PODIUM IN THE PIGEON HILLS OF PA: A STRONG SHOWING OF SPEED AT LINCOLN SPEEDWAY ALL NIGHT PUTS GRAVEL AND THE JJR #41 MAKE-A-WISH TEAM ON THE PODIUM WITH A THIRD PLACE FINISH IN THE GETTYSBURG CLASH

ABBOTTSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA (May 15, 2019) – A refreshing sight with crisp blue skies overhead and no rain welcomed David Gravel and the stars of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series to Lincoln Speedway, which is situated in the Pigeon Hills of Pennsylvania, to tussle with the Pennsylvania Posse for the 45th time at the track. There were 43 cars registered for a chance to compete for the checkered flag in the Gettysburg Clash. The Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) #41 team had a very special crew member on this night, Ayden Gora, working on the Make-A-Wish/Buckwalter Trucking Maxim in the pit area. He also was recognized as a Lincoln Speedway Feature Winner on the front straightaway before the DIRTvision Fast Pass Dash. A deserving honor for a special person who has incredible passion, courage and a supportive family.

With a full pit area, the field was split into two flights for time trials that would take place in front of a packed house. The Connecticut native would be the seventh car out in Flight B in the Jonestown KOA/Greber Racing Components (GRC) #41 Maxim and would make the first lap count as he laid down a quick lap at 13.349 seconds. That fast lap would endure the test of time as he was the quickest driver in Flight B to start off the night.

He would start from the pole in DRYDENE Heat #3 with Daryn Pittman’s Roth Motorsports #83 to his outside and a field on talent behind with drivers like Shane Stewart, Anthony Macri, Kyle Moody, Alan Krimes, Carson Macedo and last year’s Gettysburg Clash winner Freddie Rahmer. The field rolled to the green flag and Gravel stepped on the accelerator and his Kistler Racing Engines power came to life surging him into the top spot as Pittman was giving chase. When the checkered flag flew over the field, Gravel left little doubt as he trucked to the heat race win aboard the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Make-A-Wish #41 over Pittman, Chad Trout and a hard-charging Shane Stewart with Anthony Macri rounding out the top five.

Earning a spot in his seventh dash event this season, a 41.18% success rate, David Gravel would have the good fortune of pulling a “2” pill which put him on the front row of the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash with the always formidable Lance Dewease sitting on the pole.  The front two speed chauffeurs were followed by Jacob Allen, Lucas Wolfe, Daryn Pittman, Tim Shaffer, Brad Sweet and Ian Madsen for the six laps of speed. When the green flag waved it was Gravel to the lead over Dewease. He had the forty-one locked down and was making hay on the top side building a good lead over the #69k. He would explore the track surface on the bottom and crossed the finish line first in the Weikert’s Livestock/Buckwalter Trucking Maxim to earn the pole in the feature event as he took the win over Dewease, Shaffer, Pittman and Brad Sweet.

With 35 laps standing between him and the Gettysburg Clash trophy, Philip Dietz and the JJR crew made some last minute adjustments and bolted on some fresh, new Hoosier Racing Tires for the finale. After the traditional four-wide salute to the rabid sprint car fans in Pennsylvania it was time to go racing at Lincoln Speedway! Gravel wasted little time taking the lead aboard his J.R.C. Transportation/High Performance Lubricants #41 with Lance Dewease giving chase. Gravel would build a two car advantage in the early stages of the race, but Dewease was not going away aboard the Don Kreitz Jr./Davey Brown wrenched #69k. As they approached lap traffic, the Connecticut born racer weaved through traffic like a taxi driver on the streets of New York City. He was using the top side at times to make his passes and eventually moved to the bottom to attempt to make some ground up. Dewease was able to close the gap and on lap 19 he made the pass for the lead in turns one and two as Gravel missed his line on the bottom slightly opening the door for the #69k. David would keep pace with Dewease, but was unable to make a pass before two late race cautions flew. On the last restart Gravel turned right on the start to miss the cone scrubbing off some momentum giving Ryan Smith a lane to steal the runner-up position away. Dewease would go on to win the Gettysburg Clash with Smith coming home second and Gravel crossing the finish line in third. It was the driver and JJR #41 team’s third consecutive top five finish. A great run for the forty-one!

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; Schoenfeld Headers; Shell Shock Paint; Simpson Race Products; T-FAB Custom Metal Fabrication; Vortex Racing Products; Weld Wheels; Wilwood Racing; Winters Performance Products; and, www.racediecast.com.

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

To learn more about David Gravel, and stay up to date with his success and journey, go to www.DavidGravel89.com.