WEST FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA (August 22, 2020) – When racing action was completed over in Grand Forks, where David Gravel and the JJR #41 team finished fourth, the team headed to Red River Valley Speedway for the second night of racing action in the Roughrider State of North Dakota. The JJR crew rolled the Team Jack Foundation/Mark Burch Motorsports #41 Maxim out of the hauler to prepare it for an evening of high speed racing action around the semi-banked 3/8-mile oval that always produces a lot of action and excitement. There were 28 cars lining the pit area for the Red River Rumble ready to put on a World of Outlaws quality show for the fans.
When the time trial order was posted, David Gravel and his Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/FK Rod Ends #41 would be the 26th car out on the track. Shane Stewart held the track record with a lap of 11.925 seconds that he set back on August 19, 2019. After running the quickest times in hot laps, the competitive drive thought he had the fast line picked out to turn the best official lap. When it was Gravel’s turn to get rolling, he drove onto the track with confidence as he grasped his Indy Performance Composites (IPC) carbon fiber steering wheel to direct his chariot. He took the green and was cutting through the air with his Vortex Racing Products wings. He completed his first circuit in 13.751 seconds which was only 22nd quick, but kept digging for more the next time around. It worked as the second of his two laps against the clock came in at 13.348 seconds. Unfortunately the better of his two times was only 18th quick overall, so David and the boys had some work to do in the heat race if they wanted to salvage a good evening.
His fastest lap in time trials landed him in the third Drydene heat race where he would start from the sixth spot in the 9 car field. James McFadden and Kyle Larson were on the front row, Dominic Scelzi and Mason Daniel were in row two, and Kevin Ingle was to the inside of Gravel in row three. When the green flag waved, Gravel dove to the inside of Mason Daniel and Kevin Ingle as they entered turn one and took ownership of the fourth spot in the running order aboard The Boyd Family/High Performance Lubricants #41 Maxim. McFadden was leading Larson and Scelzi as Gravel was digging to track down Scelzi’s #41 on the track. On lap 3 he caught him and made the pass for position. The racing was tight, but these drivers were motoring around Red River Valley Speedway. Larson was starting to close on the leader McFadden, but Gravel was making quick work of the 3/8-mile oval as he closed in on both of them. As they were getting closer to the end of the 10 lap event, Gravel had reeled them in but ran out of time as McFadden took the heat race win over Larson by 0.714 seconds and Gravel by 1.363 seconds. Dominic Scelzi came home fourth with Mason Daniel and Sammy Swindell locking down the final two transfer positions from the heat race.
The 30-lap Red River Rumble feature was now set and ready to roll. David would line the Weikert’s Livestock/All Pro Auto Reconditioning #41 on the inside of row five from the ninth starting position. Young guns Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo sat on the front row with James McFadden and Kyle Larson in row two. The air horn sounded and Philip Dietz and the JJR #41 crew made their final adjustments for their driver. He rolled out onto the track where he would await a push truck to get him started. When his Kistler Engines power came to life he finalized his race strategy and focused on the task at hand – racing forward. The track surface was slick and very technical. When the sweet sound of 410 racing engines filled the air, it was Macedo to the lead with everyone else giving chase. Gravel moved the forty-one up two positions into the seventh spot in the early going, but the racing was close. Macedo surrendered the lead to Larson on lap 14 as Gravel got shuffled back as far as ninth. Not one to ever give up, David found his rhythm and with 13 laps to go started his methodical drive forward. He moved into the sixth position with 11 laps to go and was looking for more. He has a fast Maxim Racing machine and was now right there as one of four cars racing for the final podium spot. Meanwhile Larson was in a torrid battle for the lead with his brother-in-law Brad Sweet as the duo raced through lapped traffic. Sweet would get it, but Larson would wrestle it back. Gravel was able to drive as far forward as fourth as he was still battling with Kerry Madsen, James McFadden and Sheldon Haudenschild for the higher position on the track. Larson took the white flag and legged out his ninth World of Outlaws victory of the season over Sweet, Haudenschild and Madsen with McFadden coming home fifth and David Gravel securing a sixth place finish. David and the team worked hard and persevered as they made a good night out of what could have been a challenge. A good run for the JJR forty-one!
Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; 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 Auto Reconditioning; AutoMeter; Bell Racing USA; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; 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; 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; Walker Performance Filtration; 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.
