KNOXVILLE, Iowa – It’s a Knoxville Nationals tradition.
The poles holding up the massive grandstands at Knoxville Raceway are adorned with graphic banners honoring past winners. At each running, the past winner’s champion pole is unveiled and becomes a permanent piece of the Knoxville landscape.
The last running of the Nationals was in 2019, with David Gravel taking the win in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41, and at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday his champion pole was unveiled, with Bobbi and Jaxx Johnson and Gravel’s family in attendance.
“It’s obviously surreal,” Gravel said as he looked upon the pole adorned with his name and an image from his victory lane celebration. “It was a struggle to just make the race in the beginning of my career, and to be on this pole with all the greatest sprint car drivers ever is really, really cool. You can’t fluke or trip and fall into winning the Knoxville Nationals. I feel like you’ve really got to earn it every time you hit the race track. That’s what makes this race so special, so it’s really cool.”
It was also a time for him to reflect upon his racing career. Gravel hails from Connecticut, where sprint cars are a rarity, and far from Marion County, Iowa.
“I didn’t even know what the Knoxville Nationals was until I was probably 12 or 13 years old; it was something I didn’t grow up around,” Gravel said. “So, as I started to race more and more, and learned more about sprint car racing and started racing, myself, in micros, and racing in PA, I learned more about it. So, it’s really cool to win the greatest race there is, and it’s really awesome, and I want to earn a Kings Royal now, as well.”
Gravel, now driving for Big Game Motorsports, will begin his pursuit of his second Knoxville Nationals title Wednesday night at Knoxville Raceway.