Johnny Gray remains positive

April 17

A first-round loss in today’s 2^ndannual VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA Nationals here at zMAX Dragway has done nothing to dampen the optimism of Johnny Gray, driver of the Service Central Racing Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.

Gray, who came into this race after finishing runner up on the previous stop on the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season in Las Vegas, does not believe the early exit here will have much impact on the championship, which is decided by a six-race playoff amongst the top-10 regular season drivers.

“This car is still showing signs of grandeur,” said the 58-year-old Artesia, N.M. native. “This is a new team, not one like a 10-year-old football team with a playbook full of data. We have to keep working together, learning together and making progress.”

Qualifying was a mixed bag for the Service Central Team. The first session’s 4.233/294.88-mile-per-hour pass put Gray in ninth, but no improvement in the second round and a third round wiped out by a tree malfunction, left him in a precarious 15^th spot entering Saturday’s final round.

“Lee (Beard, crew chief) and the guys turned it up for that last round and our 4.115/304.74 mph run jumped us to seventh and good feelings for today,” he said. “But we just couldn’t seem to get the tune up right and I didn’t drive well, either.

“But it is still early in the year and as long as we stay in the middle of the top 10 by the end of the regular season, we will be a contender for the championship.”

Gray lost traction, tried to pedal, but despite problems plaguing all four in his group, could not catch either Robert Hight or Bob Tasca III. The Service Central Racing driver’s 5.899/125.86 lap was not enough to equal Tasca’s 4.125/310.55 or Hight’s 4.767/157.19.

“I didn’t push the car to the end because I realized I couldn’t win the round,” he said. “Pushing it might have led to bad things, like blowing up the motor, which is both expensive and could get us into trouble with oil-down penalties.

“I’m glad the 4-Wide is behind us,” he said. “I just don’t like it.”

Gray will head to Texas for the 24th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals April 29-May 1 at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown sitting in sixth place in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship.