It pays to be good, but it pays more to be lucky and good.

David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports swept Night 1 at Bristol Motor Speedway for the World of Outlaws Throwdown -- earning the pole, winning their heat race and leading all but the first two laps of the feature.  

First, the good: Gravel was fast during the open test on Thursday and told his team to keep their No. 2 car exactly the way it was when he climbed out. He responded by earning the pole and setting a new track record of 13.672 seconds around the venerable Tennessee half-mile.

Then came the luck: When it came time to redraw positions in advance of the Pole Dash, Gravel drew a '1,' meaning he inherited the easiest pathway to the pole for the 25-lap feature.

He didn’t launch particularly well in the main event, which allowed Sam Hafertepe Jr. to get the jump and lead the first two laps, but Gravel quickly retook the top spot and set sail until catching the Tyler Courtney at the tail-end of the lead lap.

Running up against the wall, Gravel just couldn’t break free and drive around Sunshine, even though both were running decent lap times.

Simultaneously, Aaron Reutzel had driven from ninth to second in 20 laps and had closed to within several feet of the leader when Gravel caught another break -- a caution for a collapsed wing on Logan Schuchart’s Shark Racing 1S.

Caution with 5 to go

Logan Schuchart is the reason why

Collapsed wing pic.twitter.com/bo6ww3K8G5

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) April 24, 2021

Once again out in clean air, Gravel ran the five quickest laps of the race and was left unchallenged by Reutzel.

Equal parts good and lucky.

Had that raced stayed green, it was probably a different story, and both drivers knew it, too.

"It definitely hurt me," Reutzel said. "We were at our best in traffic compared to everyone else who seemed to stall out in dirty air.

"We were good enough to where we could be just behind someone and still carry speed. When I got by Hafertepe, I was a good bit behind (Gravel) and I just closed up and he was still stuck behind the same lap car."

Gravel just couldn’t make time up top and couldn’t go any faster down low either.

"I'd have to step it up if I heard someone under me, but Courtney was running great pace as a lapper and that was the dominant groove, I thought," Gravel said. "But I just couldn't run the top as fast as I could and if he had open track behind me, that's probably what happened."

Lady Luck had bestowed her input.

"To go from ninth to second to two laps away from taking the lead there … he couldn’t lap cars and my car was so good, I could go anywhere," Reutzel said. "He had the clean track; he could go anywhere. He was back to being good again. He was the fastest car all night until lapped traffic came along -- then I felt like we were the car to beat.

"You’ve got to be good to win these races, but you also have to be lucky, and we didn’t have the luck tonight."

Other takes from Night One at Bristol can be found below.  

A NEAR PERFECT TRACK

It’s going to take a great deal of luck and effort for Bristol Motor Speedway to replicate the racing conditions from Friday night’s main event.

Nearly an inch of rain is anticipated on Saturday, threatening a total washout and postponement to Sunday, which would also necessitate a complete rework of the racing surface whenever it stops raining.

Which is a shame, because the feature was the best the track had been all day following a series of procedural heat races and single file pole dash.

Only once the last chance showdown began -- with Tyler Courtney ripping the top -- did the track widen out and produce a compelling feature.

Well I don’t think might 1 was horrible. Heats a bit one lane but the feature had enough action throughout it for 130+mph. A pass for lead, 9th starter challenging for the win, kudos to all the drivers in the feature tonight! Hell of a job!!

— Mike Hess (@MHess51) April 24, 2021

Carson Macedo and Aaron Reutzel hope to see a similar track for the start of Night 2 that improves on these conditions leading up to the $25,000-to-win main event.

"I wouldn't mind seeing it widen out a little more," Macedo said. "I feel like this track -- when it slows down -- it won't even take rubber. We're so locked into the race track as it is, even in the slick, that maybe if they start off on the slower side and have the heat races like (the feature), the rest of the night would be even better."

Macedo wants to see a slower bottom for the start of Night 2 to promote more compelling heat races and lessen the importance of time trials.

"As long as we have something to race on, that's all we can ask for," Reutzel said. "Like Carson said, if we can start off with something like this feature and get to closer to the fence, and slowed down by the feature, would be an incredible show.

"But that's a lot to ask for. I think they did a great job, worked on it all night, it wasn't that great all day, and then it was for the A main. Given how important this race was, I'm happy that they were able to get such a good A main out of it."

With heavy rain expected tomorrow and the possibility of a Sunday night race, here's what Carson Macedo and Aaron Reutzel want to see from track preparation.

They like the way the track was for the feature tonight and hope they can start off like that for the heats on Night 2. pic.twitter.com/Bv9VXkMezQ

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) April 24, 2021

The track crew again, with all the rain expected over the next 24 hours, will once again have their work cut out for them.

CHAMPIONSHIP TIGHTENS

It was a good day in the big picture for Gravel, Reutzel and Macedo.

Brad Sweet has been so exceptionally elite to start the World of Outlaws season that the two-time and defending champion had threatened to build a 100-point advantage through the first 11 races with five wins and 10 top-5s.

From that standpoint, it was hugely important for his closest pursuers to capitalize on an eighth-place finish and that’s exactly what happened.

Gravel moved into second place with his win, leaping from third and -98 back to a more manageable -82. Sheldon Haudenschild also had an off-night and fell to third and -98. Macedo and Reutzel are -100 and -122 after starting the night -110 and -134.

For Gravel, especially, this was a statement night, because even though his consistency had placed him in the championship mix, he wasn’t happy with the overall performance in the first two months since joining Big Game Motorsports.

They won at Revolution Park in Louisiana but have averaged a 6.94 finish overall, with only one finish outside of the top-10, but no other podium either.

"If you look at my career with new teams, CJB (Motorsports) or Jason Johnson Racing, I've never been a hot starter," Gravel said. "Transitioning to a new team is something I've had to do every three years, and it always seems like I don’t get it together come May.

"I'm not totally concerned, because we're third in points, but we've just been pretty damn average."

The still reigning Knoxville Nationals winner aims to be exceptional.

"It's a pretty good place to be, and I've never led the points in my career, so to be here is not a bad thing," Gravel said.

1. Brad Sweet
2. David Gravel -82
3. Sheldon Haudenschild -98
4. Carson Macedo -100
5. Aaron Reutzel -122
6. Logan Schuchart -134
7. Donny Schatz -178
8. Kraig Kinser -246
9. Brock Zearfoss -322
10. Jason Sides -392