JOHNNY GRAY 

•DATE OF BIRTH: March 20, 1953

•HOMETOWN: Artesia, N.M.

•SPONSOR/CAR: Service Central Racing Charger

•CREW CHIEF: Rob Wendland

•CAREER WINS: 4FC: 1 TAD: 1 TAFC: 2

•CAREER FINAL ROUNDS: 14FC: 8 PS: 3 TAD: 1 TAFC: 2

•CAREER BEST E.T.: 4.010

•CAREER BEST SPEED: 318.62

PERSONAL

•Spouse: Terry

•Sons: Shane (5/9/72), John (6/15/81)

•Height/weight: 5’11”, 208 lbs

•Hobbies: Bass fishing, golf, and riding Harley-Davidsons

•Has earned three national event wins in Lucas Oil Series competition, including one in Top Alcohol Dragster and two in Top Alcohol Funny Car

•Claimed Division 7 TAFC title in 1998 and Division 5 title in 1997

•Son Shane Gray competes in Pro Stock

Johnny Gray, who joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2011 to drive the Service Central Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car in the NHRA Full Throttle series, loves to race cars and always has.

The 57-year-old began drag racing in 1969 and ran several different classes through a number of years, but had also competed in road racing and circle track events. “I just love it,” he says without any reservations.

He made the first 200-mile-per-hour pass in a gasoline-fueled car in a 1993 run with a Comp Eliminator dragster at Houston. Gray was also the first driver to run a Comp Eliminator in the 6.70s and 6.80s for the quarter mile.The same year of his record run found Gray entering the NHRA professional ranks in the Pro Stock category. He ran 10 races in 1993 and 1994.

The alcohol classes became Gray’s next competitive arena. In 1996 he finished sixth in the points driving a Top Alcohol Dragster, followed by winning the 1997 Division 5 Top Alcohol Funny Car championship and the 1998 Division 7 Top Alcohol Funny Car championship.

Gray returned in 1999 for his first NHRA Funny Car race, followed with seven flopper events in 2000 then ran the full Funny Car schedule in 2001 and 2002. Off-track responsibilities meant a partial schedule from 2002 -2004, one event in 2006 and no races in 2005 and 2007.

In 2008 Gray formed the Pro Stock Gray Motorsports team both as a means to get back on the track and to blaze a trail for his son Shane. Johnny finished 15th in 2008, improved to 9th the following season and 10th in 2010. (Shane joined his father on the Pro Stock circuit, both driving for Service Central, and finished a solid fourth in the championship points race. Shane won his first national event, the season finale in Pomona and went to two additional final rounds.)

Gray returned to the Funny Car class in 2011 under the Don Schumacher Racing banner with backing from Service Central. It proved to be quite the season for the veteran drag racer. Gray reached five final rounds and earned his first career Funny Car win in Brainerd. The team narrowly missed the Countdown to the Championship before becoming one of the hottest cars on the circuit, playing the spoiler role for the remainder of the season.