CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2013) – The second event of 24 in NHRA's Mello Yello Drag Racing Series provided challenges and achievements for the Gray Motorsports Pro Stock team led by fourth-year driver Shane Gray, and Denver, N.C.-based group leave the 29th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals with a little more experience with an all-new combination and a little more confidence in their program.
Gray qualified his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro in the No. 10 spot with a best time of 6.568 at 210.57 mph, and he drew Erica Enders-Stevens as his opponent in the opening round of eliminations. Unfortunately, Gray ran into trouble as soon as he let the clutch out and spun the tires on the tricky racing surface. The car made a swift move towards the centerline and lost valuable time, and he forfeited the win.
"It was challenging out there for everybody today," said crew chief Justin Elkes. "The wind was really blowing and there was a lot of dust in the air. But we worked with what we had, and we know that we made up some ground this weekend. We're definitely better than we were throughout last year. We're trying to keep the bigger picture in perspective. This weekend was another great weekend of learning for us - we faced challenges, but we are figuring things out.
"The week of the Gatornationals in Gainesville, we've got a few things we'll be testing in Bradenton, Fla. Our immediate goal is to bring the car to the engine package. Our new motor program is promising, now we just need to get it and the car in line."
Gray is intent on keeping pace during the regular season, before the Countdown to the Championship that will pit the top 10 drivers in the series against one another for the biggest trophy of all at season's end. He is currently tied for 10th in NHRA's Pro Stock standings.
"I definitely feel better about our program all around," said Gray. "But what it comes down to most weekends is lane choice, and so we need to work harder during qualifying to make sure that we have that going into Sunday. Today it got us, and we don't want that to continue to happen. We spun the tires and we had no chance, and looking at everything we think we could have run a 6.57 or 6.58. That would have been a nice run, but you can coulda shoulda woulda all you want, we just didn't get to do what we wanted to do.
"I'm looking forward to testing again, and I'm looking forward to getting to Gainesville. The Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro is going to be a fast car. It's in there, we just need to bring it all together."
The next event on the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour is the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, March 14-17.
From: Kelly Wade
More...
Gray qualified his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro in the No. 10 spot with a best time of 6.568 at 210.57 mph, and he drew Erica Enders-Stevens as his opponent in the opening round of eliminations. Unfortunately, Gray ran into trouble as soon as he let the clutch out and spun the tires on the tricky racing surface. The car made a swift move towards the centerline and lost valuable time, and he forfeited the win.
"It was challenging out there for everybody today," said crew chief Justin Elkes. "The wind was really blowing and there was a lot of dust in the air. But we worked with what we had, and we know that we made up some ground this weekend. We're definitely better than we were throughout last year. We're trying to keep the bigger picture in perspective. This weekend was another great weekend of learning for us - we faced challenges, but we are figuring things out.
"The week of the Gatornationals in Gainesville, we've got a few things we'll be testing in Bradenton, Fla. Our immediate goal is to bring the car to the engine package. Our new motor program is promising, now we just need to get it and the car in line."
Gray is intent on keeping pace during the regular season, before the Countdown to the Championship that will pit the top 10 drivers in the series against one another for the biggest trophy of all at season's end. He is currently tied for 10th in NHRA's Pro Stock standings.
"I definitely feel better about our program all around," said Gray. "But what it comes down to most weekends is lane choice, and so we need to work harder during qualifying to make sure that we have that going into Sunday. Today it got us, and we don't want that to continue to happen. We spun the tires and we had no chance, and looking at everything we think we could have run a 6.57 or 6.58. That would have been a nice run, but you can coulda shoulda woulda all you want, we just didn't get to do what we wanted to do.
"I'm looking forward to testing again, and I'm looking forward to getting to Gainesville. The Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro is going to be a fast car. It's in there, we just need to bring it all together."
The next event on the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour is the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, March 14-17.
From: Kelly Wade
More...
