Drew Skillman

[mick]

what i meant was how did the gray's develop their engine program?
.....prove me wrong but i don't think dad and the two sons one day started building competitive pro stock engines.......who are their main guys? and before they worked for grays were they known by another performance name? just don't remember much when dad? first got involved in PS. think they had the nts/tire kingdom gig going on.

 

[mick]

I wonder what discussions are taking place regarding Allen and Roy Johnson + team merging with Elite?..........

.02 guess would be none

 

[camaro]

what i meant was how did the gray's develop their engine program?
.....prove me wrong but i don't think dad and the two sons one day started building competitive pro stock engines.......who are their main guys? and before they worked for grays were they known by another performance name? just don't remember much when dad? first got involved in PS. think they had the nts/tire kingdom gig going on.

I could be wrong but I believe both Gray and The Elite engine builders are descendants from Greg Andersons Shop. Years ago Andersons engine guy went to cagnazzi, then from cagnazzi some guys moved to Mike Edwards, then from there to gray and elite.

 

[Mooseman]

More to the story.

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...clarifies-position-on-drew-skillman-departure

 

[Butch]

I wonder what discussions are taking place regarding Allen and Roy Johnson + team merging with Elite? I'm just a regular drag racing fan with no insider knowledge but it seems as though that could be a great opportunity for all involved.

I’m somewhat vindictive so if I was Allen and Roy there is no amount of money that would entice me to work with Elite – but that’s just me

 

[Rajunz]

Wow, how does one say they were let go, and the other say they got ditched?

 

[vegasnitro]

I think we are dealing with semantics. Freeman said he asked the Skillmans point blank if they were shopping around for another ride and they said yes, so he told them to go. Drew says he was let go, but VERY conveniently left out the part he was already shopping around his dollars before his current team found out.

 

[vegasnitro]

Actually, Gray has made huge strides over the past two races (Atlanta and Topeka) and is the only other team to narrow the performance gap that KB has right now. You can also throw Alex Laughlin in there based on the Topeka race......and I do believe that he is running Gray power.

What changed in the last 2 races for Gray Motorsports? Oh Yeah, Dave Connolly came on board as a crew chief after he lost his Top Fuel ride.

 

[camaro]

I’m somewhat vindictive so if I was Allen and Roy there is no amount of money that would entice me to work with Elite – but that’s just me

Allen sold his second championship to Jeg, so money changes everything !

 

[FABMAN]

I could be wrong but I believe both Gray and The Elite engine builders are descendants from Greg Andersons Shop. Years ago Andersons engine guy went to cagnazzi, then from cagnazzi some guys moved to Mike Edwards, then from there to gray and elite.

I believe Nick Ferre was builder for Mike Edwards until he retired then went to Elite.

 

[fatcat]

Nobile is still there, although I'm wondering if he and his team owners are regretting splitting up with KB

No shit !!

 

[Riley7]

I believe Nick Ferre was builder for Mike Edwards until he retired then went to Elite.

Nick Ferri worked with Jeg's on their in-house Dodge engine program a couple of years back, after he left Edwards but prior to hooking up with Elite. So, he's one of the few engine men in Pro Stock that's had experience with both the Dodge and GM Engine Programs. I'm sure he's burning the candle at both ends to get both of the Elite engine programs back in the winner's circle. Keep in mind, his engines were some of the best out there dating back to the MER program being so dominant a few years ago, and more recently with the Elite Team and EE's dominance in more recent years. He'll get the EFI and rev limiter situation figured out, I'm sure.

As to Gray's, I know Dan Cordier is an important part of the program there, but not sure if he's the head man in the engine shop. I believe the head man was formerly with Edwards, but his name escapes me at the moment. Brain fade in this old head!

 

[MHayes]

what i meant was how did the gray's develop their engine program?
.....prove me wrong but i don't think dad and the two sons one day started building competitive pro stock engines.......who are their main guys? and before they worked for grays were they known by another performance name? just don't remember much when dad? first got involved in PS. think they had the nts/tire kingdom gig going on.

Simple, Gray acquired Cagnazzi a few years ago. Victor is still there, along with Kevin Finney (General Manger). The guys in the engine shop include Steve Johns, Paul Hoskins, Dan Cordier and Mike Smith.

 

[Jeff]

Well Skillman's new HP source is not knocking em out of the park yet (thru q2), and Nobile's ride is getting close. Pro Stock is a tough deal, but it's fun to watch.

 

[Sean D, shondoo]

Well Skillman's new HP source is not knocking em out of the park yet (thru q2).

Noticed that.......

So much is being made of this as far as whether he "quit" or was "let go", but it's completely logical that it went down the way Freeman said it went down. At the point Skillman confirmed they were shopping, there's no reason to have them around.

Furthermore, I don't understand Drew's statement of, "We had to do something......". Dude, if you're motors aren't coming out of the KB stable right now, you're struggling. That's just how it's been so far, so no, you don't have to do anything yet. Wherever Nick goes, cars thunder. It's just a matter of time.

Sean D

 

[Rajunz]

Got beat by an Elite Chevrolet, ouch.

 

[Sandman]

I saw that too. Funny thing is, I typically fast-forward through P/S but found myself watching just to see how that race panned out. Love to see some human interest in any racing.

 

[camaro]

only one race in with the gray hardware, so I'd say the jury is still out !!

 

[SoCal Racer]

Nobile is still there, although I'm wondering if he and his team owners are regretting splitting up with KB

I'm wondering if Vincent is regretting splitting up with the Johnsons and changing to Chevy..... He won more races with them in the Mopar than he has with the Camaro.