SAUK
Rapids, Minn. — June 12, 2015 — It is not very often that a young driver has an
advantage when competing against drivers that have been racing longer than
they’ve been alive, especially when it comes to facing the World of Outlaws
Sprint Car Series. That is the equation that awaits David Gravel each and every
night when he competed with the World of Outlaws. For the 22-year-old, about as
even of a playing field as can be expected awaits on Tuesday, June 16 as the
series is set for an inaugural event at Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids,
Minnesota, as Marthaler Chevrolet of Glenwood Presents the World of Outlaws.
Every single driver competing full-time with the series will be seeing the
venue for the first time.
Gravel, who hails from Watertown, Conn., was victorious in a debut event
for the series in Minnesota in 2013. That night he started on the pole and
paced all 30 circuits to pick up the win over Daryn Pittman, who would go on to
win the series title later that season. Three-time series champion Sammy Swindell
finished third that night.
“Going to new places is something that we as drivers really enjoy,” said
Gravel. “You get a couple of hots laps to try to figure it out quicker than
anyone else. I was pretty fortunate to get a win in Minnesota a couple of years
ago at a new place and that is bragging rights, since there is only one
inaugural winner at a track. Granite City (Speedway) sounds like a very racy
track and there should be a solid field of cars there.”
Gravel, who drives for the Destiny Motorsports team, started the year in
a different car and is continuing to gel with his new team. The pairing picked
up their best finish to date on Memorial Day weekend, with a second-place run
in Charlotte. They followed that up with a third-place showing in Ohio a week
later.
“When you
are confident in yourself you know what you have to do,” he explained. “I know
what I am capable of and can do at the end of the day. I’m still on the Outlaws
tour, so everything is good at the end of the day. I didn’t panic when the
changes were happening and the next day I had a new ride. Sometimes that’s how
this business works. Everything happens for a reason and I think we are headed
in the right direction.”
Gravel,
who won five races last season, including the prestigious National Open, has
set small goals each race night as he builds consistency. He seeks to make the
most of every on-track session, whether it’s hot laps, heat races, the dash or
main events.
“We made
the dash at Charlotte and that was the first time I made the dash in this car
and we ended up second and had a shot to win,” stated Gravel. “I think you need
more times on the track each night to be ready for the feature, so getting in
that dash is important to help. There are a lot of variables throughout the
night, especially after the heat race as the track surface changes.”
When
Gravel joined the Destiny Motorsports team in April, long-time sprint car
mechanic Scott Benic was turning the wrenches. With a business of his own to
run, Benic welcomed veteran crew chief Lee Stauffer recently to take on the
day-to-day operation of the team. Benic is still heavily involved in the
decision-making process and team management. The team has been burning the
midnight oil to prepare for the current stretch of 14 races in 22 nights.
“The
rainouts helped us, because we were in no shape to run 20 races in 30 nights,”
said Gravel. “We were able to get caught up on things like work area items and
spares. All of that stuff helps. I’m confident right now and my guys are
confident. If we have a week off, that’s okay, because that helps us get rested
up and ready to go. We obviously want to race and the races that have been
rained out have been rescheduled, so it’s not like we’ll be racing any less.”
Entering
the inaugural World of Outlaws event at Granite City Speedway, Presented by
Marthaler Chevrolet of Greenwood on Tuesday, June 16, Gravel is ninth in
points. He has 13 top-10 finishes on the season, with four of those being
top-five performances. Gravel also has stopped the clock fastest in time trials
once in 2015.
“I just
want to win races and see where we end up,” Gravel said. “I don’t like to
points race too much. If you are running ninth see what you can do to get
eighth. If you are running second with a couple to go, see what you can do to
try and win. Every night you try to finish the best you can and at the end of
the night you know that you gave it your all and try to figure out what to do
to finish even better next time.”
Tickets for Marthaler Chevrolet of Glenwood Presents the World of Outlaws
Sprint Car Series at Granite City Speedway on Tuesday, June 16 can be purchased
online at: http://slspromotions.ticketforce.com
and at the track on race day.
For more information on tickets visit slspromotions.ticketforce.com.
Twitter: @SLS_Promotions
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Promotions LLC