KNOXVILLE, Iowa — David Gravel was fast and he was patient en route to winning Wednesday night’s BRANDT Agricultural Qualifying Night feature during the opening night of the 60th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals.
Gravel, the reigning Nationals champion, having won the event when it was last run in 2019, drove Tod Quring’s Big Game Motorsports No. 2 to a convincing victory on the legendary half-mile black-dirt track at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
Gravel started sixth in the 25-lap event and was third after the first lap and second on lap four. From there, he bided his time, chasing Justin Henderson who started outside the front row and took the lead on the second lap.
Gravel followed Henderson into lapped traffic on lap 17 and five laps later skirted under the Knoxville Raceway regular entering turn two.
“I couldn’t catch him until he slid that lapped car and broke his momentum,” Gravel said. “I felt like I had an opportunity to get close enough to make something happen. Luckily, there was lapped traffic ahead and if he had clean air the whole way, he would have won the race. That’s why we do this and that’s why it was 25 laps and why you want to get to the last lap and have the lead.”
From there, Gravel pulled away over the final four circuits to collect the $12,000 victory. It was his 10th career victory at Knoxville.
Gravel’s week started with a victory in Sunday’s Capitani Classic. In 2019, he also won the Cappy en route to his breakthrough Nationals triumph.
Though, then he was driving for Jason Johnson Racing.
“We are going to roll with it,” Gravel added. “This is a sport and it is all about confidence and momentum.”
Gio Scelzi, who won last Saturday’s 360 Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, started eighth and drove forward to finish second. Scelzi ended the night as the high point earner, with 487 markers.
“It is rewarding and relieving all in one,” said the driver of the KPC Racing No. 18. “I have two days off to think about this and overthink it, which I tend to do.”
Meanwhile, 10-time Nationals winner Donny Schatz scampered from seventh on the grid to claim third from Henderson on the final lap aboard his Tony Stewart Racing No. 15.
“Going out that late was pretty rewarding, being able to get through that first heat race was a blessing. We have speed,” said Schatz, who ranked second in points at 477. “We have to make some changes to win on Saturday. We have been coming here a long time and we think know some things that we need to do. I am looking forward to Saturday night and I think we have the speed to win.”
Henderson and Justin Peck rounded out the top five in the race.
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, BRANDT Qualifying Night, Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, Iowa, Aug. 11, 2021
Qualifications: 1. Brooke Tatnell, 0, 15.208; 2. Gio Scelzi, 18, 15.209; 3. Logan Schuchart, 1s, 15.249; 4. Danny Dietrich, 48, 15.353; 5. Roger Crockett, 11, 15.365; 6. Donny Schatz, 15, 15.403; 7. McKenna Haase, 55m, 15.420; 8. Don Droud, 1m, 15.448; 9. David Gravel, 2, 15.470; 10. James McFadden, 9, 15.472; 11. Tanner Carrick, 83t, 15.524; 12. Scott Bogucki, 25, 15.546; 13. Josh Baughman, 17x, 15.548; 14. Wayne Johnson, 2c, 15.551; 15. Justin Peck, 73, 15.551; 16. Justin Henderson, 7, 15.568; 17. Terry McCarl, 24, 15.596; 18. Tim Shaffer, 28, 15.596; 19. Anthony Macri, 39m, 15.619; 20. Lucas Wolfe, 5w, 15.624; 21. A.J. Moeller, 20, 15.659; 22. Jeb Wise, 5xx, 15.663; 23. Spencer Bayston, 11m, 15.684; 24. Chad Kemenah, 2ks, 15.690; 25. Cory Eliason, 26, 15.703; 26. Carson McCarl, 27, 15.715; 27. Clint Garner, 40, 15.716; 28. Mark Dobmeier, 13, 15.728; 29. Sheldon Haudenschild, 17, 15.815; 30. Ayrton Gennetten, 3, 15.816; 31. Josh Schneiderman, 49j, 15.828; 32. Kyle Reinhardt, 91, 15.846; 33. Skylar Gee, 07, 15.863; 34. Davey Heskin, 56n, 15.865; 35. Ryan Roberts, 18r, 15.868; 36. Jason Sides, 7s, 15.902; 37. Austin Miller, 83a, 15.937; 38. Riley Goodno, 21w, 15.942; 39. Jake Bubak, 1x, 15.973; 40. Jordan Goldesberry, 63, 16.007; 41. Robbie Kendall, 55k, 16.029; 42. Tori Knutson, 14k, 16.043; 43. Matt Moro, 2m, 16.068; 44. John Carney, 7c, 16.078; 45. Tasker Phillips, 7taz, 16.207; 46. Derek Hagar, 9jr, 16.226; 47. Ryan Giles, 96, 16.346; 48. Joe Simbro, 56, 16.394; 49. Hunter Schuerenberg, 55, no time;
First Heat (10 laps): Schneiderman, Sides, Henderson, Schatz, Moeller, C. McCarl, Tatnell, Hagar, Carrick, Kendall.
Second Heat (10 laps): Reinhardt, Wise, Garner, Scelzi, Bogucki, Miller, T. McCarl, Haase, Giles, Knutson.
Third Heat (10 laps): Goodno, Bayston, Gee, Baughman, Schuchart, Dobmeier, Droud, Shaffer, Moro, Simbro.
Fourth Heat (10 laps): Bubak, Heskin, Haudenschild, Gravel, Macri, Dietrich, Johnson, Kemenah, Carney.
Fifth Heat (10 laps): Gennetten, Eliason, Peck, McFadden, Crockett, Wolfe, Goldesberry, Phillips, Roberts.
C Main (10 laps): Carrick, Carney, Kendall, Roberts, Moro, Knutson, Simbro, Giles.
B Main (12 laps): Schuchart, Tatnell, Dietrich, Droud, Crockett, Macri, Johnson, T. McCarl, Shaffer, Wolfe, C. McCarl, Dobmeier, Kemenah, Phillips, Kendall, Haase, Carrick, Moeller, Hagar, Roberts, Miller, Goldesberry, Carney II, Bogucki.
Feature (25 laps): Gravel, Scelzi, Schatz, Henderson, Peck, Haudenschild, Schuchart, McFadden, Eliason, Bayston, Baughman, Tatnell, Gennetten, Heskin, Garner, Dietrich, Schneiderman, Sides, Gee, Bubak, Reinhardt, Droud, Goodno, Wise.