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Qualifying report

Gray starting from the top half at Pomona

The Charter Communications team fine-tuned their Chevrolet Camaro and came out on Saturday afternoon with a better time of 6.528, at 211.89 mph that would stand as Gray's best time of the weekend

Shane Gray

Shane Gray

Michael C. Johnson

Gray Motorsports driver Shane Gray is off to a strong start at the 54th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals. The driver of the Charter Communications Chevrolet Camaro remained a top-half contender throughout qualifying and will start from the No. 7 spot at the first of 24 events on NHRA's Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

Shane Gray
Shane Gray

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

Gray, now entering his fifth year of competition in the Pro Stock category, started the weekend with a 6.559-second run at 211.69 mph and improved to a notable 6.547, 211.73 on Friday's second pass. Unsatisfied, the Charter Communications team fine-tuned their Chevrolet Camaro and came out on Saturday afternoon with an even better 6.528, 211.89 that would stand as Gray's best time of the weekend, although the group wasn't too far off the mark when they saw their sleek green, blue and white Camaro streak to a 6.537 at 211.79 in the final qualifying round.

"We definitely left some on the table with our Charter Communications Chevrolet Camaro," said Gray, who will race Swedish Pro Stock champ Jimmy Alund in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. "We can definitely run better tomorrow than we did during qualifying, and hopefully, if all goes as planned, we can get a better handle for raceday. I think this Gray Motorsports team has the ability to do that, and we are on a good track as a team. We just need to speed everything up. That's the plan."

The second-generation driver and his Gray Motorsports teammate, Dave Connolly, qualified on the same side of the ladder. Although an all Gray Motorsports final is out of the question for the first raceday of the year, a possible meeting in the semifinals is certainly not a negative.

"I hope we race each other in the semis, because that means that one of the Gray Motorsports cars will get into the final round here in Pomona," said Gray. "It doesn't matter which car gets there, just so long as one of them does. So that's the goal."

As for his expectations heading into raceday, the three-time NHRA Pro Stock winner is even-keeled.

"I'm hoping that I will wake up in the morning feeling good, that's where it all starts," said Gray. "We take it from there."

Gray Motorsports

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