Thursday’s open test for the World of Outlaws at Bristol Motor Speedway produced breaktaking speeds but also a collective sigh of relief.

"I feel way better (after) today than I did coming into it," says third-place in points David Gravel.

The Big Game Motorsports driver was one of several who issued concerns about safety in advance of the first Sprint Car race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 20 years, an event that did not include any advance testing prior to Thursday.

Defending champion Brad Sweet and 10-time champion Donny Schatz were amongst those urging caution about a track that could produce dangerous speeds and unnecessary risks if it wasn’t prepared just right.

As if to heed those concerns, head groundskeeper Mike Van Genderen provided a slick track, which slowed speeds but also generated some concerns about blistering and blowing right rears, not to mention ruts that needed to be navigated around.

These, however, are manageable conditions.

"The track got a little rough in (turns) three and four, but one and two was really nice and I believe they’ll be able to even up the two ends before we really get going on it," Gravel said. "I believe we’ll be able to use most of the race track this weekend.

"I found a line that I felt was the fastest and felt the best, so we’ll see if that works tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a good qualifying lap down, because I do feel like that will be important."

It was a track that Logan Schuchart hopes they can race on tomorrow.

"Hopefully, it’s slick, and a little wide, so we can give fans something they want to see," Schuchart said.

Schuchart added that there is a balance to be struck in keeping the track slow and dry, but not too much that it either takes rubber and locks down, which would prevent passing chances on Friday and Saturday night.

"It’s got to be slick, and it’s got to be wide," Schuchart said. "That balance does make (track crew) jobs tough, but it shows what they’re made of. You really appreciate tracks like Eldora or Knoxville because those tractors and those manning it or so good, that they get it slick and get it wide so we can pass, without it rubbering up."

Rookie Parker Price-Miller offered nearly the exact same take as Gravel and Schuchart combined.

"I feel a lot better leaving tonight than I did when the day started," Price-Miller said. "The place is intimidating, especially for someone who hasn’t been here before, but I really enjoyed where the track ended up. Hopefully we get a track like this tomorrow."

There were five different practice sessions that began at 6 p.m. and ran through 8:30 with these drivers topping each session:

Round One – Donny Schatz (14.210)
Round Two- Gio Scelzi (14.575)
Round Three – David Gravel (14.533)
Round Four – David Gravel (14.742)
Round Five – Parker Price-Miller (15.059)

Of note, Gravel posted a top-10 time in each session and indicated that it was no fluke.

"It’s a huge confidence boost to roll out of the trailer and be that fast," Gravel said. "I’ve always loved racing on these bigger tracks and this place doesn’t disappoint. I hope we can get a track just like this when it comes to racing, but maybe get it out a little bit wider."

Price-Miller rebounded from a power steering failure in the opening session to build on his speed throughout the day. Kyle Larson has smoke billowing from his car during the third session but that was found to be excess oil burning off the headers.

Jac Haudenschild, driving a throwback Pennzoil sponsored car that paid homage to his time driving for car owner Jack Ender, spun on the frontstretch during the third practice but incurred no damage from the ordeal.

The only concern moving forward, it seems, is what will happen to the track if the current forecast for the weekend holds and Saturday’s race gets rained out to Sunday and takes place on a wet fast surface.

"Hopefully Friday is just like tonight, and Sunday is probably going to be wetter, " Gravel said. "Faster too, but we’ll see. There’s a lot of banking here too, so it could run down quite a bit and I’m sure they’ll have it pretty good."