Vegas winner Shane Gray looking for back-to-back victories to finish season

POMONA, CA – Shane Gray is riding high as the NHRA season comes to a close with this weekend’s 52nd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals. The steady pro from North Carolina is coming off a big victory at the last stop in Las Vegas and his Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro remains one of the best in Pro Stock.

“We have ourselves a great racecar,” Gray said. “Aside from the adjustments we needed to make for the altitude differences between here and Las Vegas, we really didn’t change much on the car. It’s running strong and coming off a win, I think all of us are feeling good about what we’re doing over here.

“As a driver, it’s really cool when the car is running this well because you can focus all your attention and energy on making good passes. It helps the crew chief and crew when the driver is consistent behind the wheel so I put a lot of effort into doing the best I can when I’m in the cockpit.”

Gray qualified sixth here after a best pass of 6.573 seconds at 209.65 mph. He’s now qualified in the top half of the field in 18 consecutive races, a streak that will stand for quite some time as he plans on handing driving duties over to his son Tanner in 2017.

“We made some good passes here so far and the car responded well to the changes we’ve asked of it,” Gray said. “We’re really having a good time. The mood is up in the pit and with the end of the season upon us we’re just taking it all in.

“We do have a lot of testing scheduled so Tanner can get used to the car and what it takes to make good passes. It’ll be a busy holiday break and I know if we can go into the off season with more of this positive momentum then it’ll be easier for everyone to come to work and try that much harder to make the team better.”

Up first in Sunday’s eliminations will be part-time racer Matt Hartford, who posted a 6.603 at 209.95 mph in qualifying 11th on the ladder. This will be the first meeting of the year between Gray and Hartford.

“Matt’s a good racecar driver and we’ll take nothing for granted against him,” Gray said. “The first round should take place around the same time as Q1 and Q3 so that will help us as far as making an educated decision on the tune-up. The main thing is we’re going to have fun and give these fans a great show.”

Eliminations start at noon, Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will air elimination action live from 1-4 p.m., Sunday. (All times listed in PT).