. It is also really key that we’ll have our whole crew back together next season. That’ll give us a leg up in some aspects. We’re really thankful for the faith that Tod and GoMuddy.com have shown in us. We want to bring home all of those event wins for them. We’re really looking forward to next season. Hopefully we’ll be just a little bit better and accomplish some more of those goals.”

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. 

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