Shane Gray trending in the right direction as Countdown to the Championship continues

READING, PA – Pro Stock driver Shane Gray is heating up at the perfect time as NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship reaches its third of six events this weekend with the 32nd annual Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

Gray and his Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro crew were the top qualifiers at last weekend’s race in St. Louis, extending their streak of top-half qualifying efforts to 14th straight races, and the group’s seventh semifinal finish of the season on Sunday lifted Gray two more spots in the Mello Yello points to fifth place overall.

“Hopefully we can keep this momentum going in Reading,” Gray said. “We’re also very anxious to make it to a final round and have a chance at another victory. We knew if we could get consistency on our side, then all the other things would fall into place and Dave (Connolly, crew chief) has definitely given us that consistency.”

Connolly started the year as the driver of a Top Fuel dragster, but when the team he raced for unexpectedly folded, he returned to the Pro Stock ranks to captain his good friend’s race team.

Gray Motorsports has since grown to a three-car operation with engine customers Drew Skillman and Alex Laughlin, winners of two of the last four national events, sharing data and tuning tips to the benefit of all three race cars.

“The more information on how to get these cars down the track in the conditions you are facing during any given round, the better it is for all of us,” Gray said. “It’s why you see so many teams hooking up and entering alliances out here. The days of independent teams doing it alone are just about gone.”

Maple Grove Raceway provides a virtual playground for high-horsepower teams like the ones in the Gray Motorsports camp. If conditions are just right — cool and crisp with low humidity — then it can be a record-setting locale.

“It’s cooler there and hopefully the rain will stay away and we can have a chance to fly,” Gray said. “Being down in that valley with all the trees around there pumping oxygen out makes it a perfect place for our cars.

“This is always one of those races where it would be almost as much fun to sit up there in the stands and watch the fireworks, although I do like the view I get inside my Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro a little bit more.”

Pro Stock qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., Friday, and 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., Saturday. Eliminations start at 1 p.m., Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast qualifying action live from 6 to 7 p.m., Friday. Eliminations will air live from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday. (All times listed in ET).