CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
64th CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY IN INDIANAPOLIS
MONDAY, SEPT. 3, 2018
Chevrolet Driver Success at Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Sets Stage for Countdown
• Tanner Gray wins first at Indy; secures Pro Stock No. 1 seed for Countdown
• Courtney Force is No. 1 seed, Robert Hight is No. 3 entering the playoffs
• Stephen Bell, Arthur Kohn drive COPO Camaros to SAM Tech Showdown semis
• Jeff Myers reaches semifinals of Super Stock in Chevrolet COPO Camaro
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 3, 2018) – Tanner Gray entered the 64th Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals with two stated objectives: win his first Pro Stock race at Lucas Oil Raceway and secure the No. 1 seed for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
The 19-year-old’s broad smile in the winner’s circle proclaimed his success.
Gray, the No. 1 qualifier in the Gray Manufacturing Technologies Chevrolet Camaro SS entering race day in the regular-season finale, defeated three-time Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. on a holeshot in the final round.
“This is so cool to win here, especially at a Chevy race,” said Gray, whose .003-of-a-second reaction time was the difference when he ran 6.641 seconds to Coughlin’s 6.639 and .023 light. “When you can go up there and beat one of the best to come to the class on a holeshot, that definitely means a lot. I am so proud of my guys. They gave me an awesome race car all day and I didn’t really do a good job of driving it till the final round.”
The second-year Pro Stock driver enters the six-race playoff that begins Sept. 14-16 with the Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania, as the No. 1 seed.
John Force Racing teammates Courtney Force (Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Robert Hight (Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS) enter the Countdown as the Nos. 1 and 3 seeds, respectively, in Funny Car competition.
Force completed the regular season with four wins and 10 low-qualifier honors. Last year, she entered the Countdown to the Championship as the No. 6 seed and wound up a career-best third in the standings. Hight entered the 2017 playoffs as the No. 2 seed and moved to the top with a victory over Force in the final at zMAX Dragway in the Countdown opener. He went on to post a second win and runner-up finish en route to his second Funny Car championship.
Chevrolet drivers’ seeding in the Countdown to the Championship:
Top Fuel – Brittany Force (8)
Funny Car – Courtney Force (1), Robert Hight (3), John Force (9)
Pro Stock – Tanner Gray (1), Greg Anderson (2), Erica Enders (3), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (4), Vincent Nobile (5), Deric Kramer (6), Drew Skillman (7), Jaon Line (8), Bo Butner (9), Chris McGaha (10)
At Lucas Oil Raceway, Force was the No. 6 Funny Car qualifier and lost in the quarterfinals.
“We’re going to look forward to the championship. The points are re-set and our Advance Auto Parts team is going to be ready in the Countdown,” Force said. “We couldn’t get the track figured out here in Indy, but we’ll be ready for the next race.”
Hight also fell in the quarterfinals. Hight, the No. 8 qualifier, advanced with the low elapsed time of the first round (3.985) in his match-up against teammate John Force, whose Chevrolet Accessories PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS lost traction two-thirds of the way down the racetrack. The 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion, who was the No. 9 qualifier, is a four-time winner of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.
“We are going to start in the No. 3 spot and we will be a couple rounds out of first place. A whole new season starts at Maple Grove Raceway,” Hight said.
Brittany Force, the reigning Top Fuel champion who was driving the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet dragster, fell in the first round. She registered a victory at Houston and a No. 1 qualifier at the Charlotte Four-Wide in the regular season. Last year, Force was the No. 6 seed entering the Countdown, where she won three times and had a runner-up finish in the six races.
Gray enters the Countdown with momentum, having advanced to the final round in the past three races (winning two). He has 10 wins and four runner-up finishes in his 42 career races, and joined his father, Shane (2014), as the Pro Stock winner of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. He was tied with Greg Anderson for second entering the Countdown last year.
Gray defeated 2017 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Pro Stock winner Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS) in a rematch of last year’s semifinal. Coughlin beat No. 3 qualifier and reigning Pro Stock champion Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the other semifinal.
Gray secured the No. 1 seed when four-time Pro Stock champion Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), a six-time winner at Lucas Oil Raceway, lost to Coughlin on a holeshot in the quarterfinals. No. 4 qualifier Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports), No. 9 Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), and No. 11 Matt Hartford (Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro SS) were also first-round winners.
FS1 will telecast taped qualifications of the Dodge NHRA Nationals at 7 p.m. ET Sept. 14 and telecast taped eliminations and finals at 7:30 p.m. ET Sept. 16. Brittany Force in Top Fuel and Butner in Pro Stock led the Chevrolet victory parade in 2017 at the track.
Stephen Bell of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Arthur Kohn of Richmond, Texas, advanced to the semifinals of the School of Automotive Mechanics and Technology (SAM Tech) Factory Stock Showdown in their Chevrolet COPO Camaros. Bell won at Gainesville and Kohn won at Charlotte earlier this season in the seven-race series.
Jeff Myers of Decatur, Indiana, reached the semifinals of Super Stock in his COPO Camaro.
Brett Candies of Thibodaux, Louisiana, advanced to the Stock Eliminator quarterfinals in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. Jeff Lopez of Irving, Texas, reached the fourth round of eliminations in his COPO Camaro.
An interview with Pro Stock winner TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, GRAY MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fifth win of season and 10th of career in 42 races; third final-round appearance in a row; No. 1 see for the Countdown to the Championship; last year tied for second entering Countdown):
WE HEARD THAT YOU WERE NERVOUS FACING JEG (COUGHLIN JR.) BASED ON HIS REACTION TIMES, BUT YOU WIN ON A HOLESHOT, IS THERE A SWEETER FEELING THAN THAT?
“No, not at all. When you can go up there and beat one of the best to come to the class on a holeshot that definitely means a lot. I am so proud of my guys. They gave me an awesome race car all day and I didn’t really do a good job of driving it till the final round. This one is for them. And then, my mom and dad, they made it here. It’s really cool because my dad got to win this race in 2014 and now I got to win it here with him. I can’t thank everybody enough. My grandma and grandpa, the Durst family for all the support they give me and making sure I am in awesome helmets, Valvoline and everybody from Chevy. This is so cool to win here, especially at a Chevy race.”
YOU CAME IN HERE WITH A SINGULAR FOCUS AND GOT IT DONE. TODAY WAS CERTAINLY NO EASY DAY
“No, not at all. The problem that we had in the last round of qualifying showed up a couple of times today, but Dave Connolly and all the great crew guys were able to fix it and give me a good race car for the final.”
YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OF JASON LINE, DREW SKILLMAN AND JEG COUGHLIN. NOBODY GOT UNDER YOUR SKIN
“I try to stay like that. Racing someone like Jeg, who is an accomplished racer makes you think a little bit. Then you have Jason, who is a three-time champ. They aren’t easy to beat, but like I said these guys gave me an awesome car.”
ARE YOU COUNTDOWN READY?
“I hope so. I don’t want to jinx it. We came into the Countdown good last year and didn’t do well. We’ll try to turn it around this year and I think we can. We’ll do a little bit of testing before we go to Reading and get ready.”
YOU HAVE 10 WINS IN 42 STARTS, WHICH IS ALMOST 25 PERCENT. THAT’S UNHEARD OF
“That’s a cool stat. I’ll have to let that sink in a little bit. I guess the main thing is that I strive to be the best driver I can be and continue to work and not settle for what I am right now.”
WAS IT DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, YOUR SECOND AT INDY, TO KNOW YOU’RE COMPETING IN THE BIGGEST RACE OF THE YEAR?
“I got to race here last year so I got to feel what Indy was like. Everybody talks it up and you don’t really know what it is until you show up and see how bigger it is than anywhere else we go. You pull through the gates and can feel the buzz around Indy. I think every driver’s dream is to win Indy at least once. It’s pretty cool for me to be able to do it, especially with my dad winning in ’14. Getting to be able to share that with him today was pretty special. I haven’t seen him chocked up since I won my first race at Vegas last year.”
YOU FIND A WAY TO ELEVATE YOURSELF AND HIT .003 IN THE FINAL ROUND
“I struggled with the Tree all day. We sped up the clutch and it worked to our advantage. I was able to get relaxed. I feel like I had been seeing the light all day, I just messed up. I think that comes from pressure of wanting to take over the points lead. For the most part, I had an awesome car all weekend and was able to come out on top.”
DO YOU ENTER THE COUNTDOWN WITH DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS THAN LAST YEAR?
“Definitely with an understanding of what it will be. I have a lot of confidence going into it. At the same time, I know how fast you can got from hero to zero in this sport. We have to keep that in mind. I truly feel like we’ve done everything right this year. Last year we had a good car but I feel like some of the wins we had we sort of lucked into them. This year, I feel like we’ve earned every win that we’ve got. I feel like we have a really fast race car and I feel like I’m driving well. I’m just excited”
THE COUNTDOWN IS A GRIND. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
“I feel weekends like this don’t really affect me because I’m used to racing five or six nights out of the week and that’s kind of foreign to some of the guys out here. I’m OK with being here and making runs. I wish there were more runs we could make. I do enjoy racing and if it was up to me I would add more races to the schedule. This, to me, is my full-time job and is what I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. It’s kind of tough to explain it to people.”