ROSSBURG, OHIO (July 17, 2019) – After rain washed away racing action on Tuesday night at Attica Raceway Park for the 31st Annual Brad Doty Classic, the team headed to Eldora Speedway to kick off four consecutive nights of high speed action at the ultra-fast, high-banked half mile oval nestled in the middle of the cornfields that line northwest Ohio. There were 42 cars in the pit area along with the 28 USAC sprint cars for a full night of racing.
The field was split into two separate groups for time trials, Flight A and Flight B, with David Gravel being the 40th driver out for his two laps at speed in the Kistler Engines/All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads #41 Maxim. The track was very consistent and so were the speeds. Shane Stewart was the first car to roll onto the speedway in Flight B and he was rolling as he turned the quickest lap of the night at 13.194 seconds. Everyone now knew what they were chasing when they rolled up the banking in turn one to start their qualifying laps. Gravel waited patiently until it was time for him to climb aboard his Maxim Racing speed machine. He rolled into the staging area and when Kyle Larson finished his laps, the talented driver from Watertown, Connecticut got the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Jonestown KOA #41 up to speed. He took the green flag and dove hard down into turn one and shot up off turn two. After darting down the back straightaway he rolled through turns three and four and crossed the timing stripe. Simultaneously he shot up to third on the speed charts with a time of 13.401 seconds. His second lap was consistent at 13.432 seconds, but the faster of his two laps was third quick overall in Flight B.
He would start on the outside of the front row beside Shane Stewart in the third heat race. The top two drivers in the heat were followed by Kraig Kinser, Daryn Pittman, Sye Lynch, Rico Abreu, Parker Price-Miller, Dave Blamey, Lee Jacobs, Cale Conley and Tom Harris. With the green flag waving overhead, Stewart drove the CJB #5 into the lead with Gravel hustling the Kistler Engines/FK Rod Ends #41 into second. They were setting the tempo and everyone else was dancing to their tune. Stewart was building his lead over Gravel, but as the laps wound down Gravel was closing the gap. Stewart would take the heat race victory over Gravel, as those two would advance on to the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, with Kinser coming home third followed by Abreu as Pittman rounded out the top five.
Set to get going in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, the drivers drew their numbers which set the starting order. Californians, Carson Macedo and Brad Sweet, would start on the pole with Gravel and Stewart sharing row two. Logan Schuchart would line up from fifth with Brian Brown to his outside as Donny Schatz and Tim Kaeding paced from row four. With the green lights now illuminated, Macedo drove his Kyle Larson Racing #2 into the lead riding around the top and building speed. Sweet was searching different lanes along with Gravel as the two drivers found some speed on the bottom. Macedo would win the dash by 0.391 seconds over Sweet, as Gravel brought the All Pro Auto Reconditioning/Factory Kahne (FK) Shocks #41 home third. The remainder of the finishing order was Schatz in fourth followed by Stewart, Brown, Schuchart and Kaeding.
After Tyler Courtney took the checkers in the USAC portion of the #LetsTakeTwo event, it was time for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series stars to make their way to the track for their 30 lap race for the winner’s check. After changing an engine following the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, David Gravel and the JJR #41 team rolled the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Team Jack Foundation #41 onto the surface at Eldora Speedway. The engines were fired and the drivers were ready to go racing! Brad Sweet jumped into the lead and led early as Macedo, Gravel, Schatz and Schuchart were racing for position. Schatz moved into the runner-up position with Gravel in third before Schatz made the pass for the lead. Gravel then stayed focused on chasing down Sweet when a yellow flag was thrown for a slowing Kerry Madsen on the front straightway. The field regrouped and when they restarted Schatz continued to lead Sweet as now Greg Wilson was making his presence known as he was putting his car in position racing with Schuchart and Gravel for the show position. During the middle stages of the race, Schuchart and Gravel were giving the fans a show with clean, tight racing for third. Schuchart would own it and then Gravel would take it back. It was fun to watch. Another yellow, this time for Ian Madsen, regrouped the field and on the restart Gravel drove into third as Schatz led Sweet. Gravel started closing in on Sweet and used the bottom side to get underneath him and move into second place. With five laps to go it was Schatz, Gravel and Sweet racing for position. Schatz took the win and the checkered flags over Gravel with Schuchart coming home third as Sweet and Wilson rounded out the top five. Another great run for David Gravel and the JJR forty-one team!
David Gravel and the JJR #41 Team Work Hard All Night to Collect their 21st Top Five Finish of the 2019 Season!
We are proud to represent all of our dedicated and loyal supporters:
Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Jonestown KOA; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Weikert’s Livestock; J.R.C. Transportation, Inc.; Durst Inc.; Maxim Racing; The Boyd Family; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Waco Metal; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; Tiger Towing; All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads, Inc.; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; AutoMeter; Bell Racing USA; Blackbeard; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Cody Monoco Racing; Crow Enterprizes, Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne FK Shocks; Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; K&N Filters; Kaiden Kares; Kistler Racing Engines; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy Graphics; Max Papis Innovations (MPI); MSD Performance; RaceDiecast.com; Schoenfeld Headers; Shell Shock Paint; Simpson Race Products; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.
To stay up-to-date with David Gravel and his success and journey on and off the track, as well as to purchase his gear and merchandise, go to www.DavidGravel89.com.
To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR), go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.
