David Gravel

David Gravel was let go from Roth Motorsports Tuesday and 30 minutes later landed the ride with Destiny Motorsports. He will debut with the team this weekend in the World of Outlaws race at Devil's Bowl Speedway. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)

There was a half hour of uncertainty followed by a phone call and a fit of determination that kicked into high gear.

David Gravel has more to prove.

You would think that part of his career would be over. After all, he had four World of Outlaws victories last season running for Roth Motorsports -- five overall -- including a $50,000 score in the prestigious Williams Grove National Open.

But those numbers hardly matter. They are in the past, and Sprint Car racing is sport that demands results in the present.

Gravel and the team didn't produce through the early stages of the 2015 World of Outlaws season. It led to the Connecticut driver being fired Tuesday by team owner Dennis Roth and replaced by Kyle Hirst.

"Going into the season, we wanted to be a top-five car," Gravel said in an interview with PennLive. "We weren't fulfilling expectations.

"I wasn't really surprised. We've had talks before that we need to be better or things were going to change. We had a good weekend at Calistoga, and we got in a crash at Hanford. That was pretty much it."

Said Roth in a release, "David Gravel gave us a great effort for the last year, but we felt it was time to go in a different direction. We are excited to give Kyle Hirst the opportunity to hit the road and represent our team at the track.

"As I said at the start of the season, we were very pleased with what Kyle did for us in California the last few seasons and hope he can do well for us in the national spotlight."

Gravel wasted little time making his mark flying the Roth colors last season. He won his second night in the car at the famed Eldora Speedway and added another victory two races later when the series visited Wilmot, Wisc.

The final two triumphs for Gravel in his Roth tenure came at Lebanon Valley and the big one at Williams Grove.

This year was a struggle. In 17 races, Gravel only mustered two top-five finishes and nine top 10s. What hurt the most was the goose-egg in the win column and that the team fell to ninth in the World of Outlaw point standings.

"This business is cut-throat," Gravel said. "People want results and want them quick, but you change crew guys, it's a whole new season and sometimes it takes a while to mesh.

"But I don't pay the bills. I just drive the race car, and I have no hard feelings. Everything happens for a reason."

Gravel wasn't on the shelf long. He was fired at 11 a.m. and by 11:30, he already landed in another seat.

The 2013 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year received a call from Destiny Motorsports owner Rick Rogers Monday. Gravel turned down the opportunity -- sort of -- but called Rogers back Tuesday and signed on to run the rest of the season.

"Rick called me and asked if I wanted to driver the car," Gravel said. "I told him that if I'm in the Roth car, I can't drive for him.

"I gave [Rick] a call this morning, and it's kind of crazy how it all happened. You just want to prove people wrong and do the best your can. I'm motivated as ever to go out and perform at a high level."

The Destiny Motorsports slot came open Monday when team crew chief Scott Benic decided to let driver Craig Dollansky go.

Dollansky, winner of 59 World of Outlaws races, couldn't get rolling under the Destiny Motorsports banner. The team posted one top-five finish, four top 10s and slipped to 13th in the point standings.

But Gravel isn't worried about past performance. It's all about taking a step forward and making a situation work.

"This team is well funded, and they have good equipment," Gravel said. "They have been running better the last couple of weeks, making the dash.

"They are headed in the right direction, and I hope to be a breath of fresh air. They have good engines, good cars and it's just about putting all the pieces together.

"I've gotten a lot of support and praise from people online. I just want to get in this car and show people I'm one of the best drivers out there."