Shane Gray drives his way to steady quarterfinal result at NHRA season opener
POMONA, CA – Pro Stock driver Shane Gray drove the wheels off his Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro at 
the season-opening 56th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals and left town with a respectable quarterfinal finish in the first of 24 races on the NHRA schedule.
The No. 11 qualifier after posting a best pass of 6.660 seconds at 208.81 mph during time trials, Gray used a nice dose of starting-line prowess to upset the higher-qualified race car of Chris McGaha, who entered the day in the No. 6 slot. But despite another great start in the quarterfinals, Gray was caught and passed by No. 3 qualifier Bo Butner to end his race day.
“I felt really good this morning,” Gray said. “We’re still searching for an agreeable setup for the car, but we felt like we had enough to go out there and put a decent number on the board. Chris had qualified better than us and he was running good most of last season, so I knew I needed to get after him and try to earn a little e.t. on the starting line.
“I was able to cut a good light (.022-second) and I guess he missed it a bit (.098 reaction time), so we had a nice head start and I was able to hold him off. That was a great way to start the season right there.”
The huge lead Gray gained at the starting line allowed him to win with a pass of 6.693 seconds at 208.59 mph, just ahead of McGaha’s quicker but losing 6.670 at 208.97 mph.
Butner was next and although Gray left with more than a tenth of a second in his pocket, Butner simply had too much horsepower and was able to reel Gray in and pass him to win with a 6.623 at 208.91 mph to Gray’s 6.716 at 208.17 mph.
“There are definitely some things we need to look at,” Gray said. “Our speed is decent, which means we have horsepower, but we’re not getting the e.t.s we should be getting. It’s a big adjustment going from years and years of carbureted race cars to this new electronic fuel injection, but that’s not an excuse because everyone is racing under the same rules. We just need to do a better job.
“The good news is we are just drag racing; we’re not performing open-heart surgery out here. I think the new look of the cars and the EFI is going to be very popular with the fans and with the bigwigs in Detroit as well. This is what we’ve got to race with, so it’s on the race teams to make it happen. We’ll be better next time out, for sure.”
