Watertown, Conn.—March 31, 2013 — Not only does it take a fast race car to run up front with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, but it also takes a little bit of luck. David Gravel had a very fast car on Friday, March 29 at Merced Speedway in California, though in the third heat race, luck was not as his side, as he was caught up in a first-lap incident that changed the complexion of his evening, as he continued to fill-in for the injured Bill Rose in the Firetext Response Maxim. Gravel soldiered on and when the final checkered flag flew in the 40-lap main event he would cross the line 11th, which helped him move up a spot to sixth in points.

Gravel began the night by turning the third-fastest lap in time trials of the 31 drivers that were in attendance at the third-mile bullring. The native of Watertown, Conn., lined up fourth in the third 10-lap heat race and would be assured of a spot in the dash and a top-10 starting spot in the A-Feature if he finished among the top-six in that heat race. He made it back out for the remainder of the heat race, after a trip to the work area, following the first lap accident, finishing ninth, which put him in the B-main. Read more »

By DDR Motorsports PR 
Watertown, Conn.—March 27, 2013 — It’s another race weekend for David Gravel this week with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and that mean he’ll be visiting yet another track for the first time. That’s become a common theme for the young driver this year, as in each of the last three weeks, he has raced at venues on the West Coast for the first time with the STP World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series as he continues to fill-in for the injured Bill Rose. This week he heads to Merced Speedway in California, which will mark the fourth track he has visited in the state of California in a three-week stretch.
 
Gravel will take to the third-mile Merced Speedway on Friday, March 29 aboard the Firetext Response Maxim for Rose’s Indiana-based team. The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series made their debut at Merced Speedway in 2011, which at the time was a quarter-mile. The surface was then reconfigured to a third-mile in time for the 2012 series event at the track.
 
“Chico (Silver Dollar Speedway) is pretty small, so going from one small track to another little one should help,” Gravel said. “We’ve had a good baseline set-up the last few weeks, which gives us a good starting point at Merced and then we can work from there. Getting a few good, clean laps in hot laps will be important.” Read more »