CONCORD, N.C. — Championships require time.
Only 11 drivers through 48 seasons of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series racing can call themselves a champion. It’s the sport’s toughest mountain to summit.
David Gravel is the latest to add his name to that exclusive list. It took commitment and patience. The Watertown, Conn., native made his presence felt on the national scene in the early 2010s. Rides with some of the sport’s most elite organizations like Roth Motorsports, CJB Motorsports, and Jason Johnson Racing pushed him toward the pinnacle.
But it wasn’t until he teamed with Tod Quiring that he was finally able to hoist the trophy at season’s end. In 2024, Gravel’s fourth season driving the Big Game Motorsports No. 2, he claimed an elusive title. Bricks laid in the foundation of what’s shaping up to be a historic run.
Gravel wasn’t done there. A dominant 2025 led him to standing atop the World Finals stage for the second year in a row. Along with the two titles, Gravel and the Big Game crew have racked up 62 wins, 155 podiums, 229 top fives, and 309 top 10s in 354 Features together.
They’ve shown no signs of slowing so far in 2026, clocking the quickest time in their qualifying flight all three nights during the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals last week and picking up a pair of podiums.
Longevity has proven to be a vital piece of a championship. The record books seldom show a driver and team meshing right off the bat to the point of beating the best the sport has to offer. After several years of switching rides, Gravel found the comfortable home he sought. Everything has come together, and now he’s ready to go after a three-peat.
“Early in my years I didn’t want to bounce around, but it was just kind of the cards that I was dealt and the situations I was in,” Gravel recalled. “I think when you’re a very young driver you don’t get the respect from certain people while you’re there because you’re young and there’s always that potential to be better or more mature, stuff like that. I felt like I raced for a lot of great car owners with great equipment, and we accomplished cool things with nearly every single one of them.
“But it’s great to finally get somewhere. Look at the World of Outlaws champions. Daryn Pittman is like the only one that I can think of that the first year he came to a team he won the championship. Other than that, it’s like these guys have been with their team a long time before they won championships. Even though Donny (Schatz) won with Tony (Stewart) there, it was the same equipment, same mechanic, same engines, very similar. That just shows you’ve got to be consistent and work on the small things, and it seems like championships come.”
It’s not enough to simply pair a driver with a powerful organization. There are other important pieces to put in place. For Gravel and Big Game, one of the biggest is crew chief Cody Jacobs. Quiring hired the Ohio native in 2020, and he’s turned the wrenches on the No. 2 ever since. Zach Patterson filled a gap as the Tire Specialist in 2022, and that’s where he remains today.
The one position on the road crew that’s been slightly inconsistent is car chief. While they’ve always had a capable set of hands, the name has changed over each of the last several years. But they won’t have to worry about introducing someone new in 2026 as Pete Stephens will continue to operate in the role. And on top of that, they’ve added Luke Vaughn full-time. Vaughn came to lend a hand over the last month of the 2025 season after departing Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing.
“It’s definitely a good feeling. It’s the first time we’re going to bring back the same three guys that we had in the previous season in my six years here, so that’s a comforting feeling,” Gravel said. “I feel like Pete grew into his role very well. He’s done this a long time, but he didn’t do it for five or 10 years. Within the first month, it was like riding a bike. It’s a great feeling, and then adding Luke adds a young, fiery guy.”
They’ve won the last two. They’ve built a proven core. But that doesn’t mean they can get complacent. Names like Michael Kofoid, Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, and more are all hungry to dethrone Gravel. He was once in their position. The 33-year-old knows he’s got to stay on top of his game.
“It’s tough to say,” Gravel said of how he fends off the challengers. “I feel like there’s times you have to be that championship driver and do some amazing things to bring some things out of the car that maybe aren’t there sometimes. And then there’s times where Cody’s going to step up and give me an unbelievable car in a long race to be able to get the job done in the last five or 10 laps. You’ve just got to stay levelheaded and cool.
“I think when you haven’t done it before, it ups the nerves a little bit. Leading and being the champion is still nerve-wracking, but you have that confidence that you’ve done it before and you know how to do it. It’s hard to say, but I just think the champion is leading the pack, so everybody wants to beat the champion. Those guys are going to try really, really hard to beat you night in and night out. You’re the hunted. It’s just do your job and stay focused on what you’re doing. You’ve got to be consistent to be a champion.”
History is within reach for Gravel in 2026. Only a trio of competitors – Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet – have ever been able to string together three straight championships. Like any competitor, the latest triumph fuels the hunger for the next. The No. 2 team wants this run to be remembered for generations to come.
Gravel’s settled now. The years of moving around are far behind him. He’s found a home with Big Game Motorsports and is well within his prime. The rest of the roster won’t make it easy, but the champion has given little reason to doubt him in 2026.
“It would be very cool,” Gravel said of a potential three-peat. “I think there’s a lot of good guys gunning for us. For only three other people to do that in the history of the sport is pretty damn cool. I look back at the history books, and Donny is a 10-time champion, but I think he only had a big streak one time. Brad did five in a row. And obviously Steve has every record.
“It’s a cool thing, and we’d be super proud to do that. We know it’s not going to be easy. We just keep trying to build and build our program. I truly think we’re still getting better. Take away a couple things last year like me crashing on the final night, I think we had a pretty remarkable season barring two parts failures and me crashing on the last night. You take those away it was a pretty unbelievable season. Our goal is to eliminate those, try to run just as good as we did in the previous year, and see where it leads us.”
