Feelin’ Fruity: David Gravel Banks $26,000 At Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals

The sixth different winner in six races at Skagit Speedway brought us a new champion of the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals on Saturday night.

By:  World of Outlaws, including photo

Leading all 35 laps, Watertown, CT’s David Gravel outlasted Brad Sweet and Spencer Bayston in a torrid run through lap traffic to cash the $26,000 check in front of a packed house at the Alger, WA facility. The victory not only cut his championship deficit down to -76 points but also delivered a milestone moment for Gravel as he collected his 75th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win.

Only reading the box score would be a bit misleading as Bayston for the first 28 laps and Sweet for the final seven never let Gravel gain an edge over the competition. After the only restart of the race on Lap 6, the lead trio never let each other out of sight and saved the best for last when they nearly went side-by-side for the lead at the white flag lap.

Ultimately, Gravel survived the challenges of both competitors and held on to win by 0.242-seconds at the stripe. It’s his third win at Washington’s Skagit Speedway and his sixth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season aboard the Big Game Motorsports, Huset’s Speedway, Billion Automotive #2.

“I saw his right front at the white flag so I knew he was close,” Gravel said on the final lap. “He got halfway underneath me, but I was always really comfortable on the bottom of turns 1&2, so I felt fine. You try to be somewhat conservative so you can step it up if you need to like that. The track changed quite a bit and the car changed with it, so shoutout to my guys Cody [Jacobs], Trey [Bowman], and Zach [Patterson]. It feels great to get another big win.”