There isn’t a better sprint car driver built for racing on big tracks today than David Gravel.
He proved that on Friday night by winning the first of two World of Outlaws Sprint Car events at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.
“I think we’ll kick ass at big tracks all year,” Gravel said in victory lane. “This engine program is super stout, and it shows.”
He’s used to that. Gravel has won at tracks like Terre Haute with CJB Motorsports. He captured the 2019 Knoxville Nationals with Jason Johnson Racing. Tonight, he conquered Bristol in dominant fashion.
The Watertown, Connecticut native swept the night, setting the quick time in qualifying, winning the dash, and winding up in victory lane.
He lead all 25 laps, adding his name to the Bristol history books.
“It’s pretty cool,” Gravel said. “It’s an iconic place that everyone talks about as a sprint car driver. I think it’s great for everyone in motorsports. “We had a great car since we unloaded yesterday. After the Dash I told them not to change a damn thing. Sweeping the night just shows how good of a team you have.”
Gravel got out to a big start.
By the time he passed the start/finish line on lap seven, Gravel had reached the back of the field. He went to start making passes, but had an extreme amount of difficulty getting around cars.
It allowed Aaron Reutzel – who came from ninth – to close the gap on him.
If a caution wouldn’t have come out with five laps remaining, Reutzel might have been in victory lane instead.
“To go from ninth to second and be two laps away from taking the lead…” Reutzel said. “He couldn’t lap cars and my car was so good, I could go anywhere. Once that caution came out, he had clean track and was back to being good again. We needed (the race to go) green-to-checkered.”
Lapping cars – or passing cars at all – was really the only weakness for the No. 2 team all night, as crazy as that sounds.
Gravel lead his heat to the green flag. He drew the first starting position in the dash. The first driver he passed all night was Sam Hafertepe Jr. for the lead two laps into the race.
“We had no notes or no feeling what (passing people) was going to feel like,” Gravel said. “Sometimes that happens in sprint car racing where you can’t do anything wrong and you get a good dash draw. We had no experience in dirty air at all. It’s always something to think about.”
Jason Johnson Racing’s Carson Macedo completed the podium while Hafertepe Jr. and Donny Schatz rounded out the top five.
The win moves both Gravel and Reutzel up a spot in the points standings, with Reutzel entering the top five along with the Rookie of the Year standings and Gravel moving up to the second spot behind Sweet.
“Just to show the speed we have… it’s one of the most important things in sprint car racing,” Gravel said.
The World of Outlaws will return to the track on Saturday – with weather threatening to delay the show to Sunday. As always the racing can be streamed live on DirtVision.com and ARD will have full at-the-track coverage.
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Results
Bristol Throwdown Night 1
1. David Gravel
2. Aaron Reutzel
3. Carson Macedo
4. Sam Hafertepe Jr.
5. Donny Schatz
6. Kyle Larson
7. Gio Scelzi
8. Brad Sweet
9. Paul McMahan
10. Brock Zearfoss
11. Sheldon Haudenschild
12. Spencer Bayston
13. James McFadden
14. Kraig Kinser
15. Cory Eliason
16. Tyler Courtney
17. Tim Shaffer
18. Ryan Taylor
19. Derek Hagar
20. Logan Schuchart
21. Wayne Johnson
22. Jac Haudenschild
23. Parker Price-Miller
24. Rico Abreu
| World of Outlaws Sprint Car Standings | ||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Brad Sweet | 2014 | – | |
| 2 | David Gravel | 1932 | -82 | |
| 3 | Sheldon Haudenschild | 1916 | -98 | |
| 4 | Carson Macedo | 1910 | -104 | |
| 5 | Aaron Reutzel ® | 1892 | -122 | |
| 6 | Logan Schuchart | 1880 | -134 | |
| 7 | Donny Schatz | 1836 | -178 | |
| 8 | Kraig Kinser | 1768 | -246 | |
| 9 | Brock Zearfoss ® | 1692 | -322 | |
