The 29th annual Lucas Oil Nationals turned out to be a great race for Johnny Gray and his NTB, National Tire and Battery Pro Stock. In the beautiful Minnesota lakes region at Brainerd International Raceway, Gray secured the ninth spot in the Countdown to 1 playoffs and muscled his way to his fifth semifinal round appearance of the season.
Gray’s NTB Pontiac was a strong, consistent car as he posted three 6.63 second runs. He beat Warren Johnson in the opening round of action with a 6.633 at 207.78. Then in the second round, he took out V. Gaines with a 6.632 at 207.5 mph.
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For the second time this year, his semifinal round opponent was his son and teammate, Shane Gray in the Big O Tires car. This time Gray posted a 6.637 at 207.56 mph but it wasn’t enough as Shane left the line first and never looked back, handing his dad the loss.
“We had a great day here at Brainerd with both the NTB car and Shane’s Big O Tires car,” Gray said. “To get both cars in the semis and the Big O Tires car in the final is great. You know we try to put on a good show for our sponsors and the fans and I think we did that.”
But Gray’s strong performance wasn’t what meant the most to him. Sure, he’s a race through and through and wants to win, but in the end, the father part of him took over and he showed his pride for his son.
“I’m very, very proud of Shane,” stated Gray. “He came real close to getting one, so he’s going to get there. I promise you he’s going to win a race real soon.”
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