Johnny Gray grabs 13th position for Las Vegas eliminations

April 02

Johnny Gray, whose Service Central Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car was on the verge of not making tomorrow’s 12^th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, resorted to a previous car setup for his last qualifying run today and put himself and the Service Central Racing team into the 13^th-starting position here at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gray, from Artesia, N.M., ran the last round in 4.267 seconds/292.52 miles per hour, and believes he could have gone even faster.

“We had been struggling all weekend, but Lee (Beard, crew chief) and the Service Central guys gave me a car that did a 4.267 on that last run, even though we dropped a cylinder,” said Gray. “If we can do that on seven cylinders, and get the tires and tune up right for tomorrow, we have to chance to go four rounds.”

It is not fun for either the driver or crew to have their backs against the wall with the prospect of not making the show, but the team is a group of experienced professionals, including the 57 year-old Gray.

“Everyone thinks that the pressure is all on the crew and crew chief, and all the driver has to do is mash the gas,” he said. “But if you need a good run to make the show, the pressure in on everyone. If the crew gives me a good car, and I mess up, I have let everyone down.

“This Service Central crew has worked hard to get us to Sunday, and I am confident that, if I do my job, we can be there at the end.”

According to Gray, who considers Las Vegas his home race and is hosting many family and friends for the weekend, the team stayed in Florida after the Gatornationals earlier in the month and did some serious testing.

“No excuse, but this is a new team and we are all trying to find the right answers,” he said as he prepares for his third race after a five-year hiatus from Funny Car competition. “Thanks to Don and everyone at Don Schumacher Racing, as well as at Service Central, we’ve got great guys and great equipment for this team – and we know we are really close for it to all come together.”

Gray came into this weekend holding eighth place in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship. It does not get any easier in tomorrow’s first round, with Tire Kingdom Gatornationals winner Mike Neff as a first-round opponent.