KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Few things hurt worse in sprint car racing than seeing a shot at a 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals victory slip through one’s fingertips, something David Gravel experienced firsthand one year ago.

Gravel came into Saturday’s championship A-main with all the momentum in the world, earning a perfect score of 500 points on his qualifying night by setting fast time, winning his heat race and dominating the 25-lap preliminary feature. He sat on the pole for the $150,000-to-win grand finale and jetted out to a dominating lead early on.

In fact, the Watertown, Conn., driver led the first 22 circuits of the 50-lap feature virtually uncontested. However, working lap 23, everything came to a grinding halt.

A freak part failure just before the halfway break saw Gravel’s motor go south and the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series regular coast to a stop, sucking the air out of Knoxville Raceway and leaving the assembled crowd – not to mention Gravel, himself – heartbroken over the prospect of a first-time Nationals winner that didn’t come to fruition.

This time, however, Gravel and company are back for more and they know that if they play their cards right, the No. 5 Mainstream Holdings/GoMuddy.com entry will have another shot at dethroning perennial Outlaws champion and defending Nationals winner Donny Schatz.

“We certainly felt like we left something on the table last year,” noted Gravel. “We had a really fast car and just had a freak part failure. It wasn’t anyone’s fault at all. It does stay with you, though. You don’t forget the ones that get away like that.”

In regards to his issue from last August, Gravel said there was little warning before things literally came apart.

“I started to hear something coming apart in the engine going down the back stretch,” recalled Gravel. “By the time I reached (turns) three and four, I knew we were done. It’s still disappointing, no doubt. I really would have liked to have seen how that night would have played out. I felt like we were very fast. The car was pretty much driving itself right before we had our issue.”

However, ever since their heartbreaking loss in 2017, Gravel has stayed confident in the speed that he and his CJB team have shown. They ended last season with a career-high 18 World of Outlaws victories and already have five wins this year, including one at Knoxville.

“We certainly showed some speed (last year),” said Gravel. “I think if everything stays the same as it was, we should be able to be very competitive again. We’re looking forward to that. We’re proud of how we ran all week last year, but we want to push that bar even higher this year.”

Even while looking forward, though, the sting of last year’s near-miss hasn’t gone away.

“(Losing last year’s Nationals) has stayed with us all year long,” Gravel said. “We are bringing back a good piece and want to complete this thing. We feel that we can.

“We want some redemption from this place, and we’re hoping we can get it this weekend.”