Calistoga closes out second west coast tour of the season for Outlaws
CARLISLE, PA. – September 12, 2017 – Sometimes, you just have to battle through adversity. For David Gravel and the CJB team, challenges came knocking for three events in a row as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tour continued their march south along the Pacific Coast.
Before entering California, the tour made its’ lone stop of the year in Oregon at Willamette Speedway near Lebanon. For the show on Wednesday, September 6th, the #5 car timed in 13th quick, finished 7 in the heat race but made a huge charge from 19th to 9th in the feature.
“The track was a bit wet and heavy,” explained Gravel, who was the KSE Hard Charger on the night. “We have struggling in those conditions this year, as well as with our qualifying a times. Luckily, we rebounded and had a good drive through the field.”
From Oregon, it was on to Silver Dollar Speedway near Chico, Calif. For the annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. On Friday evening, Gravel timed in 14th, finished 9th in his heat race, drove to fourth in the Last Chance Showdown and started the feature in 24th.
“Same type of issue that we experienced Williamette,” said the driver of the GoMUDDY.com, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5. “We have struggled to get a grip on the track when it’s really wet and greasy this year. It’s an area of focus of our team, for sure. We’re all working to get better at it. Luckily, we made the feature and then was able to drive all the way up 8th.”
The CJB team was back the following night to try to capture the big prize. An 11th place result in time trials and a sixth-place finish in the heat race saw the team make their way to the feature by virtue of the Last Chance Showdown. Car #5 started the feature 22nd and finished 18th.
“We just didn’t have it that night,” mentioned Gravel. “Some nights you just don’t. We move on and we learn from it. We know that we need to get better qualifying overall to not put ourselves so deep in the field.”
The final two nights of World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car racing action in California are up next at the Calistoga Speedway on Friday, September 15th and Saturday, September 16th.
“We love going to Calistoga,” commented Gravel. “It’s a big track and, in some ways, it’s like Knoxville. The corners are tighter than Knoxville but it’s still similar. It really is an opportunity for our Kistler engines to shine. We’re excited to be there for two nights. It’s beautiful country up there in Northern California.”
BOX SCORE:
| Date | Track | Time Trial | Heat start | Heat finish | Dash start | Dash finish | “B” start | “B” finish | “A” start | “A” finish |
| 9/6/2017 | Willamette | 13 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 9 | ||||
| 9/8/2017 | Chico | 14 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 24 | 8 | ||
| 9/9/2017 | Chico | 11 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 18 |
2017 STATS:
Events: 71
Quick Times: 10
Wins: 15
Top-5’s: 38
Top-10’s: 60
Heat Race Wins: 18
Dash Wins: 8
Average Time Trial: 7.1
Average A-main finish: 6.2
Total Laps Led: 337
*Stats from Williams Grove event on 7/22 not yet added.*
STAY CONNECTED WITH CJB MOTORSPORTS:
For up to the minute race updates and behind the scenes content from CJB Motorsports, please follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also listen to all of the racing action live at www.DirtVision.com.
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.
ABOUT CJB MOTORSPORTS:
CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with driver David Gravel. Founded in 2005, the Chad and Jenn Clemens owned organization has worked to establish a standard of excellence in short track racing through fielding competitive entries and providing exceptional exposure for marketing partners. The team is based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
CJB Motorsports would like to thank all of our loyal sponsors and product manufacturers for their support and great products. Click on the name of the partner below to be taken to their website for more information.
Partners: Mainstream Holdings, Big Game Treestands, Muddy, J.R.C.Transportation Inc., Bairs Tree Service, Nyce, Crete & Landis Block and Concrete, All Star Performance, Henry Dunn Insurance, C&S Lawn and Landscape, Ecynbro Trucking
Manufacturers: Astro Titanium, Arctic Cat, ATL Fuel Cells, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gaskets, Energy Release, Fastener Specialties, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne Shocks, High Performance Lubricants, HRP Wings, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Kistler Engines, KSE Racing Products, Lincoln Welders, Moose Blocks, Inc., MSD Ignition, Outerwears, Safety-Klean, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Simpson, Sweet Engineering, Walker Performance Filters, Weld Racing, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance.
