By Alex Nieten
They say heavy lies the crown.
Sprint Car racing is no exception.
David Gravel is atop the sport. He and Big Game Motorsports climbed to the mountain peak in 2024 with their first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series title, backed it up in 2025, and are set for a three-peat. All they have to do is avoid disaster at The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 4-7), and they’ll hoist the trophy once again.
But the route doesn’t get any easier. The target only grows on Gravel’s back. When you’re at the top, every competitor wants to be the one to take you down. And once you climb atop the throne, that’s where you want to stay. Anything less is unacceptable.
“You win the first one, and you finally accomplished that and can check it off,” Gravel said. “But then you’re used to being on top and you want to stay on top. Everybody is out to get you, out to beat you, out to do better than you, always trying to gain an advantage on you. It’s definitely harder, in my opinion, to stay on top, than it is to win that first one because you’re just kind of in uncharted territory. You’re just pushing as hard as you can, and you’re trying to find the limits and boundaries and sometimes it happens. For us, the pressure to win one isn’t there, but there’s immense pressure to stay where we’re at. If we’re not the champions, the season is a failure.”
This season is certainly no failure for Gravel and the Tod Quiring-owned operation. They’re a cozy 124 points ahead in the championship fight with only World Finals remaining. Statistics slipped a touch for the No. 2 team this year compared to last, but they’re still set to achieve the ultimate goal, still set to stay on top. Gravel, Cody Jacobs (crew chief), Luke Vaughn (car chief), and Zach Patterson (tire specialist) are poised to celebrate a title in the “Queen City.”
“I feel like 2026 has been a pretty good year for us,” Gravel said. “There’s always room for improvement, but our qualifying was pretty flawless all year long and it’s not easy to do. Super proud of that. There’re a couple nights I’d like to take back of me crashing but overall, very, very solid. I feel like we were a top five car every night. Last year I believe we won 17 races, so you typically don’t want to go down in that department, but we won the highest paying race of the year. If you could take that every year, that would be awesome. Every year is always a little bit different. Maybe you’re a little better here but a little worse there. It’s just how it goes sometimes.”
The current crop with The Greatest Show on Dirt isn’t making things easy on Gravel. Buddy Kofoid continues to rise with Roth Motorsports to the tune of a Series best 17 wins already this season. Sheldon Haudenschild’s first tour with KCP Racing proved to be his best yet as he and Gravel are currently tied in the “W” column. Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing remain a force. Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing aren’t slowing. Donny Schatz rebounded with CJB Motorsports. Garet Williamson surged in his sophomore season with Fischer Motorsports. The list of top talent on tour goes on and on. They’re ready to pounce should Gravel stumble.
“I would say our top 10 or 12 guys are all pretty strong,” Gravel said. “The top four with Carson, Buddy, Sheldon, and me, I feel like we bring it every night. We’re all battling for a top five every single night. I think we have pretty good depth right now with the World of Outlaws. There’re no gimmes.”
Even with the challenges of maintaining excellence and fending off a hungry collection of wheelmen, Gravel is ready to join an elite and exclusive group. Only Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet have ever won three consecutive World of Outlaws championships. Not only will Gravel join them should he hang on, he’ll also equal Sammy Swindell for the fourth most titles overall with his third.
Gravel is cementing his place in history and continues to put together one of the sport’s best runs ever with Big Game Motorsports. But no milestone is enough. Gravel didn’t get to this level by being satisfied. He’s comfortable atop the throne with no plans of relinquishing the seat.
“It would be really awesome to get into an elite category with only three other people,” Gravel said. “Donny had dominant runs and so did Steve, but there’re always people in there breaking up the run sometimes. So, to do it three times would definitely be special. It always makes you hungry for more. They’re definitely all earned, and it doesn’t get any less stressful. It doesn’t get any easier. You’ve got to be on it every night, and you definitely carry the weight of being the champion.”
Gravel and Big Game Motorsports will look to lock up their third consecutive championship next week (Nov. 4-7) at The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.