[coverattach=1]Joliet, Saturday: Shane Gray may be a rookie but he certainly knows how to drive a race car as once again, he qualified in his Tire Kingdom Pro Stock. He sits in the No. 7 position at the Union Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and HVAC Techs Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
The teams had to deal with two days of rough weather and it’s amazing that any qualifying was completed. But they were able to get three sessions in between the rain drops. So, for Gray to qualify under such conditions is satisfying, and then to land in the top half of the field is a true accomplishment.
The only session on Friday was late at night and literally was controlled by the on and off sprinkles. Gray made an impressive run at 6.709 at 206.23 mph.
Saturday started with rain and ended with rain but surprisingly it was hot and sunny in between and both sessions were completed. In the first session, Gray made his best pass, 6.659 at 207.15. Then for the second run, he slowed slightly to a 6.672 at 206.67 mph. This run may not have been Gray’s best but it is special to him. For the first time in his career, the car in the other lane was his dad, Johnny.
“The first two runs we made, the track was very loose on the top end,” explained Gray. “But it all turned out pretty good. We got three runs in and that’s really amazing with the weather conditions we faced. The Tire Kingdom car ran good and I think that possibly I’m driving it better.
“It was cool to have my dad in the lane next to me on our last pass,” stated Gray, “but I didn’t let it affect me. I realized that he was beside me when we pulled in to do the burnout and as we backed up. Then when we went in to stage, I forgot who was beside me and we went down the track next to each other. Then as we were slowing down with our chutes out and we’re fixing to turn off the track, he turned in ahead of me and I realized again, who was beside me. But when you’re out there, you just try to do your own thing and not think about the car next to you. Dad has told me time and time again to just focus on myself and not worry about who is beside me, so I didn’t.”
Gray will run a true veteran and champion of the sport, Warren Johnson, in the first-round of eliminations. The rookie feels the magnitude of what he gets to do.
“We qualified seventh,” stated Gray, “and we have to run what I call a veteran and I am very honored to run Warren in the first-round tomorrow because he is such an icon of the sport. And hopefully with some luck we can get the Tire Kingdom car past round one. We’ll just take it one round at a time and see how we do.”
The teams had to deal with two days of rough weather and it’s amazing that any qualifying was completed. But they were able to get three sessions in between the rain drops. So, for Gray to qualify under such conditions is satisfying, and then to land in the top half of the field is a true accomplishment.
The only session on Friday was late at night and literally was controlled by the on and off sprinkles. Gray made an impressive run at 6.709 at 206.23 mph.
Saturday started with rain and ended with rain but surprisingly it was hot and sunny in between and both sessions were completed. In the first session, Gray made his best pass, 6.659 at 207.15. Then for the second run, he slowed slightly to a 6.672 at 206.67 mph. This run may not have been Gray’s best but it is special to him. For the first time in his career, the car in the other lane was his dad, Johnny.
“The first two runs we made, the track was very loose on the top end,” explained Gray. “But it all turned out pretty good. We got three runs in and that’s really amazing with the weather conditions we faced. The Tire Kingdom car ran good and I think that possibly I’m driving it better.
“It was cool to have my dad in the lane next to me on our last pass,” stated Gray, “but I didn’t let it affect me. I realized that he was beside me when we pulled in to do the burnout and as we backed up. Then when we went in to stage, I forgot who was beside me and we went down the track next to each other. Then as we were slowing down with our chutes out and we’re fixing to turn off the track, he turned in ahead of me and I realized again, who was beside me. But when you’re out there, you just try to do your own thing and not think about the car next to you. Dad has told me time and time again to just focus on myself and not worry about who is beside me, so I didn’t.”
Gray will run a true veteran and champion of the sport, Warren Johnson, in the first-round of eliminations. The rookie feels the magnitude of what he gets to do.
“We qualified seventh,” stated Gray, “and we have to run what I call a veteran and I am very honored to run Warren in the first-round tomorrow because he is such an icon of the sport. And hopefully with some luck we can get the Tire Kingdom car past round one. We’ll just take it one round at a time and see how we do.”
