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Gravel Rallies for Top 10s at Gold Cup Race of Champions and Tom Tarlton Classic

(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2022) – David Gravel produced a trio of top 10s during World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races in California the last two weekends.

The Big Game Motorsports driver hustled from 22nd to seventh at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico to garner the Hard Charger Award a week ago Friday before advancing from 11th to sixth during the Gold Cup Race of Champions finale the following night. He maneuvered from 11th to seventh last Friday during the Tom Tarlton Classic at Keller Auto Speedway.

“We didn’t do anything amazing in California,” he said. “We didn’t gain on Brad (Sweet) like we wanted to, but he’s pretty good out there. We didn’t put ourselves in position to succeed and had to battle for everything we got. I’m happy with the way we battled and salvaged what we could.”

Gravel’s Gold Cup Race of Champions preliminary night began with the second quickest qualifying time before he placed sixth in a heat race. A runner-up result in the Last Chance Showdown earned a transfer into the back of the main event, in which Gravel gained 15 positions for the seventh-place showing.

“We thought we had a good car after qualifying, but the heat race didn’t go very good,” he said. “The B Main didn’t go very good either. I didn’t feel good in either so we threw something at it for the A Main. That surface is very different there. It goes from slick to wet to rubber very fast. It’s hard to have grip there. Luckily the changes we made worked in our favor and we were able to move forward.”

Gravel finished second in a heat race the next night to lock into the 11th starting spot in the Gold Cup Race of Champions finale.

“I fell back early,” he said. “I think we were 18th at one point. The car was really tight. About halfway through it really came to life. I had a bunch of good restarts and got underneath guys and we were able to battle to sixth.”

The lone event last weekend began on Friday with Gravel qualifying 11th quickest at Keller Auto Speedway. He placed third in a heat race to line up 11th in the feature for the second straight race.

“We drew a late pill, which didn’t help us at all in qualifying,” he said. “In the heat we had a pretty good car and I was really close to the second-place guy. Then in the feature it was like Chico. We were bad early and as the fuel load came off and the track got slicker the car came to life and we were able to battle back to salvage a decent finish.”

The team returns to action this Friday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, for the BeFour the Crowns Showdown before a race on Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

“The last time we were at Eldora we won two of the four races so we’re looking forward to going back there,” Gravel said. “I used to race at Sharon with the All Stars years ago, but last year was the first year I ran there in a long time. We were in the hunt and had a shot. I think we finished fourth. It’s a really, really slick track and you have to have the car feeling good there.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 9 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 6 (6); B Main: 2 (1); Feature: 7 (22).

Sept. 10 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 6 (11).

Sept. 16 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 7 (11).

SEASON STATS –

61 races, 6 wins, 33 top fives, 54 top 10s, 58 top 15s, 60 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, for the BeFour the Crowns Showdown and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigGameMotorspt

HUSET’S SPEEDWAY –

Huset’s Speedway is a dirt oval located in Brandon, S.D. The track opened in 1954 and has undergone a large renovation within the last few years, making it a premier destination for both marquee racing events and weekly programs. For more information, visit http://www.HusetsSpeedway.com.

JACKSON MOTORPLEX –

Jackson Motorplex is a 4/10-mile dirt track located in Jackson, Minn. It hosts special events from May through September, including races with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, Midwest Power Series, Tri-State Late Models and more. For more information, visit http://www.JacksonMotorplex.com.

TICKET LINK –

To purchase online tickets for events at either Huset’s Speedway or at Jackson Motorplex, visit http://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.

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