Inside Line Promotions – CHICO, Calif. (Sept. 13, 2023) – One final World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series weekend on the West Coast awaits Big Game Motorsports and driver David Gravel.
Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., hosts the Tom Tarlton Classic this Friday followed by the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., on Saturday.
“Hanford has always been a good track for me so I’m excited to go there and give it a shot,” Gravel said. “It’s the track in California that has the most space I feel like. And we haven’t been to Placerville in a while. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Gravel was victorious at Kings Speedway in 2019 and at Placerville Speedway in 2017.
The team is coming off a frustrating finish at Silver Dollar Speedway last weekend during the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
Gravel kicked off his preliminary night last Friday by qualifying fourth quickest. He then hustled from sixth to second place in a heat race before ending the night eighth in the A Main.
“I felt like we had great speed early in the night in hot laps, qualifying and the heat race,” Gravel said. “We had a good package for that. The first night I felt like the track got really slick when we didn’t expect it and we didn’t tighten up the car enough. Early on in the feature I was really free. I got the wing back and it made the car better. We probably could have ran fifth or sixth, but we got a hole in our right rear tire late in the race and lost a couple of spots at the end.”
A second-place finish in a heat race on Saturday locked Gravel into the 10 th starting spot for the main event that evening.
“I felt okay,” he said. “Starting 10 th wasn’t bad and I didn’t think we’d be in bad shape. They tilled all around the bottom and the outside was not the place to be. We got to the bottom and we were really tight. I wasn’t able to hold the car down. I lost about five positions early. There was a restart and I was on the outside again. I blew through the cushion and off the track. I fell back to about 20th. From there as we burned the fuel off I felt better and we gained some positions. There was another incident we had to avoid and we lost some spots. From there the track was bottom dominant. That’s dirt racing. It didn’t work out in our favor that night.”
Gravel was credited with a 16th-place result.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 8 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 8 (6).
Sept. 9 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 16 (10).
SEASON STATS –
65 races, 10 wins, 42 top fives, 54 top 10s, 61 top 15s, 61 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., for the Tom Tarlton Classic and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt
HUSET’S SPEEDWAY –
Huset’s Speedway is a dirt oval located in Brandon, S.D. The track opened in 1954 and has undergone a large renovation within the last few years, making it a premier destination for both marquee racing events and weekly programs. For more information, visit http://www.HusetsSpeedway.com .
JACKSON MOTORPLEX –
Jackson Motorplex is a 4/10-mile dirt oval located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through August, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Midwest Sprint Touring Series and more. For more information, visit http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com .
TICKET LINK –
To purchase online tickets for events at either Huset’s Speedway or at Jackson Motorplex, visit http://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=JKMV_PL_MPV&orgid=55369#/?view=list&includePackages=true .
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP , contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com . For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
*PHOTO BY TRENT GOWER PHOTOGRAPHY*