BURLINGTON, WASHINGTON (August 30, 2019) – The JJR transporter made its way to Skagit Speedway, the 3/10-mile speed plant in Burlington, Washington that was born on Labor Day in 1954, for two consecutive days of his speed racing World of Outlaws style. Steve Beitler, along with his team at Skagit, always do a tremendous job welcoming the World of Outlaws to the Pacific Northwest each fall. As their motto states, “We Do Fun at Full Throttle”, there is always excitement and great racing at the track located in the Skagit Valley between Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington. There were 19 teams that checked in at the pit gate and David Gravel and the JJR #41 team were ready to roll.
The Watertown, Connecticut native would be the third car out on the track to attack Skagit for his two laps of qualifying aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/AutoMeter #41 Maxim. The track surface was narrow and fast as he rolled onto the speedway. He pounded the loud pedal and accelerated up to speed. His Kistler Engines power was singing as he took the green. His first lap was a good one at 10.759 seconds, but his second lap was even better at 10.578 seconds. In fact, it was so good it made David Gravel Skagit Speedway’s new track record holder as he dethroned Shane Stewart who held that honor up until this point. His fastest time would hold up as the remaining competitors completed their laps. It would be the 14th time this season that David Gravel and the JJR #41 crew would earn quick time against the best in the business.
Gravel would sit on the pole in the Weikert’s Livestock/Jonestown KOA #41 for the first and fastest Drydene Heat Race with Washington native Jason Solwold sharing the front row with him. They paced in their two-by-two starting order and coming out of turn four Gravel drove off the bottom into the lead. The green flag was quickly replaced by the red flag for Shane Stewart who flipped hard on the frontstretch after contact with Carson Macedo. When the crash scene was cleared the remaining drivers in the field got back up to speed with Gravel in the front with Solwold and Macedo chasing the leader. They were boogying around Skagit so it did not take long to put ten laps in the books. When the Checkered flags waved, Gravel was the first one under them as he took the heat race victory over Solwold, Macedo and Ian Madsen with Tim Kaeding rounding out the top five.
David Gravel would start fourth in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash as Kraig Kinser and Logan Schuchart sat on row one. Gravel would share row two with Jason Solwold as qualifier race winner Brad Sweet and runner-up Ian Madsen would start from row three. Kinser drove into the lead over Kinser at the start as Madsen slid underneath Gravel to take over the fourth position. The track was still narrow and fast limiting passing as Kinser took the win over Schuchart. The top two finishers were followed across the stripe by Madsen, Solwold and Gravel with Sweet rounding out the finishing order.
With the 30-lap feature lineup set, it was time to go racing at Skagit Speedway for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series for the fans in the Pacific Northwest! After the always impressive four-wide salute to the fans, it was time to go racing. David Gravel pulled his J.R.C. Transportation/High Performance Lubricants #41 to the inside of row three and was ready to get at it around the 3/10-mile speed center. It was Logan Schuchart jumping into the lead over Kraig Kinser at the start of the race as Brad Sweet and David Gravel were putting on a side-by-side show for the fifth position. The two talented drivers, who are currently second and third in the season long point standings respectively, were racing wheel to wheel for the position. The track was still lightning fast, so the action was not only close it was happening quickly. The leaders approached lap traffic and started to put the rear of the field one lap down. The leaders were all making the top lane of the narrow surface the fastest way around and it was working. Unfortunately, it made it hard to pass for position as the lapped cars were moving to the bottom. Schuchart would collect the win over Kinser, Solwold and Madsen as Sweet rounded out the top five. David Gravel came home sixth to collect his 46 top ten finish of the season – a very impressive 83.64% top ten success rate. Another good run for the forty-one!
David Gravel Continues to Impress at Skagit Speedway with a New Track Record Aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41!
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.
