5/31/2012
Sprint Source
David Gravel Looks to Extend His Memorial Day Weekend Momentum at Attica & I-96
Watertown, Conn.—May 31, 2012 — Not only does Memorial Day signal the unofficial beginning of summer, but it is also known for having some of the best racing. From Monaco to Charlotte, from Indianapolis to Fremont fans racing was on tap. This past weekend David Gravel and his No. 89G were in action with both the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions and the World of Outlaws. Along the way, Gravel overcame adversity and several nail-biting restarts to bring home three top-10 finishes at Fremont Speedway and Lawrenceburg Speedway. The native of Watertown, Conn., will be looking to take the momentum he built on the road, as he faces the World of Outlaws again this weekend.
Memorial Day Weekend Memories
To begin his foray over the holiday weekend, Gravel traveled to Fremont Speedway in Ohio for a double-header with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. The 20-year-old began Saturday night by turning the seventh-fastest lap in qualifying, then went on to grab the final transfer spot in his heat race. In the A-Feature, Gravel was consistent holding onto the sixth position for most of the 30-lap contest. On the final lap, the young gun made his move under veteran Danny Smith to finish in the fifth position.
“We had a good qualifying run, but then could not get a handle on it the rest of the night,” Gravel stated. “We were able to hang in there. On the last lap, I was able to move into the Top-Five, which felt good after the handling trouble we had earlier in the night.”
On Sunday night at Fremont, Gravel began the night by qualifying in the fifth position, but then adversity hit. While contending in his heat race, Gravel was caught up in an incident and battled back. With extensive damage to the car, including a tire going flat, the East Coast driver rallied to take the final transfer spot.
In the feature Gravel started in the top-five, but more adversity hit, and he was up to the challenge. At the half-way point of the 50-lap event, the No. 89G spun, but continued on. From that point Gravel started at the back of the field and passed numerous cars, climbing back to ninth before the checkered flag flew.
“It was a rough night,” explained Gravel. “We wrecked in the heat race and ended up taking the final transfer spot without a nose wing and a tire going flag. During the feature we spun, but came back to ninth. The team showed great resilience and I thank them for their hard work. If we had a better start to the night, I truly think we could have had a better finish, but we made the best of it.”
On Memorial Day, the No. 89G was ready to take on Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana. Gravel began the night by qualifying 16th, which put him on the pole of a heat race, which he won to earn a spot in the dash. In the dash, he secured the 10th starting spot in the main event.
Gravel started 10th, but he did not stay there for long. During the early laps of the race, he quickly moved through the field passing veteran drivers such as Joey Saldana and Sammy Swindell. By lap 12, the Watertown, Conn., native was in the top-five and tracking down Steve Kinser.
Gravel dove under Kinser on a restart and outran the 20-time series champion for several laps. Gravel used double-file restarts to his advantage to race his way into the top-three and tracked down Kraig Kinser trying to take away the runner-up spot. The final restart of the event was Gravel’s downfall as both Kyle Larson and Steve Kinser was able to get by the young driver. As a result, the Connecticut native finished fifth, which was his fourth Top-Five finish of the season with the World of Outlaws.
“It feels good to show that we can run with these guys,” Gravel stated. “We were consistent tonight and definitely are looking forward to racing with them more next weekend. Each restart tonight went well except for the last one. That is the one that mattered and it did not work out the way I would have liked. I cannot complain about a Top-Five finish tonight, after starting 10th. I just wish that last restart would have gone our way.”
An Outlaw Weekend
This weekend, Gravel will be taking his momentum to Attica Raceway Park in Ohio to face the World of Outlaws on Friday, June 1. Earlier this season the Connecticut driver, made two starts at the high-banked bullring with the All Stars.
“Last time we were at Attica things did not go as well as I would have liked,” explained Gravel. “Hopefully we can time trial well and make it through the heat. That is the biggest key to doing well since the field is usually so competitive. Our goal is to focus and do a better job than when we were there earlier this year. It is a tough place and you have to get a good pill draw for qualifying because the track can go away quickly and the competition is so tough there.”
After Attica, Gravel will be making the trip northeast to Michigan on Saturday June 2 to a track that he has not run on before – I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa. Prior to this season the former half-mile facility was reconfigured to a three-eighths-mile.
“I have never been to I-96 before, but I am looking forward to running another short track,” Gravel said. “It is all about momentum out here. If you are running good and the car is good, you can go to almost any track big or small and have a good night. I am going to have my elbows up this weekend and approach this track in the same way that I would any other.”
This season Gravel has faced two other tracks for the first time with the Outlaws – Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky and Missouri State Fair Speedway. In each one of those starts, Gravel was able to learn a lot about the tracks and finish in the Top-10.
David Gravel and DDR Motorsports would like to thank: J&J Chassis, JRC Transportation, Kistler Engines, Musco Fuels and P&M Transportation for their continued support.
Keep up with all the action:
Follow David Gravel on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DavidGravel89g and receive live updates from the track each and every race night. Results are also posted to the David Gravel Racing site on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gravel-Racing/143538695709198. Also visit, www.DavidGravel89.com for racing updates.
Article Credit: DDR Motorsports PR
Submitted By: Admin Account
