Gravel Wins Rain-Soaked River Cities Speedway

By admin June 17, 2017 River Cities Speedway, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

After three-hour delay, Gravel held off Madsen for ninth win of season

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – June 17, 2017 – It was Jacob Allen who jumped out to an early lead during the initial start of the Gerdau Recycling Northern Tour. As Allen was coming to complete lap five of the 40-lap race, Allen jumped the cushion in Turn 4 went for a wild flip, bringing out the red flag. During the red-flag stoppage, a passing rain storm hit the Grand Forks, N.D.-area forcing a nearly three-hour stoppage. When the show got back under way, it was Gravel that withstood a couple charges from the No. 2M of Kerry Madsen en route to his ninth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win of the 2017 season.
 
“There’s some crazy fans here,” said David Gravel. “They were standing in the bleachers that had no roof over them in the down-pouring rain. Those guys are diehard; I give them props for sure.”
 
With weather threatening the River Cities Speedway, the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series was forced to go into hurry up mode in an effort to get night one of the Gerdau Recycling Northern Tour at River Cities Speedway in its entirety. After winning the Craftsman Club Dash, Jacob Allen secured the pole position for the Feature. Jumping out to an early lead over second-place David Gravel, Allen was quickly catching lap traffic early in the race.

“I tried to go to the top because I saw that I was coming up on some lap cars,” said Jacob Allen. “I figured I needed to go up there and see how it was before I got up on [lap cars]. Unfortunately, it was slick up in Turn 4 and [the car] flew into the barrier. I probably should have stuck on the bottom; but I was able to lead my first Outlaws race.”
 
After getting the track back in racing condition, the field was allotted a couple lap hot lap session. Drivers were turning laps in the nine-second bracket; close to a half-second quicker than lap times that were being turned earlier in the day. When it was time to go, David Gravel and Kerry Madsen led the field to the restart with four-laps complete.
 
“It’s a bummer it rained,” said David Gravel. “Typically the track is three-grooves top-to-bottom. It was pretty narrow, you just had to try not to make any mistakes.”
 
David Gravel and Kerry Madsen led the field back to the green. As the field was getting up to speed exiting Turn 4, the No. 41 of Jason Johnson slapped the outside wall with his right-rear tire, sending the field scrambling. Multiple cars, including the No. 4 of Paul McMahan and the No. 3 of Tim Kaeding went for a flip. Both drivers were able to get out under their own power, however, their night was done early.
 
For the second attempt the field would line up single file. Gravel was able to get another solid jump on Kerry Madsen and put a five-car length gap between the two. That gap closed on lap nine when Madsen and Gravel banged wheels coming off Turn 2; both where able to keep going.
 
“I drifted up and let Kerry [Madsen] get by me, but we were lucky enough to get right back by him.”
 
Madsen pounced on lap 19 to get by Gravel on the backstretch, however, Gravel was able to work his way back by the No. 2M.
 
“We had the car to beat,” said Kerry Madsen. “We got the lead there once, just couldn’t hang onto it good enough, it’s a great result for the team.”
 
With five laps to go, the field was slowed when Clyde Knipp in the No. 13 slowed on the backstretch.
 

Again with a single-file restart, Gravel was able to rocket out to a commanding lead and didn’t look back en route to his ninth win of the 2017 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season.

The Series returns to action on Saturday, June 17 at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. Fans can purchase tickets by visit the ticket gate or by visiting slspromotions.ticketforce.com.
River Cities Speedway Results

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 5-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$3,200]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,800]; 5. 17-Joey Saldana [4][$2,500]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [13][$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][$2,200]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [21][$2,100]; 9. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [10][$2,050]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [15][$2,000]; 11. 7S-Jason Sides [18][$1,500]; 12. 41-Jason Johnson [8][$1,200]; 13. 9-Daryn Pittman [12][$1,100]; 14. 2A-Austin Pierce [16][$1,050]; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart [17][$1,000]; 16. 13-Clyde Knipp [25][$100]; 17. 20A-Jordan Adams [20][$800]; 18. 82-Dusty Zomer [22][$800]; 19. 24-Terry McCarl [9][$800]; 20. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [11][$800]; 21. 4-Paul McMahan [14][$800]; 22. 3-Tim Kaeding [24][$800]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$800]; 24. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [19][$800]; 25. 9N-Wade Nygaard [23][$800]; Lap Leaders: Jacob Allen 1-4; David Gravel 5-19; 21-40; Kerry Madsen 20; KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+13]


Unofficial World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
Pos.
Car
Driver
Total
Diff
Wins
Top 5’s
Top 10’s
1
15
Donny Schatz
5096
0
10
28
31
2
5
David Gravel
5020
-76
9
21
32
3
49
Brad Sweet
5018
-78
4
26
32
4
9
Daryn Pittman
4768
-328
0
9
23
5
2
Shane Stewart
4756
-340
2
11
26
6
41
Jason Johnson
4700
-396
2
11
22
7
93
Sheldon Haudenschild
4538
-558
0
5
17
8
17
Joey Saldana
4490
-606
0
4
10
9
1S
Logan Schuchart
4448
-648
3
7
14
10
7S
Jason Sides
4376
-720
0
5
14
11
11k
Kraig Kinser
4356
-740
0
2
8
12
19
Brent Marks
4322
-774
0
0
9
13
4
Paul McMahan
4310
-786
0
3
10
14
W20
Greg Wilson
4018
-1078
0
2
7
15
1A
Jacob Allen
3592
-1504
0
0
2
16
13
Clyde Knipp
3392
-1704
0
0
0
17
18
Ian Madsen
2850
-2246
1
4
13
18
21
Brian Brown
2524
-2572
1
9
10
19
2X
Parker Price-Miller
2154
-2942
1
1
3
20
24R
Rico Abreu
2070
-3026
1
6
10

6/16/2017 – River Cities Speedway

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — June 17, 2017 — It was Jacob Allen who jumped out to an early lead during the initial start of the Gerdau Recycling Northern Tour. As Allen was coming to complete lap five of the 40-lap race, Allen jumped the cushion in Turn 4 went for a wild flip, bringing out the red flag. During the red-flag stoppage, a passing rain storm hit the Grand Forks, N.D.-area forcing a nearly three-hour stoppage. When the show got back under way, it was Gravel that withstood a couple charges from the No. 2M of Kerry Madsen en route to his ninth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win of the 2017 season.

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 5-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$3,200]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,800]; 5. 17-Joey Saldana [4][$2,500]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [13][$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][$2,200]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [21][$2,100]; 9. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [10][$2,050]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [15][$2,000]; 11. 7S-Jason Sides [18][$1,500]; 12. 41-Jason Johnson [8][$1,200]; 13. 9-Daryn Pittman [12][$1,100]; 14. 2A-Austin Pierce [16][$1,050]; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart [17][$1,000]; 16. 13-Clyde Knipp [25][$100]; 17. 20A-Jordan Adams [20][$800]; 18. 82-Dusty Zomer [22][$800]; 19. 24-Terry McCarl [9][$800]; 20. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [11][$800]; 21. 4-Paul McMahan [14][$800]; 22. 3-Tim Kaeding [24][$800]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$800]; 24. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [19][$800]; 25. 9N-Wade Nygaard [23][$800]; Lap Leaders: Jacob Allen 1-4; David Gravel 5-19; 21-40; Kerry Madsen 20; KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+13]

Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 9.963; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 9.997; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.038; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.109; 5. 24-Terry McCarl, 10.113; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.132; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.144; 8. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, 10.211; 9. 2-Shane Stewart, 10.232; 10. W20-Greg Wilson, 10.241; 11. 19-Brent Marks, 10.247; 12. 82-Dusty Zomer, 10.286; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 10.322; 14. 8-Casey Mack, 10.36; 15. 3-Tim Kaeding, 10.372; 16. 7T-Trent Stengl, 10.466; 17. 91M-Jackson Moffett, 10.6; 18. 92-Mitch Mack, 10.637; 19. 13-Clyde Knipp, 10.639

Qualifying Flight-B: 1. 17-Joey Saldana, 10.08; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 10.088; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.137; 4. 5-David Gravel, 10.238; 5. 4-Paul McMahan, 10.24; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman, 10.246; 7. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier, 10.271; 8. 20A-Jordan Adams, 10.318; 9. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.362; 10. 2A-Austin Pierce, 10.376; 11. 6N-Greg Nikitenko, 10.426; 12. 19P-Paige Polyak, 10.526; 13. 13T-Ty Hanten, 10.576; 14. 8H-Jade Hastings, 10.715; 15. O-Nick Omdahl, 10.96; 16. 31-Shane Roemeling, 11.133; 17. 14-Tom Egeland, 11.308; 18. 26-Blake Egeland, 11.441; 19. 8B-Jack Croaker, 11.815

Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer: 1. 41-Jason Johnson [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 3. 24-Terry McCarl [3]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [5]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 7. 3-Tim Kaeding [8]; 8. 9N-Wade Nygaard [7]; 9. 13-Clyde Knipp [10]; 10. 91M-Jackson Moffett [9]

Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer: 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 3. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 5. 21K-Thomas Kennedy [4]; 6. 82-Dusty Zomer [6]; 7. 8-Casey Mack [7]; 8. 7T-Trent Stengl [8]; 9. 92-Mitch Mack [9]

Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer: 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 17-Joey Saldana [1]; 3. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [4]; 4. 4-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 6. O-Nick Omdahl [8]; 7. 13T-Ty Hanten [7]; 8. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [6]; 9. 14-Tom Egeland [9]; 10. 8B-Jack Croaker [10]

Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer: 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 5-David Gravel [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 2A-Austin Pierce [5]; 5. 20A-Jordan Adams [4]; 6. 26-Blake Egeland [9]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [6]; 8. 8H-Jade Hastings [7]; 9. 31-Shane Roemeling [8]

Craftsman Club Dash (8 Laps): 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 2. 5-David Gravel [1]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 4. 17-Joey Saldana [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 8. 41-Jason Johnson [8]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer: 1. 7T-Trent Stengl [1][-]; 2. 31-Shane Roemeling [2][-]; 3. 92-Mitch Mack [5][$150]; 4. 13-Clyde Knipp [7][$150]; 5. 26-Blake Egeland [6][$150]; 6. 91M-Jackson Moffett [3][$125]; 7. 8B-Jack Croaker [8][$125]; 8. 14-Tom Egeland [4][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer: 1. 19-Brent Marks [1][-]; 2. 82-Dusty Zomer [3][-]; 3. 9N-Wade Nygaard [5][-]; 4. 3-Tim Kaeding [9][-]; 5. 19P-Paige Polyak [4][$300]; 6. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [2][$250]; 7. 8-Casey Mack [7][$225]; 8. O-Nick Omdahl [10][$200]; 9. 7T-Trent Stengl [11][$200]; 10. 13T-Ty Hanten [6][$200]; 11. 31-Shane Roemeling [12][$200]; 12. 8H-Jade Hastings [8][$200]

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Paul McMahan; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): David Gravel; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Brent Marks; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Super Flow ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Craftsman Club Fast Five ($100 cash): Jacob Allen, David Gravel, Joey Saldana, Kraig Kinser, Brad Sweet; Craftsman/Sears: Kerry Madsen; KSE Hard Charger: Brent Marks; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): David Gravel; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Clyde Knipp; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Sheldon Haudenschild.

SEASON WINNERS

  • Donny Schatz – 10 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18, Missouri State Fair Speedway on May 5, 81 Speedway on May 6, Eldora Speedway May 13, Knoxville Raceway on June 10)
  • David Gravel – 9 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29, Perris Auto Speedway on April 1, Gator Motorplex on April 13, Plymouth Speedway on April 28, Lincoln Speedway on May 17, Williams Grove on May 19, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, River Cities Speedway on June 16)
  • Brad Sweet – 4 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25, Devil’s Bowl on April 15, Jackson Motorplex on June 3, Knoxville Raceway on June 9)
  • Logan Schuchart – 3 (Keller Auto Speedway on March 31, Eldora Speedway on May 12, Charlotte on May 26)
  • Jason Johnson – 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17, Devil’s Bowl on April 14)
  • Brian Brown – 1 (Cocopah Speedway on April 7)
  • Rico Abreu – 1 (Arizona Speedway on April 8)
  • Shane Stewart – 2 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29)
  • Parker Price-Miller – 1 (Tri-State Speedway on May 14)
  • Ian Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 1)
  • Kerry Madsen – 2 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2)
  • Kyle Larson – 1 (Eagle Raceway on June 13)

Unofficial World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Championship Standings

Pos. Car Driver Total Diff Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s
1 15 Donny Schatz 5096 0 10 28 31
2 5 David Gravel 5020 -76 9 21 32
3 49 Brad Sweet 5018 -78 4 26 32
4 9 Daryn Pittman 4768 -328 0 9 23
5 2 Shane Stewart 4756 -340 2 11 26
6 41 Jason Johnson 4700 -396 2 11 22
7 93 Sheldon Haudenschild 4538 -558 0 5 17
8 17 Joey Saldana 4490 -606 0 4 10
9 1S Logan Schuchart 4448 -648 3 7 14
10 7S Jason Sides 4376 -720 0 5 14
11 11k Kraig Kinser 4356 -740 0 2 8
12 19 Brent Marks 4322 -774 0 0 9
13 4 Paul McMahan 4310 -786 0 3 10
14 W20 Greg Wilson 4018 -1078 0 2 7
15 1A Jacob Allen 3592 -1504 0 0 2
16 13 Clyde Knipp 3392 -1704 0 0 0
17 18 Ian Madsen 2850 -2246 1 4 13
18 21 Brian Brown 2524 -2572 1 9 10
19 2X Parker Price-Miller 2154 -2942 1 1 3
20 24R Rico Abreu 2070 -3026 1 6 10
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Craftsman (Official Tool), Arctic Cat (Official Side-by-Side Recreational Vehicle), Extended Stay America (Official Hotel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, and TNT Rescue.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, N.C., is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.
Sources: Colby Gorniewicz/World of Outlaws PR
http://www.woosprint.com/news/race-reports/458-2017-race-reports/4536-gravel-wins-at-river-cities-speedway