David Gravel Glues To The Bottom And Wins At Lernerville
David Gravel Glues To The Bottom And Wins At Lernerville
David Gravel survived two late-race cautions, stayed glued to the bottom groove, and won the Commonwealth Clash.
David Gravel led from flag to flag on Saturday night at the 37-lap extended Commonwealth Clash, withstanding two late cautions to secure the victory. Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz completed the podium at the Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania.
Gravel was second-fastest overall in qualifying before switching engines in a scheduled change. The swap did not seem to bother the driver. He went on to win his heat, finish second in the dash, and then dominate the feature.
Gravel took off to an early lead ahead of Sweet, who followed him closely for the majority of the race. Action stopped for a red flag on lap three when Jason Sides flipped violently down the front stretch and into turn one. The driver walked away by his own power.
As action returned to the track, Sweet momentarily took the lead on the backstretch but the yellow flag waved for AJ Flick before he could make it back to the line.
A second red flag came out of lap 14, with Gravel still leading. Sheldon Haudenschild replaced Sweet for second. After the field reset, Haudenschild worked on shortening Gravel's lead and tried to go too high on the cushion.
Sweet closed within striking distance of Gravel when the pair hit heavy traffic. A bold attempt at a pass proved unsuccessful and gave Gravel the leverage to pull away again.
"Once David got control, it was tough to get by him. We had lots of chances in lapped traffic, but could not get the job done," Sweet said of his second-place finish.
With one lap to go, it seemed clear that Gravel was going to take home the gold, but the race was extended due to Danny Holtgraver spinning and stopping backwards on the backstretch. The cars lined up for the first of two green-white-checkers attempts.
"I didn't really know what to do. I knew I didn't want to give the bottom away," Gravel said. "I saw Brad stick his nose under me early and I knew I had to step it up."
Schatz pulled off his third podium finish in a row after an off month for the eight-time champion.
Shane Stewart and Friday night's winner Tim Shaffer completed the top five.
Kraig Kinser, Jason Johnson, Daryl Pittman, and Logan Schuchart finished in sixth through 10th. Pitman's top-10 finish came after spinning while running fourth and having to start at the back of the field on lap eight.
Gravel was second-fastest overall in qualifying before switching engines in a scheduled change. The swap did not seem to bother the driver. He went on to win his heat, finish second in the dash, and then dominate the feature.
Gravel took off to an early lead ahead of Sweet, who followed him closely for the majority of the race. Action stopped for a red flag on lap three when Jason Sides flipped violently down the front stretch and into turn one. The driver walked away by his own power.
As action returned to the track, Sweet momentarily took the lead on the backstretch but the yellow flag waved for AJ Flick before he could make it back to the line.
A second red flag came out of lap 14, with Gravel still leading. Sheldon Haudenschild replaced Sweet for second. After the field reset, Haudenschild worked on shortening Gravel's lead and tried to go too high on the cushion.
Sweet closed within striking distance of Gravel when the pair hit heavy traffic. A bold attempt at a pass proved unsuccessful and gave Gravel the leverage to pull away again.
"Once David got control, it was tough to get by him. We had lots of chances in lapped traffic, but could not get the job done," Sweet said of his second-place finish.
With one lap to go, it seemed clear that Gravel was going to take home the gold, but the race was extended due to Danny Holtgraver spinning and stopping backwards on the backstretch. The cars lined up for the first of two green-white-checkers attempts.
"I didn't really know what to do. I knew I didn't want to give the bottom away," Gravel said. "I saw Brad stick his nose under me early and I knew I had to step it up."
Schatz pulled off his third podium finish in a row after an off month for the eight-time champion.
Shane Stewart and Friday night's winner Tim Shaffer completed the top five.
Kraig Kinser, Jason Johnson, Daryl Pittman, and Logan Schuchart finished in sixth through 10th. Pitman's top-10 finish came after spinning while running fourth and having to start at the back of the field on lap eight.
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