LOCKED AND LOADED INTO THE FINALE: GRAVEL AND THE JJR #41 TEAM SET QUICK TIME AGAIN BEFORE SECURING A SIXTH PLACE FINISH ON THE SECOND NIGHT OF THE JACKSON NATIONALS TO LOCK INTO THE BIG SHOW
JACKSON, MINNESOTA (June 28, 2019) – After a strong second place run to open the 41st Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals, David Gravel and the JJR #41 crew were back at the Jackson Motorplex for the second night of high speed action at the beautiful facility with his fellow World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series stars. There were 41 cars parked in the pit area with each team primed to perform and accumulate more points in the Multi-day show. The prize for the teams is always to win when they race, but strategically at this event it is also important to accumulate as many points as possible each night with the goal of being one of the top four in overall points at the end of the first two nights to lock your team into the championship finale on Saturday night. After night one, David Gravel had the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Durst, Inc. #41 Maxim sitting second overall in the Jackson National points.
The field was once again split into two groups for time trials. David and the JJR #41 would once again be the thirteenth car out in Flight A. After setting quick time overall during the first night of action, the Watertown, Connecticut driver was ready to see if he could repeat as the fastest driver of the night. Logan Schuchart was sitting atop of the time trial list with his lap of 12.798 seconds when Gravel’s Kistler Engine/Engler Machine & Tool power came to life. David took the green and charged into the turn one. His Hoosier Racing Tires were digging in and providing the traction to propel him forward. When he crossed the finish line after his first lap, the stopwatch read 12.782 seconds to put him at the top of the speed charts. Not content, the talented wheelman continued to build speed and improved his time the second lap at 12.744 seconds. When the final qualifier took the checkered flag, David was quick time in Flight A and overall for the second night in a row. Mission accomplished.
He would once again sit on the pole for the first and fastest heat race which was absolutely loaded with talent. Sharing the front row with Gravel in the Team Jack Foundation/Tiger Towing #41 was Brad Sweet in his KKR NAPA #49. The front two stars were followed in the starting order by Giovanni Scelzi, Paige Polyak, Jason Sides, Terry McCarl, Austin McCarl, Wayne Johnson, R.J. Johnson, Chris Martin and Jack Croaker. When the yellow lights dimmed and the green lights illuminated Gravel dropped his right foot and powered into the lead over Sweet. With a clear track in front of him, he hit his lines and took advantage of the clean air flowing over his Vortex Racing Products wings to show off his JJR colors and sponsorship partners. He had the forty-one flying and took the win after eight laps over Sweet with Polyak, Terry McCarl and Scelzi locking down the top five transfer spots to the feature.
Securing one of the eight spots in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, his starting spot would be determined when he reached his hand into the NOS Energy Drink can to pull a number. That number was a ‘5’, Jaxx Johnson’s favorite number, which put him on the inside of row three for the six lap race. Polesitter Donny Schatz jumped into the early race lead and set the pace. David was fighting to gain speed and positions when the yellow was displayed for Schatz who had an engine expire. When they restarted, Carson Macedo led the field back to the green as David got the J.R.C. Transportation/High Performance Lubricants #41 Maxim back up to speed. Macedo would win the dash over Daryn Pittman, Logan Schuchart, Ian Madsen and Brad Sweet with David Gravel coming home sixth as Jacob Allen and Schatz rounding out the finishing order.
The stands were packed with appreciative fans who were enjoying watching these speedsters do what they do best. Little did they know . . . the best entertainment of the night was still awaiting them in the 30-lap feature event. The 24 teams that qualified for the feature, or A-Main, finished their final preparations as the drivers climbed into their cars and secured their safety belts. Gravel rolled onto the track in the Weikert’s Livestock/Schoenfeld Headers #41 onto the track awaiting a push truck to give him the needed assistance to fire his Kistler Engine with a push on the rear nerf bar. The engines were fired and we were ready to go racing at the Jackson Motorplex on night two of the 41st Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals! When the green flag waved it was Macedo to the front of the pack as Gravel wheeled on the high side. After the first lap, Gravel moved the Dissolvalloy Downhole Revolution/Factory Kahne (FK) Shocks Maxim into the fourth position. The racing was tight even the electronic timing system had to validate it was correct. The next time around Gravel got shuffled back to fifth and eventually fell as low as eighth when he got sideways in turn four on the fifth circuit. Macedo was still leading at the front of the pack, but Gravel had his elbows up and was fighting his way back up. The gap between the leader and the next four drivers giving chase was shrinking as they were navigating through lap traffic. At one point, the top five all could have shared the same blanket if needed as the racing was that close. Gravel took advantage of this and with five laps to go moved from eighth to sixth. Macedo, Logan Schuchart and Daryn Pittman were going at it for the lead, but Macedo prevailed as he collected the win over Pittman and Schuchart with Sweet and Ian Madsen rounding out the top five. David ravel brought the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) #41 Maxim home in sixth. Macedo won the race and when the overall points were accumulated the four drivers who worked hard and performed both nights to lock into Saturday night’s DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and the $41,000-to-win Jackson Nationals championship finale were: (1) #49 Brad Sweet with 685 points; (2) #83 Daryn Pittman with 681 points; (3) #41 David Gravel with 676 points; and, (4) Carson Macedo with 660 points. Another great night for the forty-one team!
We are proud to represent all of our dedicated and loyal supporters:
Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT); Saich Family; Jonestown KOA; 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 Aluminum Cylinder Heads, Inc.; All Pro Auto Reconditioning; AutoMeter; Bell Racing USA; Blackbeard; Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS); Buckwalter Trucking, LLC; C&R Racing; Chalk Stix Torsion Bars; Cody Monoco Racing; 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; K&N Filters; Kaiden Kares; 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; 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.