Gravel Holds Off Determined Larson To Score $52K-To-Win Governors Reign At Eldora
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – ROSSBURG, OH – Watertown, Connecticut’s David Gravel etched his name in the Eldora Speedway history books twice in the last two days.
The first was setting a new Eldora Speedway track record of 12.599 during the Governors Reign opener on Tuesday, September 22. Then it was trumping that statistic with a victory in the Governors Reign finale the following evening, scoring a $52,000 top prize in the process while also earning a fourth-career Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory.
The pilot of the Jason Johnson Racing/Weikert’s Livestock/Durst/JRC Transportation/High Performance Lubricants/The Boyd Family/Mesilla Valley Transportation/Saich Family/No. 41 sprint car led all 35 circuits of the Governors Reign finale, but certainly not without a challenge, forced to navigate through doses of heavy traffic, all while trying to fend off a late surge by Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson.
“I just gotta thank this entire team. I am confident we had one of the best cars all week,” David Gravel said in Eldora Speedway victory lane. “To come out here and set two quick times, one a track record, and get a win says a lot about this team. I’m happy to win tonight rather than last night because tonight pays way more. This field was just as stout as any field we’ve seen all season. All of the best are here. It feels really good to beat the best. Anything that pays over 50 grand is a crown jewel to me.”
Larson, who started tenth on the grid, powered his way into the top-five just before the halfway point, eventually snagging fourth from Sheldon Haudenschild on lap 18, then gaining another position over his hired gun, Carson Macedo, the following circuit. A caution on lap 20, the main event’s first and only besides a hiccup on the initial start involving Jacob Allen and James McFadden, allowed Larson to advance again, this time getting by Tuesday night winner, Brent Marks, on the bottom of turns one and two.
Meanwhile, Gravel continued to set a torrid pace, quickly escaping to a healthy advantage after the lap 20 restart. Although traffic eventually re-entered the picture, Gravel was able to maintain his momentum, using both grooves of the speedway to drive under or around bundles of slower cars.
By lap 33, Gravel’s advantage had all but depleted, now feeling some pressure by the season-leading All Star winner, Kyle Larson. In a last-ditch effort on the final lap, Larson dove to the bottom of turn three and attempted to slide the familiar No. 41, only to lose in a drag race to the finish. Sheldon Haudenschild would cross under the final checkers behind Gravel and Larson, followed by Brent Marks and Carson Macedo.
“When you get into lapped traffic, it gets tough to see the cushion. It’s all you can do to not slide the tires,” David Gravel continued. “When I saw the top open up in three on the last lap, I figured I gotta take it. Even if (Kyle Larson) would have slid me, I figured I could turn back underneath him. I saw someone poke their nose before that and I figured it was him. I was just worried about making a couple good laps. I knew he was closing. Sometimes you’re better off being in second in traffic.”
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will conclude the 2020 season with the two-day Jim Ford Classic at Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday, October 9-10. Saturday’s Jim Ford Classic/All Star season finale will award a $10,000 payday.
Contingency Awards/Results: Eldora Speedway – September 23, 2020:
Event: Governors Reign Finale
Entries: 46
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Shane Stewart – 13.065
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: David Gravel – 12.816
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Kyle Larson
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Daryn Pittman
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Brent Marks
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Sheldon Haudenschild
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5 Winner: Kerry Madsen
Computer Man C-Main Winner: Buddy Kofoid
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: David Gravel
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash #2 Winner: Brent Marks
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Jacob Allen
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Kraig Kinser
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: David Gravel
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Logan Schuchart (+11)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 21-Brian Brown, 12.946; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.959; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 12.967; 4. 14-Tim Kaeding, 12.970; 5. 28-Tim Shaffer, 13.076; 6. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.173; 7. 67-Buddy Kofoid, 13.216; 8. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.217; 9. 69-Brady Bacon, 13.220; 10. 17-Ian Madsen, 13.241
Group (B)
1. 41-David Gravel, 12.816; 2. 14P-Parker Price-Miller, 12.916; 3. 72-Daryn Pittman, 13.089; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.166; 5. 11-Zeb Wise, 13.181; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.187; 7. 70-Cale Thomas, 13.223; 8. 83-Spencer Bayston, 13.314; 9. 24-Rico Abreu, 26.169
Group (C)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.020; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.030; 3. 71-Shane Stewart, 13.043; 4. 5-Brent Marks, 13.103; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.161; 6. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.164; 7. 17A-Austin McCarl, 13.171; 8. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.222; 9. 4-Cap Henry, 13.402
Group (D)
1. 17s-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.996; 2. 18-Gio Scelzi, 13.042; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri, 13.081; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.102; 5. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.143; 6. 9-James McFadden, 13.166; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.228; 8. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.286; 9. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.409
Group (E)
1. 1a-Jacob Allen, 13.001; 2. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.036; 3. 12n-Joey Saldana, 13.100; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.107; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.176; 6. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.283; 7. 21B-Christopher Bell, 13.291; 8. 15k-Chad Kemenah, 13.412; 9. 39-Sammy Swindell, 13.535
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 3. 14-Tim Kaeding [1]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [6]; 6. 28-Tim Shaffer [5]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 8. 67-Buddy Kofoid [7]; 9. 17-Ian Madsen [10]; 10. 69-Brady Bacon [9]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 72-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [4]; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1]; 4. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]; 6. 83-Spencer Bayston [8]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [9]; 8. 70-Cale Thomas [7]; 9. 11-Zeb Wise [5]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 5-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 3. 71-Shane Stewart [2]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [5]; 6. 17A-Austin McCarl [7]; 7. 17B-Bill Balog [6]; 8. 4-Cap Henry [9]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [8]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [2]; 4. 18-Gio Scelzi [3]; 5. 9-James McFadden [6]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo [8]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [9]
Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana [2]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 5. 21B-Christopher Bell [7]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [6]; 8. 15K-Chad Kemenah [8]; 9. 39-Sammy Swindell [9]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 5. 18-Gio Scelzi [5]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 5-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 72-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 5. 57-Kyle Larson [6]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]
C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 67-Buddy Kofoid [1]; 2. 70-Cale Thomas [2]; 3. 4-Cap Henry [4]; 4. 11-Zeb Wise [6]; 5. 5T-Travis Philo [3]; 6. 15K-Chad Kemenah [5]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 9. 17-Ian Madsen [8]; 10. 39-Sammy Swindell [10]; 11. 69-Brady Bacon [11]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 2. 28-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [8]; 7. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 8. 83-Spencer Bayston [10]; 9. 21B-Christopher Bell [7]; 10. 17B-Bill Balog [11]; 11. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [13]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu [15]; 13. 13-Paul McMahan [12]; 14. 17A-Austin McCarl [9]; 15. 70-Cale Thomas [17]; 16. 3C-Cale Conley [14]; 17. 67-Buddy Kofoid [16]
A-Main (35 Laps)
1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [10]; 3. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 4. 5-Brent Marks [2]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [13]; 7. 18-Gio Scelzi [9]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [12]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart [20]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [21]; 11. 72-Daryn Pittman [6]; 12. 14-Tim Kaeding [16]; 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel [11]; 14. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [24]; 15. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 16. 9-James McFadden [23]; 17. 26-Cory Eliason [25]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [15]; 19. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 20. 12N-Joey Saldana [14]; 21. 39M-Anthony Macri [18]; 22. 13-Paul McMahan [26]; 23. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [8]; 24. 71-Shane Stewart [17]; 25. 3-Jac Haudenschild [19]; 26. 28-Tim Shaffer [22]
Lap Leaders: David Gravel (1-35)
