JOHNNY GRAY GRAY MOTORSPORTS/PITCH ENERGY DODGE CHARGER R/T EVENT PREVIEW - SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

JOHNNY GRAY

GRAY MOTORSPORTS/PITCH ENERGY DODGE CHARGER R/T

EVENT PREVIEW - SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS

THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY 

Gray and Pitch Energy Team Aim to Keep Momentum Rolling in Las Vegas

           

ARTESIA, N.M. - RIS - NHRA Funny Car pilot Johnny Gray is determined to make his final full season in the driver's seat his best, and with a victory already logged and half-ownership of the points lead in his possession for the first time in his long and diverse drag racing career, the driver of the Pitch Energy Dodge Charger is well on his way.

This weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fourth of 24 events in the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, will afford Gray the opportunity to extend the celebration started two weeks ago when he scored the win over long-ago teammate Del Worsham in the final round at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

The Gatornationals victory was extremely rewarding on many levels and was a race-win high on Gray's wish list. The accomplishment came with the added bonus of vaulting Gray to the top of the heap and a tie for the points lead with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps. With the Countdown to the Championship still months away, some may pose the question of peaking too early and running out of steam, but for Gray, his shared perch is a motivator to reach even higher.

"Shoot, at my age you better peak any time you can," joked Gray, who turned 60 on March 20th, just three days after winning the fourth nitro Funny Car title of his career. "To be honest, it's great to be where we are right now, and we really don't feel like we've peaked yet. Every time my crew chiefs Rob Wendland and Rip Reynolds look at the car, they see things they can improve and how they can make it better. As a driver, every time we sit down and critique me, I see things I can do a little bit better, too. We feel like we've got plenty left to improve on, and that's what it's all about, going out there and getting better and better. If we can carry that through into the Countdown, we'll be pretty competitive."

A return to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is always enjoyable for Gray, who was runner-up there at both the spring and fall events in 2011. With incredible performances at the most recent two races (the Pitch Energy Dodge was the quickest Funny Car in Phoenix and qualified second in Gainesville), Gray is positioned to carry momentum to the favored facility.

"Our car is running extremely well," said Gray. "We haven't always had good luck in Vegas, but we've run well there before, and we're pretty excited to get back there and see if we can carry this thing forward. We were win No. 199 for Don Schumacher Racing in Gainesville, and our buddy Antron Brown [Top Fuel] got 200; we'd love to be the team to get the 201st win for Don. We'll be digging at it."

Gray has a very dedicated team behind him - including sister Terry Chandler, his partner in sponsoring the Pitch Energy Dodge - along with the unending support of wife Terry and sons Shane and Jonathan. Clearly, the theme for the year is "family," and Gray literally drives the point home as he campaigns a gorgeous paint scheme on his Pitch Energy Dodge in honor of his father, the late John R. Gray.

Following the Las Vegas event, the Grays, Chandler, and the entire 10-man team will travel to the family's hometown of Artesia, N.M., to display the Pitch Energy Dodge at a special community event honoring John R. Gray, a legendary oilman in Artesia, on April 10th. Gray will also sign autograph cards and participate in an effort to raise money for Artesia's Grammy's House through a special reduced-price sale of souvenir shirts and collectible diecasts donated by Don Schumacher Racing.

"It's going to be a great day, and we're all really looking forward to it," said Gray. "It's a neat deal to be able to share this with the folks of Artesia, and it just adds to the special, special season that we're already having. It'd be just awesome to show up there in Artesia with another trophy, so we're going to focus on that at the moment. We've got a great team and a great racecar. If anybody can go out there and double-up with back-to-back wins, it's got to be us."

JOHNNY GRAY, PITCH ENERGY DODGE CHARGER R/T

JOHNNY AT LAS VEGAS

A year ago at Las Vegas 1: Qualified No. 13; collected a quarterfinals finish.

Last October at Las Vegas 2: Qualified No. 5; finished in the semifinals.

Career at Las Vegas 1: Runner-up in 2011

Career at Las Vegas 2: Runner-up in 2011

Johnny Gray's STATS

2013      Pts    Races   Titles R-up  Poles   DNQ   Win/Loss

              1st t.       3           1         0        1          0           6-2

Career           Races    Titles  R-up   Poles DNQ   Win/Loss

                          207          4        12          4       40        135-163

CAREER BEST TIME, SPEED

4.010 seconds (10-1-11, Reading), 319.45 mph (10-8-12, Reading)

NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES STANDINGS

(after 3 of 24 events; DSR drivers in CAPS)

FUNNY CAR

1. RON CAPPS, 244

1. JOHNNY GRAY, 244

3. Courtney Force, 216

4. MATT HAGAN, 209

5. Cruz Pedregon, 181

6. Del Worsham, 168

7. Robert Hight, 156

8. Bob Tasca III, 155

9. JACK BECKMAN, 148

10. John Force, 144

2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Event winners:

Courtney Force, RON CAPPS, JOHNNY GRAY.

THIS WEEK AT LAS VEGAS

WHAT: 14th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals

WHERE: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

NITRO SCHEDULE (times are PT):

Friday: Qualifying, 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m.

Saturday: Qualifying, 1 p.m., 2:45 p.m.

Sunday: Championship eliminations, 11 a.m.

ON ESPN2:

Saturday: Qualifying, 8 p.m. (ET)

Sunday: Championship eliminations, 11 p.m. (ET)

WEATHER.COM FORECAST

Friday: High 86; 10 percent chance of rain

Saturday: High 87; 0 percent chance of rain

Sunday: High 85; 10 percent chance of rain

-30-

www.graymotorsports.com

www.shoeracing.com

About Johnny Gray

Johnny Gray has raced competitively in various arenas, including go-karts, late model and sprint dirt cars, NHRA's Lucas Oil sportsman series, and as a professional Pro Stock and Funny Car driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The successful businessman from Artesia, N.M., first joined the professional ranks in 1993 and garnered his first win in 2011 in Brainerd, Minn. He enjoyed a career year in 2012 with two national event victories in four championship rounds driving for Don Schumacher Racing. Two No. 1 qualifier awards and a career-best speed of 319.45 mph in the semifinals in Reading, Pa., rounded out the greatest season of his professional career, and Gray ended the year sixth in the series standings. He and his wife, Terry, share their passion for motorsports with two children, Shane - who competes in NHRA Pro Stock behind the wheel of the Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro, and Jonathan - an avid dirt late model racer. Johnny and Terry have six grandchildren.

About Pitch Energy

In 2013, Johnny Gray is campaigning a Pitch Energy paint scheme on his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T in tribute to his late father, John R. Gray, who passed away at the age of 71 on October 28, 2001. Gray and his sister, Terry Chandler, jointly fund the effort through Pitch Energy Corp. Pitch Energy Corp., whose parent company was Marbob Energy Corp., was founded by the elder Gray and named after the card game Pitch, a favorite afternoon pastime. When Johnny ventured into nitro Funny Car racing, his father would often attend races and would always find time between rounds to play a game of Pitch with friends. 

About Gray Motorsports

Gray Motorsports is based in Denver, N.C., near motorsports-hotspot Charlotte. The fully equipped race shop was established in the fall of 2009 to develop a top of the line in-house engine program capable of winning NHRA Pro Stock world championships. In 2013, Gray Motorsports formed a partnership with Oklahoma-based Elite Performance to operate as two individual entities sharing information and experience gathered through respective R&D programs. Still in its youth, Gray Motorsports has already accumulated two Pro Stock national event wins with driver Shane Gray at the wheel of his family-backed, Jerry Haas-built Chevy Camaro. Dad Johnny Gray piloted the Don Schumacher Racing Service Central Funny Car to victory in Brainerd in 2011 and Englishtown and Sonoma in 2012, bringing the Gray Motorsports victory tally to five and counting. With younger brother and former Comp Eliminator driver Jonathan supporting the efforts in the engine shop while also pursuing his own dreams in the Dirt Late Model arena, the Gray Motorsports team is armed for and aimed right at success on NHRA's 24-race Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

About Don Schumacher Racing

Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., starts 2013 with seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline/MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar/Rocky Dodge, the NAPA Filters of Ron Capps and the Pitch Energy Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 200 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships. Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

Dusty Brandel

President of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, Inc. Worked with Mike Hollander since Tapsis, Compuserve, etc. and has posted to the website since the beginning. First Female photo-journalist to be given a garage and pit pass for the NASCAR garage, 1972 at Ontario Motor Speedway. One of first seven female writers, photographers given access to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage and pits in 1971. Past President of Greater Los Angeles Press Club, 1992-96, and first female editor of the 8-Ball publication for the Press Club

Read More on Drag Racing press releases
Volume 2012, Issue 10, Posted 12:57 AM, 04.05.2013