Valvoline/Nova Services ace Shane Gray charges to another semifinal finish

DALLAS – Another race, another strong semifinal finish for Valvoline/Nova Services driver Shane Gray. Gray raced to the semifinals of the AAA Texas FallNationals Sunday at Texas Motorplex, winning at least two elimination rounds for the ninth time in 21 races of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. He’s now reached the semis in three consecutive races and in four of the last five events.

“We’ve become a semifinal machine, which is great in one sense because that means we’re winning rounds,” Gray said. “But it also means we’re coming up a little short of our goal, which is winning races. If we keep knocking on that door, we’ll knock it down one of these days.”

Gray moved up one spot to fourth in the Pro Stock points standings after four races of the six-race Countdown to the Championship. He’s one round behind third-place Vincent Nobile.

The Charlotte resident started the day by knocking off Seattle winner Aaron Strong in the first round. Gray had the better reaction time, .046 seconds to .067, and then made the better run, too: 6.608 seconds at 209.56 mph to 6.668 seconds at 206.80 mph.

In a Round 2 matchup between the Nos. 4 and 5 qualifiers, Gray left first on Bo Butner with a .039 reaction time and then outran him with a 6.626-second pass at 209.10 mph, while Butner trailed with a run of 6.691 seconds at 207.56 mph.

That round win moved Gray around Butner in the points battle.

“Bo is a tough competitor, and those guys are a tough team, so hat’s off to my guys for giving me a good car that round,” Gray said. “A couple more rounds and maybe we get in the middle of this championship fight, but that’s not our focus. We’ll keep grinding away, trying to get better, and we’ll see if we can knock off wins in Vegas and Pomona.”

Gray faced teammate Drew Skillman in the semifinals, with Skillman making the winning pass of 6.670 seconds at 209.04 mph. Gray didn’t make the best move early and slowed to a 6.681-second pass at 209.33 mph.

Still, with Skillman and Alex Laughlin in the final round, Gray Motorsports was assured a victory as both drivers use Gray engines.

“That says a lot about the hard work going in the engine shop,” Gray said. “It also says a lot about Drew and Alex and their crews, too. They’ve all worked real hard this year to close that gap on the KB (Racing) guys, and I’m proud of everyone who works for us. It definitely takes a team effort, and that’s what we’ve had this year.”

Gray will enjoy a weekend off before the 23rd race of 2016, the Toyota NHRA Nationals, which take place Oct. 28-30, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.