CONCORD, N.C. — David Gravel earned his second consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship, completing the season during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Gravel, of Watertown, Conn., reached 120 World of Outlaws wins with his 17th victory of the season Friday night, putting him two wins away from tying Danny Lasoski for sixth on the all-time wins list. He also matched records that haven’t been seen since Donny Schatz’s last championship run in 2018, reaching at least 17 wins in a season and collecting 40 podium finishes.
His second title puts him in rare company, joining the small list of drivers who have won back-to-back World of Outlaws Sprint Car championships, which includes Schatz, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Jason Meyers and Brad Sweet.
“I think when you accomplish amazing things in the sport it is always surreal,” Gravel said. “You have to reflect, maybe when you’re older, but you’re so in the game right now and in tune with everything that is going on, just trying to compete night in and night out. It feels good to back it up. Obviously, anyone can have a magical one season, but to back it up like we did, it feels really accomplishing.”
He accomplished all of this in his fifth season driving the No. 2 car for Tod Quiring’s Big Game Motorsports team with Cody Jacobs as his crew chief. They’ve had a steady rise every season the last few years, going from a seven-win season to a 12-win season to a 15-win season to a 17-win season.
“Tod gives us everything that we need. There’s nothing that we don’t have,” Gravel said. “He doesn’t ride our butt every night in or night out, he lets us do our jobs and puts a lot of the control in Cody’s hands, in (his son) Taylor’s hands, and it just works out really, really well. He believes in us. He pays for us to do a good job, and I feel like we do that for him.”
