BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN (June 5, 2020) – The JJR #41 team made the long journey into Wisconsin for the two-day show at the fast and racy 1/3-mile oval at Beaver Dam Raceway. Since the tragic event in June of 2018, this is always a tough place to return to for the team, but the strength and persistence that characterizes the owner, Bobbi Johnson, and this team always shows out in the face of adversity. There were 36 cars situated throughout the pit area with the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Mr. Jim’s Racing #41 Maxim and driver David Gravel readying for the first of two consecutive nights of action.
David crawled into the cockpit with his always present smile, and buckled in for his high speed adventure underneath his Vortex Racing Products top wing. He would be the very last car out for his two laps at speed aboard the WELD Wheels/T-Fab Custom Metal Fabrication #41. When his Hoosier Racing Tires dug into the surface, he picked up speed and took the green flag as the clock started to tick. When he crossed under the white flag the clock read 11.670 seconds. It put him tenth on the speed charts. He stayed on the loud pedal and the next time around he was very consistent with a lap of 11.708 seconds. He stayed at tenth quick overall on the night after time trials.
Situated on the inside of row two in the second heat race, the Weikert’s Livestock/High Performance Lubricants #41 speed machine was ready to get rolling in the 10-lap event. The talented front row of Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild led the field to the green with Gravel falling to fourth place behind Jacob Allen. Macedo was leading as Gravel was pushing to get everything out of his Maxim Racing #41. His was working hard and doing his best. He got crossed up in turn two and lost some ground, but regathered himself and continued his pursuit. Macedo took the heat race win over Haudenschild with Allen, Gravel and Dave Uttech rounding out the top five.
Patiently waiting for the 30-lap feature, David Gravel and the JJR team were searching for the right setup to drive forward. The 8-minute horn sounded and the team was scrambling to make all of the final adjustments to The Boyd Family Maxim #41. The boys pushed him out onto the track with the four wheeler as the talented driver began to get into race mode and focus. He would start from the 14th starting spot. Polesitter Shane Stewart along with Sheldon Haudenschild paced the field and when the field exited turn four Haudenschild leaped into the lead. Gravel pulled up to the outside at the start and made an incredible move forward. After lap one, Gravel moved into the tenth position and was searching for more. He is smart and relentless in the cockpit and was balancing his drive and patience as he searched for opportunities. The laps click by quickly at Beaver Dam Raceway and Haudenschild was showing the way at the front of the pack. David continued his march forward on the fast but technical track. During the late stages of the race Haudenschild had some unwelcomed company with Brad Sweet entering the picture. Sweet and Haudenschild swapped the lead during the last for laps, but Sweet led the last one to take the victory over Haudenschild, Schuchart and Donny Schatz with Shane Stewart collecting a fifth place finish. David Gravel completed his impressive run forward to finish in 8th place to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award. The JJR #41 team and driver will be back at the track on Saturday night looking to improve their fortunes and finishing position. If you can’t catch the action at the track, be sure to tune in on DIRTVision.
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; K&N Filters; 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.
