BATTLING DOWN BY THE RIVER: A TOUGH NIGHT TO CONCLUDE THE NITTANY SHOWDOWN WEEKEND AT PORT ROYAL FINDS GRAVEL AND THE JJR #41 TEAM SALVAGING A 21ST PLACE FINISH AFTER THE 30-LAPS AT SPEED

PORT ROYAL, PENNSYLVANIA (October 10, 2020) – David Gravel and the Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) #41 team were back at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday night after finishing eighth in the Nittany Showdown opener less than 24 hours prior at The Speed Palace. The weather was again picturesque around the Juniata County racetrack with people fishing in the nearby Juniata River as the teams unloaded their equipment in preparation for some high speed action around the always improving half mile facility. The Weikert’s Livestock/Staunton Union Stockyard (SU) Maxim was glimmering in the sun ready for action. There were 51 teams positioned throughout the pit area that sits off of turn four each focused on turning in their best performance as they chased the winner’s portion of the purse.

The field of entries was again split into two equal groups for time trial qualifying action. David would push off 14th in Flight B for his high speed laps around the lightning quick surface. He zipped up his orange Durst Simpson Race Products driving suit and climbed into the cockpit of the forty-one. After snapping his Indy Performance Composites (IPC) carbon fiber steering wheel into place he was ready to get his elbows up as he pulled the FK Rod Ends/Team Jack Foundation #41 onto the track and built up momentum for one mile against the clock. He carried his speed under the green flag and was determined and focused to get the most out of his Kistler Engines/Engler Machine and Tool power under the hood. He was maneuvering his high speed machine to hit his marks and stopped the clock the first time around in 16.647 seconds. Hammer down, he continued to challenge himself at high speed as the talented driver and time trailer improved his time the second time around with a lap of 16.564 seconds. His fastest time was 9th quick overall in Flight B.

The World of Outlaws (WoO) officials tabulated the lineups for the four Drydene heat races which landed Gravel and the forty-one team in the third heat race. The tenacious driver would start from the fifth position in the Buckwalter Trucking/Chalk Stix Torsion Bars #41 Maxim with Brian Brown pacing beside him in the third row. Carson Macedo would start from the pole position with Anthony Macri to his outside. Brock Zearfoss and Kerry Madsen sat in row two with Tony Stewart and Steve Buckwalter lining up in row four, as Kyle Moody and Nicole Bower completed the starting lineup. Macedo darted into the lead and rode the high side of the track as he started to build his lead. Gravel was holding down the fifth position and was pursuing Madsen for the fourth spot. He tracked him down and made the pass on lap 2. Macedo was in command and Madsen was not letting Gravel out of his sights. Madsen passed Gravel back for the position on lap 4 and started to put some distance between himself and the forty-one. Macedo took the win over Macri, Zearfoss and Madsen with Gravel locking down the final transfer position.

With the feature field set after the night of qualifying. There were 30 laps, or 15 miles, of high speed green flag racing between the drivers who made the starting field and the $15,000 winner’s check at Port Royal Speedway in the finale of the Nittany Showdown. Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp and Nate Repetz had their machine ready for their speed pilot. The track was tricky, so every move was important. David was focused and as he pulled into his 18th starting position in row nine aboard the High Performance Lubricants/Jansen Transportation #41. He had a lot of work to do, but he is always positive and ready to take on a challenge. On the initial start it was Lance Dewease to the lead as Gravel swung his car to the outside trying to take advantage of some early opportunities to no avail. HE continued to battle in dirty air and was struggling to make any passes. Dewease led the first 10 laps before surrendering the lead to Kyle Larson who took advantage of the situation after Dewease made contact with the wall between turns one and two. Larson was doing his thing and racing through lap traffic with ease. Meanwhile, Dewease was running in second but soon would have the hard charging Brent Marks to contend with as the CJB #5 was coming fast. Marks would take over the second position on lap 18 and kept his momentum up as he started to chase down Kyle Larson. He caught him and made the pass for the lead on the high side, but unfortunately the race winning pass was negated when the yellow flag came out for a slowing Kerry Madsen off turn two. Larson restarted from the front in the single file order and raced to the finish line first over Marks, Dewease and Logan Schuchart with Sheldon Haudenschild completing the top five. David salvaged a 21st finish to end the Nittany Showdown.

Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution; Weikert’s Livestock; J.R.C. Transportation, Inc.; Durst Inc.; Maxim Racing; The Boyd Family; Pro Powder Coating (PPC); Waco Metal; High Performance Lubricants, LLC; Team Jack Foundation; Mark Burch Motorsports; Tiger Towing; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; AutoMeter; Bell Racing USA; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Crow Enterprizes, Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.; Factory Kahne FK Shocks; Fibreworks Composites; FK Rod Ends; Fuel Safe Racing Cells; Greber Racing Components; Hoosier Racing Tire; ISC Racers Tape; Jansen Transportation; Kistler Racing Engines; KSE Racing Products; LogoDaddy Graphics; Max Papis Innovations (MPI); MSD Performance; RaceDiecast.com; Schoenfeld Headers; Shell Shock Paint; Simpson Race Products; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Walker Performance Filtration; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; and Winters Performance Products.

To stay connected with Jason Johnson Racing (JJR), go to www.jasonjohnsonracing.com.

To stay up-to-date with David Gravel and his success and journey on and off the track, as well as to purchase his gear and merchandise, go to www.DavidGravel89.com.