Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 16, 2023) – The 62 nd annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s showcased a huge rebound for David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports.
The highest of highs was followed by the lowest as Gravel set quick time during qualifying to kick off his preliminary night at Knoxville Raceway last Wednesday. However, an incident in a heat race resulted in a DNF. That relegated the team to the C Main, which Gravel won before he hustled from 21 st to 11 th in the B Main.
“We wanted to be in position to start well in the feature on Saturday,” he said. “With that happening on Wednesday we knew that wasn’t something that would happen. I didn’t want to miss the show. I’d made 10 in a row so I wanted to keep that going. And it pays a lot of money to start the race. It’s always been a good week monetary-wise for me. My first goal was to get in the show.”
Friday’s Hard Knox Night offered a second chance and Big Game Motorsports took advantage. Gravel timed in fourth quickest in his group and won a heat race from third to garner the seventh starting position in the A Main.
“It was a nerve-wracking night, but we were confident in our ability,” he said. “I didn’t get the best pill draw, but was able to have a good qualifying effort. We made the invert and they took three in the heat so it was stressful to start third. Luckily we were able to go really good and get the lead off turn two and set sail from there. Read more »
