Just a few weeks after winning her first Bandolero race at Goodyear All American Speedway, Delaney Gray is preparing to embark on a new challenge in her young career.
Starting next month, Delaney will get her first taste of dirt track competition as she begins testing box stock winged carts at Millbridge Speedway, with the goal of making her official debut at the track later this year.
Transitioning from asphalt to dirt track racing is a concept that is both exciting and nerve wracking for Delaney, but she believes Millbridge presents an ideal opportunity to perfect her driving style and is eager to start making laps there.
“We’re thinking this is going to be a pretty fun deal,” Delaney said. “Moving off the asphalt for a while and going to dirt will give me some good experience. We also think this will help me out with car control.”
Everything has been proceeding as planned for Delaney during the 2022 season.
Along with her first victory back on Apr. 9, Delaney’s father Brandon Gray has observed her run some of the fastest laps of any other driver in Goodyear’s Bandolero division and is only expecting his daughter to get faster with more track time.
Brandon sees Millbridge as a needed detour for Delaney when it comes to her development, adding that racing box stocks will teach her a variety of qualities about auto racing that she might not necessarily obtain in a Bandolero.
“There will be a big difference with car control,” Brandon said. “Those dirt cars [hang out a lot more] and you don’t see a lot of side-by-side racing on asphalt with the kids. You’re always side-by-side on dirt, so I want her to get comfortable around other cars.”
Brandon said Delaney’s dirt debut would not have been possible without Charlie Messer of Hyper-Formance Motorsports helping him launch Delaney’s dirt program on a large stage like Millbridge.
With the track regularly hosting prominent figures in NASCAR for exhibition events and driver development, Brandon said that having Delaney race at Millbridge on Tuesday nights will be crucial towards building valuable connections that can bolster her career.
Brandon expects plenty of trial and error with Delaney as she finds her comfort zone around Millbridge but is confident that she will display the same composed, energetic mindset that has allowed her to find so much success at Goodyear this season.
“I just want Delaney to have some fun,” Brandon said. “The main thing is for her to enjoy herself while learning more about car control. This is a big group of kids she’ll be racing with, so we’re looking for the fellowship and for Delaney to have fun.”
Even with Millbridge being uncharted territory for her, Delaney is not intimidated by the obstacles in front of her and plans to cherish every opportunity to learn from her competitors and use that knowledge to better herself on the track.
“I’ve had some fun times this year,” Delaney said. “We’ve had some ups and downs, but each time I’ve gotten back up and I’m always ready to get back on track and do it all again. Hopefully we race well [at Millbridge] and avoid getting in wrecks.”
Delaney would like to thank all the crew members with Brandon Gray Racing, Dillon Spain Motorsports and MPM Marketing, along with her partners in W.G. Speeks Inc., Bob’s Muffler Shop of Goldsboro, Solid Rock Carriers, RE/MAX Compete, Firm360, Carolina Family Pool & Patio and Firehouse Subs.
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