TULSA, Okla. – David Gravel may be best known for his World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series exploits, but Wednesday night he added a notch to his brief midget racing resume by locking into his first Saturday A-main at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
In his fifth attempt at the Chili Bowl, Gravel started fourth but used a calm and collected approach to methodically work his way into contention for a top-two finish. He worked the bottom and never panicked amid a four-way scramble for position, eventually besting Tim McCreadie and Cole Bodine.
Once Gravel secured the position at the halfway point, he steadily pulled away from the rest of his pursuers, crossing the line nearly two seconds adrift of eventual winner Rico Abreu but still with a huge smile and a big reward.
“I’m really excited that we’re locked into the show for Saturday,” said Gravel. “I thought the track was good. The bottom was solid. The top was good. I would catch Rico a little bit on the bottom, and then he would kind of switch it up.
“That would stop my momentum, but I was happy with the race track and I’m excited for Saturday.”
Gravel becomes the second Frank Manafort Racing driver this week to lock into Saturday’s pole shuffle, a big accomplishment for the veteran team. His veteran teammate, Brady Bacon, finished second to Logan Seavey on Monday and will also compete in Saturday’s 55-lap finale.
“Frank has been here for five years now and had yet to make the A-main, so to get two-for-two and lock both cars into the show … he’s ecstatic,” Gravel said. “I’m glad to be one of the guys to do this for him.”
Gravel and Manafort’s ties reach far beyond the Chili Bowl, as well. If not for Manafort, Gravel might not even be in the position he’s in now in his life.
“Frank has been an awesome guy for my career. About four or five years ago now, he purchased a 410 (sprint car) engine for me that we eventually won a World of Outlaws race with out in California,” recalled Gravel. “That really propelled my career and put me on the map as a sprint car driver. He’s been involved with what I do for a long time and he doesn’t mess around.
“I’m happy to drive for him and feel at home with these guys.”
With the first part of his to-do list in Tulsa checked off, Gravel now turns his attention to the big show on Saturday night, ready to chase Chili Bowl glory with a team that he has made a home with over the last two years.
The emotions of all those factors weren’t lost on Gravel, either.
“This is just awesome,” Gravel noted. “I’ve bounced around; I’ve been to five Chili Bowls now, and this is the fourth different team I’ve raced for in this building, so I’ve been trying to find a home and it’s good to have stability with Frank and being back in this car for another year. It’s super special, really.
“This is the second-biggest dirt race in the world, and there’s a lot of buzz around this place. It’s one of the best weeks of the year and going into Saturday, I want to enjoy this experience now and take it in before we focus on the task at hand and try to win ourselves that Golden Driller.”
