NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES
NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
ZMAX DRAGWAY, CHARLOTTE, NC
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
APRIL 28, 2017
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS met with the media and discussed his first career win at Vegas, racing four-wide for the first time, and racing at his home track at zMax Dragway, and more. Full transcript:
TALK ABOUT YOUR EARLY SUCCESS THIS SEASON AND THE MOMENTUM THAT IT HAS BROUGHT
“The guys have given me a really good race car and that has made my job really easy. With my dad (Shane Gray), my grandpa (Johnny Gray), and Dave (Connolly) here it has made the learning curve not so steep. It’s definitely been going well.”
THIS IS YOUR FIRS TIME RUNNING THE FOUR-WIDES. ARE YOU TAKING THE SAME APPROACH THIS WEEKEND OR ARE YOU GOING TO MODIFY IT?
“I don’t know yet. I will have a better answer after Q1 but as of right now I am going to go up there and make sure I get in.”
YOU TOUCHED A LITTLE ON YOUR FAMILY HISTORY WITH THE DEEP GRAY HISTORY. TALK A LITTLE ABOUT ANY ADDED PRESSURE IF THERE IS ANY
“I don’t feel like there is any pressure…yet anyway. I feel like it just comes natural to go out there and race and I don’t think they are putting any pressure on me to win in any ways. I think I put all the pressure on myself when I am out there. Other than that, I don’t feel much pressure.”
I NOTICED THAT IN YOUR OFF TIME YOU SPEND A LITTLE TIME AT SOME DIRT TRACKS. TALK ABOUT TURNING LEFT AS OPPOSED TO WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO THIS WEEKEND
“I love going dirt racing and really just driving anything. When I am here, after the weekend is done, I am excited to get to the dirt track. When I am done at the dirt track, I am excited to get here. I just like to get in anything that I can but I definitely love running sprint cars for sure.”
HOW MUCH STUDYING DID YOU DO THIS PAST WEEK TO GET USED TO LINING UP FOUR WIDE INSTEAD OF TWO WIDE?
“Not much. I have been out here for a while and have seen my dad run it and there is not much studying that you can do. As long as you are sure your stage light is lit and you are in, in seven seconds, it’s pretty simple.”
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF SOMEONE CAME AND ASKED YOU TO RUN THE INDY 500 FOR A MILLION DOLLARS?
“I’d say put me in.” (laughs)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO LEARN RIGHT NOW IN PRO STOCK?
“Probably this weekend and the four-wides. I think this will definitely be a tougher race for me than I have had in the past. I think it will take a lot of focus to go up there and make sure you are in but in the same sense make sure you are not decking it in before some of the other guys are in. It will definitely be a challenge but I think after a few runs I will get the hang of it and we will be alright.”
WHEN I TALKED TO YOU TWO YEARS AGO, YOU SAID THAT YOU THOUGHT YOUR CAREER WOULD BE IN ASPHALT OVAL RACING. WHAT HAS MADE YOU COME BACK TO DRAG RACING AND ALSO ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT YOUR INITIAL VICTORY CAME AS QUICKLY AS IT DID?
“On the victory side of things, yes and no. We have a great team and they have given me great race cars and so far, I have shown to drive okay. As far as the asphalt oval side of things go, the opportunity that was placed before me….the team ran out of money. It’s tough to say no to something like this, it’s something that I have been around my whole life, and it’s something that I have enjoyed being around. It was just the opportunity that was placed before me.”
DID YOU STUDY FOR A LONG TIME FOR WHAT IT WAS GOING TO TAKE TO DRIVE THE CARS OR DID IT JUST COME NATURALLY?
“No, I have been around it so long that when I was 11 years old I could have told you how to get in and drive one of these things. I have watched a lot of in-car cameras of my dad testing, a lot of in-car cameras of Dave (Connolly) testing, so there was a good amount of studying but I don’t think that is what it was coming into it. I don’t think I said I was going to sit down and study this, I think I did it because I love to watch some videos and everything else. I think a lot of it comes natural too from growing up around it. I have heard these guys talk about it since I was 10 years old and once you are around something for so long it kind of comes natural.”