Podium finishes on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series are not to be taken lightly. But at the same time, there can be some degree of frustration and even some learning opportunities that come with those results.
This weekend, drivers David Gravel and Giovanni Scelzi finished second and third respectively in both features held in the state of Ohio and sanctioned by ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’. The pair placed behind Rico Abreu on Friday night at the legendary Eldora Speedway then trailed Brad Sweet to the checkered flag on Saturday evening at Sharon Speedway.
David Gravel
Although not disheartened, Gravel did leave the ‘Buckeye State; a bit frustrated by the fact that he had been unable to beat his rival for the 2023 series championship on Saturday. While he did get close to Sweet in the final laps, he was never able to make a pass in the feature than ran caution free over the course of 30 laps.
“It was a good weekend,” Gravel stated in his post-race interview with DirtVision.com at Sharon. “I wish had took that start back. I thought Brad was going to go to the top and he went in the middle and kind of confused me, then Gio got by me. I thought Gio was actually really good early and it looked like Brad was really searching and he didn’t know where to go as well.”
In hindsight, the driver of the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 machine believes he could have been more aggressive in his attempts to get around the leader. Gravel currently trails Sweet by 80 points in the World of Outlaws standings with only a few races remaining.
“I thought the bottom was the best place to be but we were just a little bit too free down there then it started to clean up and take rubber and I think our car really came to life when that bottom came in and the grip picked up,” Gravel reflected. “It made our car sit right. Man, we were alongside Brad there, I guess I wish I ran in harder and banged wheels with him and pushed him out of the way if I had to do it over again. Obviously, we’ve got to beat him every night moving forward. Obviously, if he wins the best we can do is run second.”
By the same token, the less experienced Scelzi believes that racing up front with veteran stars such as Sweet and Gravel serves as a great learning opportunity. On multiple occasions in the Sharon feature he drew alongside Sweet to challenge for the lead but ultimately settled for third [lace for the second consecutive night after being passed late in the race by Gravel.
Giovanni Scelzi
“It was really good all night,” Scelzi declared following the Sharon race. “I’m really proud of my guys and I can’t say enough about them. I’m going to replay that one in my head a lot tonight and the next couple of days. Brad and David are really good, they’re the two top guys out here, and they’re the most consistent guys to race against. You learn every time you race against them, you know, what moves to make.”
For the son of drag racer Gary Scelzi, the race came down to a matter of choosing the right lane to be in.
“I just kind of panicked there,” the KCP Racing driver admitted. “I didn’t realize it was cleaning off that much on the bottom and I saw Gravel try the top in three and four and that was my chance to get him. Man, Brad was playing the right game to just stay on the bottom, he knew the top was blowing off. It looked like he was struggling getting into one. He couldn’t enter high like I could.”
Scelzi went on to joke that his car was so good that he was left with nothing to be upset about.
“My car was awesome, I have no complaints and I’m pretty good at complaining.”
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Series will head this weekend to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania for the crown jewel Champion Racing Oil National Open.
Please consider also reading:
Hudson O’Neal happy but not satisfied with runner-up finish close to home
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.com
