STEPPING UP ON THE PODIUM AGAIN THIS SEASON: A SOLID THIRD PLACE FINISH AT BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY FOR GRAVEL AND THE JJR #41 TEAM AS THEY CRUISE IN THE GARDEN STATE OF NEW JERSEY
SWEDESBORO, NEW JERSEY (May 21, 2019) – On a beautiful late day in May, Philip and the JJR crew packed up from their stay at Tammy and Kyle Boltz’s Jonestown KOA and headed to New Jersey . . . not to go to the beach but rather to race at Bridgeport Speedway located in Swedesboro for the first time in 16 years, but for the first time on their 3/8th mile track as all the previous visits were on the 5/8th mile outer track. There were 27 cars settled into the pit area ready to attack the track in front of a soon to be packed house.
David Gravel would climb into the cockpit of his Maxim Racing chassis and buckle into his Simpson Race Products as he would be the 22nd car out for his two time trial laps. Danny Dietrich, who went out fifth in the time trial order, set the bar with a quick lap at 13.330 seconds with Ian Madsen close behind at 13.424 seconds. But the hot shoe from Watertown, Connecticut got his Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/High Performance Lubricants hotrod rolling and took the green flag. The horses were hustling under the hood in his Kistler Racing Engine and they sprinted across the start/finish line the first lap in 13.531 seconds. They carried the momentum forward and he improved the second time around with a lap of 13.384 seconds, which catapulted him into the second spot on the speed charts overall. A great start to the night for the forty-one team!
The heat race lineups were posted as the cars would be split into three heat races. David Gravel and the Durst Inc./Chalk Stix Torsion Bars #41 Maxim would start from the pole position in the second heat race. Daryn Pittman would share the front row with Gravel as the two talented drivers would be followed by Jason Sides, J.J. Grasso, Shane Stewart, Brent Marks, Brock Zearfoss, Sheldon Haudenschild and Zachery Burd. When the flagman replaced the yellow flag with the green one, Pittman drove from the outside of the front row into the lead over Gravel. Gravel stayed focused and turned a series of good laps, but just could not catch the Roth Motorsports #83. Pittman took the heat race win over Gravel by 1.764 seconds as the top two finishers advanced on to the DIRTvision Fast Pass Dash. Rounding out the transfer positions were Grasso, Stewart and Marks with Zearfoss locking down the sixth and final transfer position.
Securing a spot in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, where he would start from the inside of row three, with Donny Schatz to his right. Danny Dietrich jumped into the lead early over Carson Macedo and led the entire distance as he took the Dash victory over Macedo, Schatz, and Daryn Pittman with Ryan Smith and Davis Gravel rounding out the finishing order after breaking a left rear shock.
The double horn sounded calling the teams to the staging area on the track for the beginning of the 35-lap feature event. The fans were excited. The drivers were eager to put on a show. And when the green flag dropped they did just that as all 24 of their 410 engine filled the Jersey air with the sweet sound of their roaring sprint cars. Gravel was on the move early as he quickly moved into the third position when the field crossed the line to complete lap one in his Weikert’s Livestock/K&N Filters #41 Maxim. Dietrich was leading over Macedo and Gravel, but the difference was shrinking each and every lap as the top three were racing together. With ten laps in the books, Gravel moved into the runner-up position with the #48 set in his viewfinder. He was closing quick and things were about to get interesting when with 12 laps in the books a yellow flag was thrown for Dominic Scelzi who rolled to a stop in turn four. A double file restart brought the field to the green with Dietrich surging into the lead over Gravel. The racing was fast and furious as these professionals were up on the wheel and putting on an incredibly entertaining show. Side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel action had everyone on the edge of their seat as the track began to take rubber and widen out. It was racy. Dietrich was continuing to set the pace as Macedo passed Gravel back for the runner up position with ten laps to go. But it was Donny Schatz who was now on the move as he passed Gravel, then Macedo and was chasing down Dietrich. He would pass Dietrich for the lead, but Dietrich would have none of it on his birthday and passed him back with one to go to take the win over Schatz. Gravel got back around Macedo for the third and final step on the podium with Macedo and Pittman rounding out the top five. From the frontstretch David Gravel explained, “I wish I would have moved my wing back earlier with three laps to go as we were really fast.” He continued, “Phil, Patrick and Tyler gave me a good car. If they keep doing that we are going to get some more wins this year!” 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.