Watertown, Conn.—Feb. 6, 2013 — After a very solid season last year that saw him pick up one win and set fast time on 12 different occasions, David Gravel has been counting the days until the 2013 season opener. That wait will end this week, as the 20-year-old heads south to compete in eight races in Georgia and Florida.
Gravel will open the 2013 campaign aboard his No. 89 Beyond Boobs J&J in the Third Annual Winter Freeze at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 7 with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. He then heads to the “Sunshine State” for a pair of races at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9. Gravel will follow that up with five straight nights of competition during the 42nd Annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. The first two nights at Volusia (Feb. 13–14) will be sanctioned by the All Stars, with the final three races (Feb. 15–17) falling under the banner of the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series.
“Going to Australia to race kept me sharp, and I’m ready to get going,” said Gravel. “I ran well at Screven and in Florida last year and should be able to use some of what we learned when we go back this time. The competition is always tough down south to open the season, so you have be on your game and prepared, and I believe we are.”
Gravel, who finished third in points with the All Stars last season on the strength of 28 top-10 finishes, opened his 2012 campaign by setting fast time at Screven Motor Speedway. He finished second in the main event on the opening night at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile and was seventh in the finale, charging forward from the 11th starting position.
“Having a practice night on Wednesday at Screven should help quite a bit, especially with the new tires this year,” he noted. “Hopefully it’s not too big of a learning curve with the tires. Qualifying well as always will be important and trying to make it into the dash. Starting the night off on the right foot is very important and can really set the tone for the rest of the night.”
The native of Watertown, Conn., picked up a pair of top-10 finishes at Bubba Raceway Park in 2012. He was fastest in time trials in the finale of the three-night event at the three-eighths-mile. Gravel finished eighth on the final night at the venue, after a ninth-place showing on the second night.
“Ocala is a tricky track, because it changes every time you are there,” explained Gravel. “It’s never the same. We’ve run decent there in the past. My crew chief Tyler (Swank) and I have been together for a little while now and I think we are better than we’ve ever been. We just have to pick up where we left off last year.”
At Volusia Speedway Park last year, Gravel earned a pair of top-five finishes, while qualifying for four of the five main events at the blazing fast half-mile, against one of the strongest fields he faced all season. In the finale of the three-night World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Volusia last season, Gravel finished third, after battling wheel-to-wheel for the lead with five-time series champion Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky, who picked up the win in that race. Gravel came home fourth in the first of two races for the All Stars at Volusia, which preceded the three World of Outlaws contests.
“Just like Ocala, Volusia changes a lot,” noted Gravel. “With five nights in-a-row, you are bound to get just about every kind of track surface you can think of. The main thing is to keep up on the track and make adjustments accordingly. There are always a ton of cars there and it’s a big horsepower track, so you have to be on your game in qualifying.”
Prior to heading to Georgia to open the season here in North America, Gravel recently returned from Australia, where he competed in five races, including setting fast time in his first start of the year Down Under at Simpson Speedway, where he would end up finishing second in the main event. He also took to the track at Avalon Raceway in the President’s Cup, Borderline Speedway in the Kings Challenge and competed in both nights of the Lucas Oil 41st Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Sungold Stadium Premier Speedway.
For Gravel, the 2013 season will open with eight nights of racing in an 11-day stretch at three different tracks in two states. He’ll open the trip with a practice session on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Screven Speedway in Georgia.
“We definitely want to make the main event at all the shows,” he stated when asked about goals for the southern swing. “If we keep our nose clean and can finish in the top-10 every night, it would be a great trip for us. We want to be consistent and run strong and build on what we did last year.”
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 @davidgravel89gand like David on Facebook.
