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Gravel Wins National Open

David Gravel Wins National Open but not Without Some Controversy

Scores his first victory at Williams Grove and fifth of the Outlaws season; leads the Outlaws to a podium sweep

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - Oct. 4, 2014 - David Gravel led the Outlaws to a sweep of the podium as he picked up the biggest win of his young career at Saturday night's $50,000-to-win National Open at the historic Williams Grove Speedway. It was his first win at the track and his fifth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season.

The win did not come without a little controversy though.

With seven laps to go, as Gravel, then in second, was locked in a pitched battle with Stevie Smith for the lead, the two dove into turn one and Gravel made contact with the back of Smith's car. The contact helped send the 68-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series winner Smith sideways to the bottom of the track. Smith recovered but not before losing the lead and several more positions.

"I was trying to go outside of him every time and you've got to slow down to run the bottom," Gravel said following the race. "It's so narrow on the straightaway so you hit the brakes. I just got him good enough and got him sideways."

Gravel went on to hold off current points leader Donny Schatz for the win.

"It really sucks that I got into the back of Stevie. It does feel good to win but obviously people are going to boo me," Gravel said. "I'm running right behind him, trying to get around him, just racing for an inch there. I feel really, really bad for him. It takes away the win for me. I'm happy I won, but it just doesn't feel right."

Smith, whose car owner Fred Rahmer won an emotional victory at the National Open last season as he retired from sprint car racing, said that after running a clean race all night he was sorry to have the night end the way it did.

"Basically, he wanted to win that race," Smith said of Gravel. "I can't say he was driving over his head, he had a really fast racecar, but he took me out."

Smith said he was really disappointed for his team and for the hometown crowd.

"Being at our home track, we've had a very good year here. We're very thankful for that but this is a hard one to lose. (Gravel) could have got me back fair and square, but running into me, that's another problem."

Smith led five laps in his Miller Brothers Chevrolet car. He has one Outlaws victory this season at Lincoln Speedway.

Gravel started the feature from the pole in his Roth Motorsports car and held off Lucas Wolfe and Dale Blaney in the opening laps. By lap 11, as Wolfe and Blaney battled for second, Smith, who started the feature in sixth, slid past both drivers coming out of turn two and took over the position. A caution came out on lap 15 and bunched the field back together.

When the race returned to green, Smith and Gravel began a 17-lap battle for the lead. Farther back, Donny Schatz had advanced forward two positions from his seventh place starting spot, while Daryn Pittman struggled to maintain in fourth.

A yellow flag flew on lap 27 as Greg Hodnett stopped in the middle of turns one and two. This led to an open red as the race exceeded the maximum number of laps run for fuel. The moment proved pivotal for Smith and Schatz.

On the restart, Smith got around Gravel for the lead as Schatz moved into third. Smith and Gravel raced back and forth with Gravel good on the high side of turns three and four, but Smith blocking the lane every time. Then, on lap 34, came the contact that relegated Smith to a ninth place finish. In the closing laps, Pittman got around Blaney for the third spot and the final position on the podium.

"It's been a crazy year how things worked out," Gravel said. "I was patient and trying to run as good as I can and a ride came along and I got one. I can't thank Dennis and Teresa Roth enough for giving me this opportunity as well as my crew members Scotty, Troy and Brandon. It's been a dream come true. I think we'll be full time with the Outlaws next year and hopefully I can gain some fans back next time I come (to Williams Grove)."

Schatz, who has won four of the last seven races with his Tony Stewart Racing STP / Armor All team, was particularly fast through the middle groove throughout the night. He said as the feature wore on his car just got better and better, but he did not have the traffic he needed to make a run at Gravel.

"We just started getting going. The fuel just started coming off the car and it started to get a little bit better," Schatz said. "I just missed it a little - I gave (my crew chief Ricky Warner) some bad information and he's got to get good information if he's going to make the right changes. We were able to get ourselves a decent finish but we really wanted to win the race - no question. I gave it everything I had. I tried running a groove no one else was running there. That's all I really had for chance. We had a lot of open race track - we didn't get to a lot of lap traffic."

Pittman, who has five Outlaws wins at Williams Grove but has never won the National Open, credited his Great Clips team for quick work following engine trouble right after he scored the quick qualifying time early in the night. Ultimately, he said, throughout the feature he did not have the consistency he needed to win.

"This was a night we had circled on our calendar that we really felt like we could contend and put ourselves in a position to win," said the Kasey Kahne Racing driver. "We just didn't have car at the beginning and took too long at the end. We'll learn from it and move on but it's definitely been a great year."

Schatz's lead in the battle for the championship dropped slightly Saturday night to 285 points over Pittman. With his win tonight, Gravel moved up to ninth in points, passing Kraig Kinser.

Alan Krimes took home the KSE Hard Charger Award after advancing 16 positions to finish in 10th.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to action during NAPA Super Dirt Week XLIII at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Oct. 11. As the season continues to wind down, the series then heads to Fremont (Ohio) Speedway on Oct. 18.

Follow the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.

WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTES: David Gravel's win was his first at Williams Grove Speedway and his fifth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season… Daryn Pittman picked up his fifth quick time of the season with a lap of 16.883 during qualifying… David Gravel, Donny Schatz and Daryn Pittman led an Outlaw sweep of the National Open podium… Shane Stewart, Lance Dewease, Donny Schatz, Craig Dollansky and Danny Holtgraver all won their heat races tonight… Alan Krimes received the KSE Hard Charger Award after advancing 16 positions to finish in 10th.

SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 24 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 6, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 19, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 27, I-96 Speedway on May 31, River Cities Speedway on June 20, 34 Raceway on June 27, Cedar Lake Speedway on June 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 15, Autodrome Drummond on July 26, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 27, Ohsweken Speedway on July 29, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 9, Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 12, Nodak Speedway on Aug. 17, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, Skagit Speedway on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30, Grays Harbor Raceway on Sept. 1, Kokomo Speedway on Sept. 16, Terre Haute Action Track on Sept. 17, Bloomington Speedway on Sept. 26 and Berlin Raceway on Sept. 27); Daryn Pittman - 13(Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Calistoga Speedway on April 6, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 19, Williams Grove Speedway on May 16 and May 17, Orange County Fair Speedway, May 18, New Egypt Speedway, May 20, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4 and 5, Lincoln Speedway on July 17, Fulton Speedway on July 23, River Cities Speedway on Aug. 15 and Southern Oregon Speedway on Sept. 3); Joey Saldana - 7 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 12, Salina Highbanks on April 25, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 23, I-80 Speedway on June 6, Jackson Speedway on June 13, Eldora Speedway on Sept. 19 and Lernerville Speedway on Sept. 20); Kerry Madsen - 6 (Stockton Dirt track on March 22, El Paso Speedway Park on April 15, Lakeside Speedway on June 7, Eldora Speedway on July 12 and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 3 and Antioch Speedway on Sept. 8); David Gravel - 5(Merced Speedway on March 28, Eldora Speedway on May 3, Wilmot Raceway on May 9, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 20 and Williams Grove Speedway on Oct. 5); Paul McMahan - 5(The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 5, Tri-State Speedway on May 10, Limaland Motorsports Park on July 9, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 1 and Deer Creek Speedway on Sept. 13); Brad Sweet - 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Tucson International Raceway on March 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 5, Knoxville Raceway on June 14 and Beaver Dam Raceway on June 28);Cody Darrah - 2(Kings Speedway on April 11 and Lernerville Speedway on July 15); Shane Stewart - 2 (Eldora Speedway on May 2 and Willamette Speedway on Sept. 2); Sammy Swindell - 2(Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on April 26 and Eldora Speedway on July 11); Rico Abreu - 1(Thunderbowl Raceway on March 15); Jonathan Allard - 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway, Sept. 6); Christopher Bell - 1(Jacksonville Speedway on May 7); Dale Blaney - 1 (Attica Raceway Park on May 30); Roger Crockett - 1(I-94 Speedway on June 21); Lance Dewease - 1 (July 20 at Williams Grove Speedway); Greg Hodnett - 1 (July 18 at Williams Grove Speedway); Mark Dobmeier - 1 (Huset's Speedway on July 2); Kraig Kinser - 1 (Clay County Fair Speedway on Sept. 12);Steve Kinser - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 16); Carson Macedo - 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 5); Stevie Smith - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 14).

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