Inside Line Promotions – PEVELY, Mo. (April 5, 2021) – Big Game Motorsports driver David Gravel produced a pair of top-10 finishes last weekend during a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series doubleheader at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
Gravel charged from 19th to eighth on Friday and he recorded a sixth-place showing on Saturday to give him a dozen top 10s in 13 races this year.
The weekend started on a frustrating note as Gravel qualified 22 nd quickest on the high-banked oval.
“It started off really bad qualifying where we did,” he said. “Our pill draw didn’t help us and the qualifying was so tight. Starting eighth in the heat race is not ideal. Three hundredths of a second would have put us a couple of rows forward to start our heat race.”
Gravel advanced one position to place seventh in his heat race. That relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown for the first time this season. Gravel won the race to transfer into the back of the main event.
“We threw something at it for the A Main and got the car really good,” he said. “We could have bowed down and started in the back and finished in the back, but we were able to recover and get a solid finish. There’s about 12 cars at a majority of these races that can win every night. It’s pretty tough to finish up front every night. Nothing is handed to us, especially this year. You have to work for every position.”
Gravel did that by rallying from 19th to eighth in the 30-lap feature, marking the second-most positions gained.
Saturday’s weekend finale got off to a better start as Gravel set quick time during qualifying. He then won a heat race from the pole position to advance into the dash. A fifth-place finish in the dash lined him up on the inside of the third row for the main event.
“We were pretty decent in the A Main,” he said. “We maintained with everybody in the front. I just wasn’t good enough to make stuff happen to challenge for a podium finish. We fell back one spot, but it was a pretty strong sixth. I had to commit to the outside of the track and it was hard to make moves on guys.
“We had a good baseline. The track stayed wetter than we thought it would all night. It’s one of those things that when we go there next time it will be a lot warmer out so the track will transition differently.”
Gravel’s sixth-place result marked his seventh straight top-10 finish.
A trip to Indiana fills this weekend’s slate for the World of Outlaws. Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo hosts a race on Friday and Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt is the site for Saturday’s event.
Gravel hustled from 22nd to ninth to earn the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars during last year’s lone visit to Kokomo Speedway. He won World of Outlaws races at Tri-State Speedway in 2016 and 2018.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 2 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: 1 (3); Feature: 8 (19).
April 3 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 5 (4); Feature: 6 (5).
SEASON STATS –
13 races, 1 win, 7 top fives, 12 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Ind., and Saturday at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt
THE SHOWDOWN –
THE SHOWDOWN is one of the biggest weeks of racing for winged sprint car drivers. The action begins on June 20 with a $5,000-to-win 410ci winged sprint car event followed by two days of the Huset’s 50. All three nights are hosted by Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., before Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., showcases the famed AGCO Jackson Nationals June 24-26. The final five nights of THE SHOWDOWN are World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races with a total purse exceeding $500,000. Additionally, if a driver is able to win the final night of the Huset’s 50 and the AGCO Jackson Nationals he or she will bring home a whopping $180,000.
TICKET LINK –
Advanced tickets for THE SHOWDOWN can be purchased at https://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*