Watertown, Conn.—Sept. 12, 2012 — David Gravel has acquired a pretty diverse skill set competing with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions over the last four seasons. One of the key attributes he has learned is how to be versatile. After all, the series races on a variety of tracks ranging from tight quarter- and third-miles bullrings to sprawling, high speed half-miles. The native of Watertown Conn., will be able to put all of that experience to good use this week as he heads to Fremont Speedway in Ohio, one of the smallest tracks on the schedule, following last weekend’s Tuscarora 50 at the half-mile Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania, one of the largest venues the series races at.
Gravel takes to the track at Fremont Speedway with the All Stars for the opening night of the Jim Ford Classic on Friday, Sept. 14, with a 30-lap main event highlighting the evening. The weekend concludes on Saturday, Sept. 15 with a 50-lap, $10,000 to-win A-Feature at the one-third-mile oval.
“It’s always a challenge racing at Fremont,” said Gravel. “The local competition is very good. There will be a lot of travelers coming for that race as well, so the field is going to be very tough. I’m excited to go back with how well we are running right now, and hopefully we can carry some of the momentum we have into Fremont.”
The 20-year-old has made a couple of appearances this season at the track located at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds. In the two-day event at Fremont back in May, he finished fifth and ninth. Gravel began that weekend as the seventh-fastest driver in time trials of the 35 entrants. He finished fifth in the fourth 10-lap heat race, which put him in the dash, where he came home sixth. Gravel lined up on the outside of the third row for the 30-lap main event and ran near the Top-Five for the duration, taking the checkered flag in fifth.
“Time trials definitely sets the tone for your night at Fremont and we were good in time trials there in the spring,” he shared. “It’s an uphill battle if you don’t qualify well, since you’ll be at the back of a heat race. If you don’t make it out of your heat, you may be in the C-main or back of the B-main. With how close everyone is right now, it’s pretty difficult to come from the back of the B-main. The best way to avoid that is to turn a couple of good laps in time trials to start the night.”
In the finale of the All Stars event at Fremont in May, Gravel was fifth in qualifying. He lined up fifth in the first heat race and finished in that same position to earn a spot in the dash. Gravel was sixth on the grid for the dash and moved up one spot and started the main event from the inside of the third row. He slipped back a few spots, finishing ninth. He returned to Fremont during Ohio Sprint Speedweek and missed qualifying for the main event in that contest.
“Fremont can be heavy sometimes and it can also be slick,” explained Gravel of the surface. “We might get two completely different tracks on each night, but we’ve been on just about every type of track at Fremont, so we’ll be prepared for no matter what we’re facing.”
Gravel finished a career-best fourth at Fremont last season in the finale of the Jim Ford Classic, after lining up ninth. He has six Top-10 finishes at the track over the last two seasons, with five of those coming in races with the All Stars. Gravel also competed in the World of Outlaws race in 2011, which was the series first visit to Fremont since 1993. The finale of the Jim Ford Classic this weekend will mark the second 50-lap feature of the season for the All Stars at Fremont.
“In a 50-lap race at Fremont, if you are up front, you want to hold your position and ride around there and be ready for the end,” Gravel stated. “If you are at the back, you have to be aggressive, because you don’t want to go a lap down or have lapped cars between you and people you are battling with for position. We’ll give it everything we got both nights and see how we do.”
Following a sixth-place showing in the opener at Port Royal last weekend, Gravel is currently third in the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions National standings. He wrapped up both the Eastern Region and Western Region portions of the schedule in third as well, and is currently sixth in Ohio Region points. Gravel has one win this year along with 26 Top-10 finishes and has been quickest in qualifying with the All Stars seven times in 2012.
David Gravel and DDR Motorsports would like to thank: J&J Chassis, JRC Transportation, Kistler Engines, Musco Fuels and P&M Transportation for their continued support.
Keep up-to-date with David Gravel and DDR Motorsports by visiting www.DavidGravel89.com. Follow David on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/DavidGravel89g. Like David on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gravel-Racing/143538695709198.
