MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Much like Layne Riggs did a year ago at Martinsville Speedway, Taylor Gray didn’t take long to impress in his ValleyStar Credit Union 300 debut.
Driving the No. 17 Toyota for DGR-Crosley, Gray timed in 15th-fastest among the 68 drivers attempting to make the late model stock car special with a lap of 20.146 seconds (93.994 mph) on Friday night.
Gray’s qualifying place tied that of former NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series standout Timothy Peters, who is driving a Nelson Motorsports-prepared entry this weekend, and assured the teenager a place in the starting field for Saturday night’s feature.
The top 20 drivers in qualifying were locked into their positions ahead of the 200-lap main event.
“That was good; that was definitely the goal for us,” Gray told SPEED SPORT. “It let me get a better night’s sleep than if I would have had to race my way in, that’s for sure. We just have to execute now. It’s a long race and we know, if we make the right adjustments, that we can run well even starting 15th.
“It’s about being there in contention at the end and surviving, and that’s what we intend to do,” he added. “It’s been pretty positive so far. My DGR-Crosley crew has done a really good job of improving in each and every run. We were just a tick tight in qualifying from where we needed to be.
“I’m happy, though, and it’s going to be a fight to the end tomorrow, though, for sure.”
Gray was solid right off the trailer during Friday practice, even though this weekend is his first racing appearance at the .526-mile Virginia paper clip.
A top-20 speed in the afternoon had him believing he could lock in, but Gray was more focused on the strategy he’ll need to employ in the ValleryStar Credit Union 300 itself than merely on sheer speed.
“We just wanted to survive and get through it,” Gray said of what he learned on Friday. “Just being smooth for the race was, and is, a big thing. We know that we need to all four fenders on it at the end of the race, because it’s a 200-lap race and anything can happen. You saw that last year. I’m not sure where C.E. (Falk, defending race winner) started … but I know he wasn’t up front, and he ended up winning the race cause everyone wrecked each other out. You just have to be smart all night long.
“Our goal is just like everyone else’s here: to try and come out with that clock. Survival will give us a chance.”
Much like other rookies making their first starts at Martinsville, Gray admitted that nowhere he’s raced in his short late-model career compares to it, though he did have one track in mind which emulated some characteristics of “The Half Mile of Mayhem.”
“Ace Speedway is kind of close,” Gray noted. “We struggled there really bad, though. Ace has long straightaways and pretty tight corners, but I mean … nothing really compares to this place at all. The closest thing I can think of is Ace though.”
As for his goals for Saturday night’s race, Gray has just one in mind, considering that his teammates on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East side – Tanner Gray, Todd Gilliland and Drew Dollar – finished second, third and fourth at Dover Int’l Speedway on Friday evening.
Particularly given the fact that his older brother was the runner-up at the Monster Mile, the younger Gray smiled before offering his take on any expectations at Martinsville.
“I always want to beat him, and we saw where he finished, right?” Gray quipped. “There’s only one spot that I can be better than he was, and that’s what I’m gunning for.”