STAR SPANGLED START IN SOUTH DAKOTA: A FIFTH-PLACE FINISH AT BROWN COUNTY SPEEDWAY STARTS THE INDEPENDENCE DAY EXTENDED WEEKEND OF RACING FOR DAVID GRAVEL AND THE JJR #41 TEAM
ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA (July 3, 2019) – After consistent rain throughout the Midwest over the past few months, the dark clouds finally gave way to more welcoming white puffy clouds backed by blue skies and sunshine to welcome David Gravel and the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Series stars to Brown County Speedway for the Star Spangled Showdown at the 1/3-mile, high banked track. It was the WoO series first return to the track in three years and their third overall with the first being in 1985. There were 22 cars set to take to the track on this visit with the goal of entertaining the many fans in the grandstands.
The Durst/Fuel Safe Racing Cells #41 Maxim would be the second car out for two laps against the clock in time trials. Gravel buckled in to his Simpson Race Products belts and when Paige Polyak finished her two laps he was primed and ready to go. He pounded the gas and his Kistler Engines power came to life as he got up on his custom, carbon fiber IPC steering wheel. His first lap was timed at 11.265 seconds, but he was relentless and stayed on the accelerator searching for more speed. He found some and was quicker the second time around with a lap of 11.173 seconds. The second and faster of his two laps ended up being 11th quick overall on the night.
The Connecticut born driver would start on the outside of row two in the second heat race. The heat race lineup was loaded as Brad Sweet and Daryn Pittman were in row one, Kraig Kinser shared row two with Gravel, Carson Macedo and Shane Stewart were in row three, and Brendan Mullen rounded out the starting grid. Sweet would drive into the lead as Kinser used the bottom to sneak into second under Pittman. The red was displayed when Mullen got upside down in turn two bringing the high speed action to a halt. When the engines fired again and they returned to speed, Gravel drove the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/AutoMeter #41 into the third position with an inside move to get by Pittman on the low side of turn two. He maintained his speed and position as he was chasing Kinser for the runner-up position. Sweet took the win over Kinser and Gravel with Pittman, Stewart and Macedo completing the finishing order for the cars who took the checkers as Mullen went pit side following his accident.
While there is an estimated 44 million drivers going to be out on the roads across the country for the midsummer extended weekend to observe Independence Day, there were only 22 drivers in this field for the 35-lap Star Spangled Showdown feature event. David Gravel would get started from the eighth starting position aboard the Durst/Schoenfeld Headers #41 Maxim. Logan Schuchart would waste little time driving his Shark Racing/Drydene #1s into the top spot when the green flag waved in the air. Schuchart would control the top spot early and through the middle stages of the race. Gravel was patient, but methodically, working his way forward. He kept the forty-one in the mix and was very competitive. The racing during the feature was interrupted early and often with yellow flag conditions as drivers were running right on the edge resulting in cars spinning over the banking in the turns, which do not have walls, or trying to maximize how low they could go on the bottom side. Officials decided to forego double file restarts, electing to go with single file restarts after each yellow flag. Gravel took advantage of each restart and at the midway point he drove into the top five. His lap times were consistently fast, and he was in a battle for position with Brent Marks and Daryn Pittman for positions four through six. Schuchart unwillingly surrendered the lead to Sweet late in the race on lap 31. Sweet led the remaining laps and collected the win over Schuchart who came home second, Donny Schatz finished third, and Marks and Gravel rounded out the top five in the Star Spangled Showdown. Another top five 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; 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.