POMONA, Sunday: Ever since Shane Gray was a little boy, he loved Pro Stock cars. And even though his well-known dad, Johnny Gray has driven everything from Sprint Cars to Funny Cars, Gray could only see Pro Stock for himself. And today that dream came true as he made his first Pro Stock start at the 50th annual NHRA Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
“I need to thank my mother and dad for putting me in this position,” expressed Gray, “and my very competitive, loving, caring wife for being right here and pushing me. She’s as competitive or more than I am, so it takes a combination of both of us to keep me whipped up into shape.”
Gray was in great shape for his first appearance in the professional ranks. He made four strong runs in qualifying and continued to impress everyone as he advanced to the quarterfinals today.
Gray first faced off against Ron Krisher. He left on Krisher and never looked back, posting a 6.668 against Krisher’s 6.685. His next opponent was Greg Anderson. Gray slowed on this run to a 6.697, which wasn’t enough against Anderson’s 6.626.
“Our first pass wasn’t bad for the right lane,” explained Gray. “We were looking for a .64 on that run so we were a little off. But we were one of the few cars that got down that lane. So, that says something there. We just got lucky and made it down that lane. Ron had some bad luck in the left lane and we were just fortunate to get by him.
“For out next run we went up there with basically the same tune-up. This time there was a combination of things that went on. The track got hotter and the car didn’t make as good a run. It spun the tires. When we got back to the pit, we discovered we hurt the motor, so that was part of the problem. Then I was a little late on the tree, so I was destined to get beat.”
“I can’t deny that I was nervous as all get up today,” continued Gray. “It was an honor for me to get to run Ron and Greg. I can remember in years past, sitting at home on Sunday evening watching the Pro Stocks on TV and wondering if I’d ever get to meet them, much less get to race them. I have to pinch myself to make sure that I’m not in a daze or a dream.”
To add to the thrill of the weekend, Gray’s car along with his dad’s, received the Best Engineered Vehicle award.
“I want to thank Jerry Haas for building my dad and me such fine race cars,” said Gray. “I think that Jerry is one of the best builders in the business and what makes Jerry so special to me is that he is a wonderful person. I’m glad that he received the recognition he deserves.”
Now that his debut nervousness is over Gray is ready to work on fine-tuning his car’s performance and his driving skills. He will spend the next few days testing in Las Vegas before he heads to Phoenix for the 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.
“I need to thank my mother and dad for putting me in this position,” expressed Gray, “and my very competitive, loving, caring wife for being right here and pushing me. She’s as competitive or more than I am, so it takes a combination of both of us to keep me whipped up into shape.”
Gray was in great shape for his first appearance in the professional ranks. He made four strong runs in qualifying and continued to impress everyone as he advanced to the quarterfinals today.
Gray first faced off against Ron Krisher. He left on Krisher and never looked back, posting a 6.668 against Krisher’s 6.685. His next opponent was Greg Anderson. Gray slowed on this run to a 6.697, which wasn’t enough against Anderson’s 6.626.
“Our first pass wasn’t bad for the right lane,” explained Gray. “We were looking for a .64 on that run so we were a little off. But we were one of the few cars that got down that lane. So, that says something there. We just got lucky and made it down that lane. Ron had some bad luck in the left lane and we were just fortunate to get by him.
“For out next run we went up there with basically the same tune-up. This time there was a combination of things that went on. The track got hotter and the car didn’t make as good a run. It spun the tires. When we got back to the pit, we discovered we hurt the motor, so that was part of the problem. Then I was a little late on the tree, so I was destined to get beat.”
“I can’t deny that I was nervous as all get up today,” continued Gray. “It was an honor for me to get to run Ron and Greg. I can remember in years past, sitting at home on Sunday evening watching the Pro Stocks on TV and wondering if I’d ever get to meet them, much less get to race them. I have to pinch myself to make sure that I’m not in a daze or a dream.”
To add to the thrill of the weekend, Gray’s car along with his dad’s, received the Best Engineered Vehicle award.
“I want to thank Jerry Haas for building my dad and me such fine race cars,” said Gray. “I think that Jerry is one of the best builders in the business and what makes Jerry so special to me is that he is a wonderful person. I’m glad that he received the recognition he deserves.”
Now that his debut nervousness is over Gray is ready to work on fine-tuning his car’s performance and his driving skills. He will spend the next few days testing in Las Vegas before he heads to Phoenix for the 26th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.
