David Gravel started off his 2021 Knoxville Nationals week in the same fashion he did during the 2019 season, which ended with him claiming his first victory in the crown jewel event.
The driver of the No. 2 Huset’s Speedway car stormed away from the field to take the victory in Sunday’s Capitani Classic at Knoxville Raceway – the somewhat of an exhibition race that marks the start of the week in Iowa.
It’s not anything compared to the Knoxville Nationals that run the last four days of this week, but it never hurts to win a race.
“We felt good here,” Gravel said in Victory Lane. “I feel like I’m pretty good around the bottom, and that was the best groove tonight. I just thought the bottom was the dominant place, and I felt if I went high, I was leaving the door open for someone else.”
The race essentially is Knoxville’s Budweiser Shootout before the Daytona 500 of dirt racing.
Drivers get some extra laps around the track that can be very valuable, but overall, no one is too shaken up if they don’t win, everyone is protecting their cars from potential carnage, and some drivers like Gio Scelzi will pull their cars into the infield if the end result isn’t looking promising.
It’s just an exhibition, but it’s a good sign of things to come for Gravel.
Aside from the main race, the night saw some action in the form of the Pole Shuffle, a staple that differentiates the Capitani Classic from a regular night of racing.
The top eight drivers in the night’s points squared off, going 1-v-1 against each other for two laps, eliminating the loser of each GWC showdown.
Justin Henderson took down three drivers in a row, two of which came with last lap passes for the win. It electrified the Knoxville crowd.
. @knoxvilleraces REPLAY: He may not have won the pole, but @Henderson_racin won over the fans in the grandstands at Knoxville with his performance in tonight's #CapitaniClash Pole Shuffle! pic.twitter.com/tkTV1JUasA
— DIRTVision by Drydene (@dirtvision) August 9, 2021
The final race for the sport ahead of Wednesday’s start of the Knoxville Nationals comes on Monday night, as teams and drivers venture to Southern Iowa Speedway for the annual Osky Challenge.
Always Race Day will have full coverage.
Capitani Classic Results
1. David Gravel
2. Cory Eliason
3. Donny Schatz
4. Kerry Madsen
5. Sheldon Haudenschild
6. Brian Brown
7. Davey Heskin
8. Justin Henderson
9. James McFadden
10. Carson Macedo
11. Brad Sweet
12. Justin Peck
13. Shane Stewart
14. Spencer Bayston
15. Brent Marks
16. Shane Golobic
17. Tyler Courtney
18. Roger Crockett
19. Parker Price-Miller
20. Kasey Kahne
21. Paul McMahan
22. Josh Baughman
23. Gio Scelzi
24. Hunter Schuerenberg
