This will come to no surprise but David Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 team will remain on the World of Outlaws next season.
Gravel confirmed the decision on the season premiere of his off-season YouTube show on Thursday night. There was also some breaking news in which Gravel said he has signed a deal with RMS Racing to race the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in January.
Really, there was no expectation that Gravel and Big Game Motorsports would flip to the High Limit Series or do anything else for that matter because they have been entirely committed to the goal of winning an Outlaws championship together.
Beyond that, team owner Tod Quiring also operates Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota, a track that has increased its financial commitment to races on the World of Outlaws schedule including the $250,000 to win High Bank Nationals.
“I’ve felt like there are a lot of good options next year, unprecedented options, and it’s a tough decision but I feel like you have to do what’s best for you and run a series that you think can give you the most opportunity to make a living and that fits your mold on travel and how often you run the west coast, breaks and time off,” Gravel said on his show. “We’re going to be back on the World of Outlaws tour next year and that’s important to me and Tod Quiring and all of Big Game Motorsports is winning that championship.”
It may be an easier goal now that Sweet will run his High Limit Series next year after winning five consecutive World of Outlaws championships. Gravel has finished second to Sweet three years in a row.
“It’s very important and it’s a very prestigious thing,” Gravel said of the championship. “And right now, it’s where we want to be. Obviously, Brad and Kyle (Larson) are building something really big and it’s going to be a competitor to the World of Outlaws but they have a lot to prove; and I think they will prove it.
“I’ve dedicated 10 years to the World of Outlaws tour and for me, I want to get to 100 wins. That’s important to me and becoming a champion. I feel like we are more than capable of that.”
Would it mean any less to do it after Sweet leaves?
“Brad Sweet, the defending champion will not be there, but that’s not my problem,” Gravel said. “He’s doing something that will better him and his life and hopefully Sprint Car racing.
“We’re committed to the World of Outlaws right now. I feel like we have a great nucleus of drivers regardless of if Brad is there or not. I feel like we have the best teams and drivers. The points fund is really strong. Brad has won it five times so for him, he has nothing to prove on the World of Outlaws tour. I still have stuff to prove and want to check this off the list of achievements.”
Gravel is also interested to see what happens with the evolving landscape.
“Brad is doing some pretty interesting things in the sport and I don’t blame him one bit,” Gravel said. “When you have Kyle Larson as your brother-in-law and FloRacing to start a Sprint Car series, you can’t pass that up as long as you’ve been in the sport.
“He’s promoted events, has his own race track and its a really unique opportunity and a no-brainer from the business department. It’s going to be a weird year. Drivers and teams will be split up. High Limit will be in places the Outlaws used to be and vice versa but I’m really interested to see the High Limit schedule because we have our four freebies.”
World of Outlaws allows full-time teams four races off the tour without losing their tow money and championship purse benefits.
Gravel conceded curiosity over who goes where.
“I bet you by the PRI show, we’ll understand who is a World of Outlaws team and who is High Limit,” Gravel said. “I think the World of Outlaws will have quite a bit of teams still. They doubled their tow money, which will help a lot of teams stay.
“The High Limit thing, I’ll be very interested where (Tyler Courtney) goes. Zeb Wise will be High Limit. Brad Sweet is High Limit. What do people like Anthony Macri do, Brent Marks, Austin McCarl, the Shark Racing cars. There are a lot of question marks. It will be interesting to see. It’s a really exciting time in Sprint Car racing.
“There’s so much animosity and bad feelings between World of Outlaws and High Limit but I find it to be amazing and an exciting time to be a racer, to be a Sprint Car fan. From five years to today, looking back at the stats, Donny Schatz won 30 races in a year and he only brought in $600,000.
“Logan Schcuart without even counting the (Eldora) Million, brought in a million dollars. That goes to show you the sport is growing but the cost has too so this is needed. The teams need it because they’re losing a lot of money and the standard purse increase is five to eight years too late. It’s been $10,000 to win forever so it’s good to finally see an increase.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.