Big Game Motorsports capped the season with a win and three total top 10s during the World of Outlaws World Finals last weekend.
David Gravel guided the team into Victory Lane last Thursday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte to kick off the tripleheader that wrapped up the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season.
Gravel was second quickest in his group, won a heat race and placed third in the dash to start the feature on the inside of the second row.
“I felt like we had speed all weekend,” he said. “We just battled some things we had to overcome like we have all year. But I’m happy to add another win to the win column.
“I jumped to the outside early in the race. The bottom came in, but it needed some work so I was tentative to go down there. Brad (Sweet) passed me on the bottom. Once the lane was clear I went down there. Once I started hitting it the right way the car really came alive and I was able to pass a lot of guys in a hurry. You’re dealing with infield tires and a thin strip of grip so your room for error is small. If you’re too far out in the slick you’d not get through the corner. If you’re too low you’d have to turn right to dodge the tires. It worked out well for us.”
Gravel took the lead just after the midpoint of the race and he led the final dozen laps. The victory was the 12 ththis season with the World of Outlaws and 13 th overall.
Friday was another solid night for the team as Gravel set quick time during qualifying. A third-place result in a heat race was followed by a run from ninth to sixth in the A Main.
“We were battling some things with takeoff on the engine,” he said. “On the start somebody went below me. I went to go to the top going into turn three and the air swung and hit me and pushed me up the track. I got into the backstretch wall and that gave up second. From there it was hard to pass. It was disappointing how the heat race went.
“Starting ninth in the feature, we knew we weren’t out of it too bad. Like the first night, we weren’t great the first couple of laps, but through the middle of the race the car came alive. With no cautions, 25 laps goes by really fast. We were right there with fourth and fifth and ended up sixth.”
Unfortunately, mechanical woes hammered the team on Saturday while Gravel was running inside a spot that locked him into the dash. A DNF in the heat race relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown, which he won to start the main event on the inside of the 11 th row.
“We were going to be in the dash and had something happen in the heat race,” he said. “We got some good laps in the (LCS). I felt we had a pretty good game plan going into the feature. Luckily, I was able to start on the outside because somebody had to go to the work area. That was really beneficial. I was able to move up pretty quickly. Once you get about halfway everybody is strung out and know where they need to be, but early on we passed a lot of guys and felt we were moving up.”
Gravel rallied in a big way, hustling from 21 st to seventh for his 68 th top 10 of the season. The performance earned the Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions.
Gravel ended the season ranked second in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 2 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 3 (2); Feature: 1 (3).
Nov. 3 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 3 (1); Feature: 6 (9).
Nov. 4 – The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. – Heat race: DNF (1); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 7 (21).
SEASON STATS –
80 races, 13 wins, 53 top fives, 68 top 10s, 76 top 15s, 76 top 20s
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