Shane Gray to face Gray Motorsports engine customer Drew Skillman in round one - Speedway Digest

On the one hand, Shane Gray is happy one of his Gray Motorsports engine customers is running numbers close to his own.

On the other hand, running that close puts them together on the speed chart, resulting in Gray having to race Drew Skillman in the first round of the 29th annual Protect The Harvest.com NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.

“That’s not the ideal situation, of course, but we’ll race each other like we’ll race anyone else,” Gray said. “Drew is a fantastic driver, as he’s proven it in his couple of years in Pro Stock. I’ll have to be up to the job, for sure.

“But at least we know one of our engines is going to the second round. I just hope it’s the one in my car.”

Gray’s Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet qualified No. 8 with a pass of 6.567 seconds at 210.73 mph. Skillman, using a Gray Motorsports engine, qualified No. 9 with a run of 6.568 seconds at 210.97 mph.

“Those numbers are pretty close, aren’t they?” Gray said. “That’s good, and Alex (Laughlin, who also uses Gray Motorsports engines) was right there with us. I’m proud of all the hard work all the guys in the engine shop have done this season. We’ve had good horsepower all season, and we’ve been able to prove that recently.”

Gray has raced to the semifinals in five of the last eight races, all since past Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly joined the team as crew chief. Gray, too, has been able to climb from 15th to seventh in the Pro Stock standings since the second race of the season.

“Dave has done a tremendous job with this car,” Gray said. “All the guys on the team continue to work hard, too, and we’ve had things rolling lately. We’d love to be able to get one of our cars in the winner’s circle here soon.”

Eliminations start at noon, Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will air qualifying action from 5 to 6 p.m., Friday, and 11 to 12 p.m., Saturday. FOX will carry eliminations live from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday. (All times listed in PT).

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.