Nov 2: Gravel Eyes Historic Three-Peat at Charlotte World Finals

David Gravel enters the final week of the 2026 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season on the verge of a rare achievement. Through 48 years of Series history, only three drivers have won three consecutive World of Outlaws championships: Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet. Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports team, which won its first title together in 2024 and repeated in 2025, can become the fourth at the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals, Nov. 4-7 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. A third title would also tie Gravel with Sammy Swindell for the fourth-most championships in Series history.

The lead has been built on consistency. Gravel and the Tod Quiring-owned No. 2 team have collected 11 wins, 32 podiums and 64 top-10 finishes across 72 starts this season, with an average finish of 5.17. He holds a 124-point advantage over Michael "Buddy" Kofoid of Roth Motorsports, who leads the Series with 17 wins. Sheldon Haudenschild sits third, 222 points back, followed by Carson Macedo at minus-320. Gravel's crew includes crew chief Cody Jacobs, car chief Luke Vaughn and tire specialist Zach Patterson. SPEED SPORT noted that the team's statistics dipped slightly compared with 2025, but the championship remains theirs to lose.

The clinch scenario is straightforward. Three Sprint Car Series races remain on the 78-race schedule, all at Charlotte, according to World of Outlaws standings (75 of 78 races complete). Big Game Motorsports stated entering the week, as reported by Speedway Digest, that as long as Gravel finishes 20th or better in each of the three World Finals main events, he will clinch the title. If he falls outside the top 20 in any of the three features, the title would depend on Kofoid's and Haudenschild's results, and the Series has not published scenarios for that case.

Charlotte has been one of Gravel's strongest tracks. His eight World of Outlaws wins at The Dirt Track at Charlotte are the second-most by any driver, and half of them have come since he joined Big Game Motorsports. In 14 Charlotte starts in the No. 2, he has finished fourth or better eight times. The four-night World Finals closes the Series' 49th season and also features the World of Outlaws Late Models and the Super DIRTcar Series.