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.”

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ST. LOUIS – Shane Gray came up short a scant .002-second from reaching his first final round of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Sunday at the 5th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park just outside of St. Louis.

Gray, driver of the Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Pro Stock racer for Gray Motorsports, started today’s eliminations from the lofty No. 1 qualifying spot (6.604 seconds, 209.43 mph). It was his second time starting from the top spot this season. It also marked 14 consecutive events for Gray to qualify in the top half of the eliminations field.

In the first two rounds, Gray defeated Dave River and Drew Skillman, respectively.

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ST. LOUIS – Pro Stock driver Shane Gray’s start to NHRA’s six-race Countdown to the Championship was fairly successful. He qualified fourth, won an eliminations round, and moved up one spot in the Mello Yello points. But the competitive racer wanted more from the weekend, prompting a Monday test session in Charlotte to further his preparation for this weekend’s fourth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.

“We all felt like we had a car that could have won the Charlotte race,” Gray said. “But in Round 2 the engine cut off for a second right after the launch, and even though it started right back up, we’d already lost our momentum and ultimately the race itself. It had us a bit puzzled, so we stayed and tested and thankfully figured out what happened.

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CHARLOTTE – Shane Gray has started NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship playoffs with an impressive display of horsepower during qualifying for the ninth annual NHRA Carolina Nationals. Gray’s Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro was the quickest in two of the four timed Pro Stock sessions, which equates to six bonus points in the Mello Yello standings.

“They reset the points for the start of the Countdown and all of us in the top 10 by just 10 points each, so to make up six points in qualifying is very encouraging,” Gray said. “We got ourselves a race car, and with this being our home track we’re feeling very comfortable being here and running our Chevy down this strip.

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CHARLOTTE – There’s no place like home, just ask Pro Stock championship contender Shane Gray, who begins NHRA’s six-race Countdown to the Championship this weekend at the ninth annual NHRA Carolina Nationals just a stone’s throw from his home and race shop in nearby Mooresville, N.C.

“We’re lucky because we get two home races each year, so everyone gets to sleep in their own beds each night and be with their families a little more,” Gray said. “When you’re on the road as much as it takes to run a 24-race series, believe me, this is one perk you really embrace.

“I think it’ll help us a bunch to kick off the playoffs with fresh minds and rested bodies. The summer has been a bit of a grind, and I know the guys are enjoying this extended time at home. Hopefully, that good feeling translates to what we can accomplish on the racetrack.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – Valvoline/Nova Services Pro Stock driver Shane Gray accomplished a goal during the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on Monday at Lucas Oil Raceway.

By racing to the semifinals of drag racing’s most prestigious race, Gray locked up his spot in the Countdown to the Championship, the six-race segment of the season that determines the 2016 champion.

Gray had to climb from 15th place in the points standings after the second race of the season to reach the top 10. NHRA mandated fuel-injected engines for 2016, and the change affected Pro Stock teams in different ways. Gray has been to four semifinals in the last seven races as he surged to eighth in the standings for the start of the Countdown.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Pro Stock front-runner Shane Gray secured the No. 3 starting spot in this year’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals with a stout Saturday night run of 6.577 seconds at 209.52 mph in his Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro.

Gray, the 2014 Indy champ, says earning a second trophy at the sport’s biggest and longest-running national event would be beyond anything he could imagine.

“It’s hard to win any race in the NHRA, but they always say if you only win one, make it Indy,” Gray said. “Well, we’ve been fortunate enough to win a few of these races across the country, but certainly the one we got here is extra special.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Pro Stock ace Shane Gray will sport a special paint scheme at this weekend’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals to commemorate 150 years of Valvoline and highlight their Max Life products.

“Valvoline has been a great partner and supporter of ours, and we wanted to do something nice to show them how proud we are to wear their colors,” Gray said. “I called my buddy Sean Cain at Blackbeard and he designed this paint scheme for us, and we all think it looks fantastic.

“Hopefully, having Max Life on the hood will be the final good-luck charm we need to get to the winner’s circle this year. We’ve made a ton of strides in the right direction this summer, and it sure feels like we’re a win waiting to happen. One of our engine customers, Drew Skillman, won the last race, so we know we got the power. It’s time to get it done.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – The NHRA’s most recent stop in Brainerd, Minn., marked a big moment in the 2016 campaign of veteran Pro Stock driver Shane Gray as one of his engine customers, Drew Skillman, managed to race his way to the winner’s circle. Couple that with Gray’s own streak of top performances, and the driver of the Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro says he’s ready to conquer this weekend’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

“Drew’s win was a great lift for the team,” Gray said. “Those KB Racing guys have gobbled up 14 of 16 trophies this year, so to be powering one of the cars that has been able to break through and take one was very satisfying.

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BRAINERD, MN – Pro Stock driver Shane Gray had the quicker car in his first-round match with back-to-back Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, but a quicker reaction time by his opponent was a tad too much to overcome and he ultimately lost the race by .003-second, or a few inches in length.

“It was hard to tell who won at the stripe because we were nailed together door handle to door handle, but give her credit, she pulled off a better light and that was the difference,” Gray said. “It’s always tough to lose, it’s tougher to lose in the first round, and it’s brutal to lose on a holeshot, but I’m a big boy. I’ll take my lumps and move on.

“Bottom line, we have a great race car. We are consistently qualifying in the top half of the field, and I feel confident coming into every race that we can win. I didn’t do my job today but the guys sure did. We’ll pick up and get to Indy and try all over again.”

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