<<---- Gray Motorsports ---->>

Top 10 finish highlights Pombo/Sargent Classic for Johnny Gray

By Gary Thomas

Tulare, Ca - July 23, 2006... Johnny Gray and the Gray Motorsports team ventured down to the Thunderbowl Raceway this past weekend to compete in the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic. The weather was awful as temps were well into the triple digits but that’s just a classic Summer day in the Central Valley.

Johnny brought the Jessee Heating and Air 71 out 28^th in the qualifying order and his best lap of 14.377 was good enough for 15^th quick.

He lined up third in heat race number three but didn’t get a good start and fell back to fifth. He pressured fourth running Mike Faria for a few laps but couldn’t get by and had to settle for fifth sending him to the B-main. Johnny brought home a fifth place finish in the B-main to transfer into the feature event.

In the feature Johnny started way back in the 21^st position. He was making laps when he got caught up with someone else and tipped onto his side in turns three and four. He was able to roll away and get back out for the restart. Johnny would eventually finish 19^th.

On Saturday the wind was blowing much harder which dried out the track considerably. An early draw in qualifying was needed and Johnny got it as he was the fourth car to hit the speedway in qualifying. Johnny took the Four Season’s Roofing Maxim around the Thunderbowl in 14.276 seconds which placed him sixth quick overall.

Johnny lined up inside row number three in the third and final heat race. He fell into sixth on the start and eventually finished sixth sending him to the B-main. In the B-main he started on the front row and finished third as the race was cut short for time considerations.

With finishing third in the B-main, it gave Johnny his time back for the feature so he was able to start outside row number five. The track was slick and treacherous as the heat and wind had taken its toll on the surface. After 30 hard laps Johnny brought the Carrier Air, Ritchie Homes 71 home in 10^th place.

Johnny now sits seventh in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings with only two races left. Those two races will be held next weekend at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway as the Golden State Challenge Series puts an end to their season.

Johnny Gray gets top 10 at Jessee Heating & Air Night

By Gary Thomas

Chico, Ca - July 17, 2006... Johnny Gray came into Jessee Heating & Air Night at Silver Dollar Speedway looking to continue his recent string of consistent runs and possibly get into victory lane for the first time this season. A very fast race track made for passing to be at a premium, and although it wasn’t a win, he brought the car home in one piece and scored a top 10 finish.

Johnny was the 22^nd driver to hit the track in qualifying and turned a fastest lap of 12.434 to put the Jessee Heating and Air 71 ninth quick.

Johnny then lined up outside row two in the night’s third and final heat race. On the first lap outside front row starter Bernie Sloop spun out to bring out a caution and force a complete restart. This moved the Four Season’s Roofing, Carrier Air 71 to the front row. Johnny was hooked up and haulin’ as he took the lead and dominated to win his fourth heat race of the year in Silver Dollar Speedway point race competition.

The 25 lap feature event saw Johnny line up inside row number five in the ninth starting slot. The track was very fast and choppy in some places which made for some tense racing on the 1/4 mile bullring. After 25 laps Johnny brought the Ritchie Homes Maxim home in ninth place.

Johnny sits sixth in the Silver Dollar Speedway point standings, just six back of Shane Matthews and nine back of Jonathan Allard. Point racing at Silver Dollar will take a couple weeks off now to allow for the Civil War Series and Golden State Challenge Series to compete at the track. The next scheduled point race for 410 sprints is August 4^th.

Another solid week of action for John Gray in Chico

By Gary Thomas

Chico, Ca - July 10, 2006... John Gray and the Gray Motorsports came into the big week of racing at Silver Dollar Speedway fresh off of a third place finish on the previous Friday. John's results have been really improved over the last month or so and he has turned back into the consistent driver that won the Silver Dollar Speedway track championship in 2004. This past week featured three 410 sprint car races at Silver Dollar Speedway.

A special Tuesday night event was held on July 4th and 33 cars showed up for it. John qualified ninth quick with a best lap 12.189. That lined up John outside row two in the night's first heat race. John was on his game and quickly moved up to the top spot. The extremely large crowd showed their appreciation as John brought the Jessee Heating & Air 71 home in first place.

John started ninth in the night's 25 lap feature event. The track was difficult to make passes on as the high groove had pretty much gone away for the feature. John, however, was able to take advantage when others made mistakes. Randy V and crew had the car on a rail and John made a late race pass to finish in the fourth position. It was a great way to kick off the week for the Gray Motorsports team and set the tone for weekend.

Friday night brought another round of Silver Dollar Speedway point action. With 34 winged 410's packing the pits John qualified the Four Seasons Roofing, RPM Racing Engines 71 with a lap of 12.226 which placed him 12th quick overall. It put John outside row two in the second heat race where he finished third to transfer into the night's 20 lap feature event.

Fast qualifier Jason Statler pulled the number eight pill which gave John an outside front row starting position for the feature. He settled into third and ran a smooth and solid race but with the track again a one lane on the bottom type deal, it made passing difficult. At the checkered John sat in third place to tie his season best finish. It was the second Friday in a row that John placed the Carrier Air Maxim on the podium.

Saturday night then came and featured a Golden State Challenge Series sanctioned event.

John was the seventh driver to hit the Speedway for qualifying and on his second lap cracked off a nice 12.708 to earn the night's second fastest time. It was a season best qualifying effort with the Golden State Challenge Series for John and Gray Motorsports.

He lined up outside row three in the second heat race. John moved forward at the waving of the green flag and got up to third by the finish to transfer into the night's dash.

Luck was with him in the dash pill draw as he drew the number two pill to put him on the front row of the dash. The track had dried out considerably and on the start of the dash John was involved in an accident that forced him to restart at the rear of the field. He was then able to drive the Ritchie Homes, Butler Built 71 back to fifth by the finish.

The fifth place finish in the night's dash gave John an inside row three starting spot for the 30 lap feature event. The track was hard packed and featured some great action as John battled it out with some of California's top sprint car drivers. After 30 tough laps the Jessee Heating & Air, Four Season's Roofing, Carrier Air 71 sat in seventh place.

It was a solid run and it totaled his fourth top 10 finish with GSC this season. In fact, John has now tallied three consecutive top 10 finishes with GSC and has driven very smart with the results showing it.
John has also been doing extremely well at Silver Dollar Speedway the last month as well. Since June 9 John has competed in five races at Silver Dollar and his results are as follows: 7, 3, 4, 3, 5.

As stated earlier, the consistency has come back to Gray Motorsports and that's what it takes to make it in racing. John hasn't been the wild flashy driver that he was early in the year and most of last year, but any racing person knows that to finish first, you first have to finish. People in the pits have taken notice to how well John has been doing this last month and a win could very well be on the horizon.

To keep up with John Gray and Gray Motorsports visit http://gray-motorsports.com/home.htm

John Gray drives to season best finish at Silver Dollar Speedway

By Gary Thomas

Chico, Ca - July 3, 2006... After taking last weekend off, John Gray and the Gray Motorsports team were back in action this past Friday evening at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. John was coming off of a fifth place finish in his last race at Silver Dollar Speedway on June 9 so hopes were high he’d get the Jessee Heating and Air, Four Season’s Roofing, Mountain Mike’s Pizza 71 up front again.

John brought the Ritchie Homes, Carrier Air, RPM Racing Engines, Maxim out 19th in the qualifying order and his quickest lap of 12.408 put him ninth quick overall.

He lined up outside row number two in the night’s third and final heat race. John did a nice job to hold off Jason Statler and end up third at the checkered flag to transfer into the feature.

John lined outside row number four in the evening’s 25 lap feature event. He fell in line at the waving of the green flag and sat in eighth when the caution flag flew on lap two. A lap after going back to green Jonathan Allard biked off of turn four which moved John up a position and then he went to work on Korey Lovell and Brett Rollag. John was on the move and when a caution came out on lap 12 he sat in fourth place. After going back to green he had a great battle with the drivers sitting third through sixth and diced it up some of California’s best. Another caution appeared on lap 20 and saw John sitting in the sixth position. On the restart the drivers sitting second and third made contact and brought out a caution which bumped the Jessee Heating and Air 71 up to fourth place. The final restart of the night saw John close in on third place Andy Forsberg and he would eventually make the pass of Forsberg and at the finish he brought home a terrific third place finish.

John’s results have been improving the last month and he is starting to regain the form that won him the 2004 Silver Dollar Speedway track championship.

This coming weekend will see John Gray compete at Silver Dollar Speedway for a points race on Friday and then a Golden State Challenge Series event on Saturday.

John Gray Dirt Cup Recap

By: Gary Thomas

Alger, Washington - June 20, 2006... John Gray and the Gray Motorsports team competed in their first ever Dirt Cup this past weekend at the scary fast Skagit Speedway. It was a tough weekend but one that gave valuable experience to John and he can take that back down to California.

John qualified 39^th quick on Thursday and finished in ninth place in his heat race. He then drove the Jessee Heating and Air 71 to an eleventh place finish in the C-main.

Friday afternoon brought rain showers throughout the day and the decision was made to go ahead and attempt to race. Qualifying didn’t start until 9:45 pm so it made for a late night. John qualified and tick better and got the Four Seasons Roofing Maxim up to seventh in his heat race. Rain showers came back midway through the C-main and the it was called a night. The decision was made to go off of points gathered from qualifying and heats and not to run the rest of the Friday features on Saturday.

On Saturday night at Dirt Cup, scrambles for the top six in points in the C, B & A mains are ran. John had enough points to run the C-scramble where he finished fourth to earn the fourth starting position for the 20 lap C-main. The race didn’t go so well and ended with John suffering a dnf to end his first try at the Dirt Cup.

The competition at the Dirt Cup is pretty stout and it was a great opportunity for John to get up and compete at the famous race.

This weekend will be back to familiar territory for the Gray Motorsports team. Friday they’ll be in action at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. John currently sits sixth in Silver Dollar Speedway points and is coming off of a fifth place finish in the most recent 410 race at the track.

Saturday will be on down to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for another Golden State Challenge King of California Series race. John is seventh in the GSC point standings heading into the Thunderbowl.

To keep up to date with the happenings of John Gray visit http://gray-motorsports.com/home.htm

John Gray scores a couple more top 10 finishes

By Gary Thomas

June 11, 2006... Fresh off of a sixth place finish with the Golden State Challenge Series in Placerville last Saturday, John Gray and the Gray Motorsports team came into this past weekend with confidence and momentum on their side.

John came into Friday night’s event at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico 8th in the track point standings. The night got underway great for John as he qualified the Jessee Heating and Air 71 with a lap of 11.986 which was a stout third quick out of 27 cars.

John then lined up outside row three in the third heat race. At the drop of the green flag he went to work and made some great maneuvers to get up to second by lap four then with a couple laps left set his sights on leader Matt Shelton. As the white flag waved John gassed up the Four Seasons Roofing Maxim and got side by side with Shelton as they raced down the back stretch. Going into turn three John stayed up on the high side and rode the rim around Shelton to pick up the exciting win.

Quick qualifier Jonathan Allard pulled the number six pill which put John outside row number two for the 25 lap feature. John fell into seventh on the start and then picked off a couple cars around lap four. Fighting an extremely dusty and slick racetrack John brought the Carrier Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Systems 71 home in fifth place. The top five was a great way for John to cap off a solid night of action.

The team made the drive to Petaluma Speedway the following night to compete with the Golden State Challenge King of California Series. Coming into the evening John sat in a tie with Stephen Allard for seventh in the GSC point standings.

John qualified 14th quick with 13.108 second lap and lined up on the outside of the front row in the second heat race. He got the jump and led the first few laps before Ronnie Day was able to get around him on a restart. John stayed composed and brought the Ritchie Homes 71 to a second place finish and transferred into the main event.

John lined up way back in the seventh row for the 30 lap feature. He ran a smart and conservative main event and ran around 10th for much of the race until a last lap incident between a couple front runners moved John up to seventh at the finish.

John has finished sixth and seventh in the last two GSC races and has helped him move up in the points. He has driven very smart in his last three races and it is showing in his results.

Good news from the Gray Motorsports team is that they have found a truck driver and will be making the tow up to Medford on Monday for the GSC event at Southern Oregon Speedway and then on up to Skagit Speedway for the $25,000 to win Super Dirt Cup.

Follow John Gray on the web at http://gray-motorsports.com/home.htm

John Gray scores season best GSC finish in Placerville

By Gary Thomas

June 4, 2006... The Gray Motorsports team and driver John Gray continued their season long chase of the Golden State Challenge Series championship this past weekend competing on Friday at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway then on Saturday at Placerville Speedway. Coming into the weekend John sat eighth in the tough and talent packed Golden State Challenge Series point standings.

Friday night was John’s first Golden State Challenge Series race at Ocean Speedway and he qualified the Jessee Heating & Air #71 fourteenth quick with a 10.341 second lap around the 1/4 mile.

He would start third in the second heat race and after 10 laps he brought home a fourth place finish to transfer into the feature event.

Starting deep in the field John would battle in the middle of the pack for most of the race and would eventually bring home the Four Season’s Roofing Maxim in 11^th place.

The following night the team made the drive to Placerville Speedway for the 10^th race of the Golden State Challenge Series season.

The high banked red clay 1/4 mile bullring is a much more familiar track for John and it showed in qualifying as he scored 11^th quick out of 30 strong cars.

John lined up outside row number two in the fourth and final heat race, however, a flip by outside front row starter Brett Miller on the opening lap bumped John up to the front row for the complete restart. At the waving of the green flag John immediately put the Ritchie Homes, Carrier Air Heating & Refrigeration Systems #71 into the lead. The car was locked to the lightning fast race track as Randy V and the crew hit the set up and John did his job to hold off fellow Chico driver Jonathan Allard for all 10 laps and pick up the heat win. It was John’s fifth GSC heat race victory of the season and ties him with Allard for most in the series.

Outside row number six is where John would line up for the 30 lap feature event. He fell into line eleventh on the start and would keep the RPM Racing Engines, Rohdebilt, Mountain Mikes Pizza #71 out of trouble early in the race and did a nice job to move up to seventh by a lap 14 caution. On the restart Jason Statler stalled which moved John up to sixth. The last half of the race saw John try and get past Billy Wallace for fifth but the fast track made passing difficult and he had to settle for sixth at the finish.

It was great points night for John and the Jessee Heating & Air, Four Season’s Roofing, Ritchie Homes team. A heat race win coupled with his season best Golden State Challenge Series finish gives John momentum heading into next weekend’s GSC event in Petaluma. They are also set to tackle the Silver Dollar Speedway clay on Friday for the fourth SDS point race of the year.

Help Needed- Gray Motorsports is looking for a person with a certified CDL license to drive the rig up to Skagit Speedway’s Dirt Cup that is coming up in less than two weeks. Expenses will be paid and the rig is set to leave on Monday June 12 to make it to the Golden State Challenge Series event in Medford that night. After that they will head up to Skagit Speedway to partake in the prestigious three day Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup. This could be a sweet deal for someone, so if interested contact the shop at 530-345-3550 for more details.