LONG POND, Pa: TRICON Garage’s Tanner Gray bid to make the 2023 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff grid became a little harder following an early race mishap in Saturday afternoon’s CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
Showcasing speed in his No. 15 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra during practice, Gray qualified 13th and had high hopes to collect his fourth top-five finish of the season in his fourth Pocono start at the 2.5-mile triangle, but the former National Hod Rod Association (NHRA) driver ran into trouble less than eight miles into the race.
Battling his TRICON teammate Kaz Grala just outside the top-10, Gray’s truck broke loose and snapped around sideways into the path of Tyler Ankrum who made slight contact with the No. 15 Toyota as Gray’s truck spun out of control into the inside wall off Turns 1 and 2.
Gray’s automobile suffered heavy-front damage in the accident which abruptly ended his day and put the 24-year-old driver in a must-win position heading to the regular season finale next weekend at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, Gray took full responsibility for the early race crash.
“Yeah, just put myself in a bad spot racing the 1 (Kaz Grala) there,” said Gray. “Just got the air taken off of me, got loose and couldn’t catch it. I feel really bad for my guys, they brought a fast Mobil 1 Tundra. I feel like we were pretty decent there to get going and get it sorted out, but honestly,
“I feel really stupid. I put us in a bad spot. I just want to apologize to my guys. They brought a fast truck and I destroyed it, early on, not racing very smart. I feel really stupid – yeah, just not what we needed to do.”
Gray admitted that he has put himself in several vulnerable positions this season and Pocono was another example of his mistakes. Still, the Artesia, New Mexico native pledges to get better moving forward.
“We’ve got to go to Richmond and win, and it’s not a place I’m very good at,” he added. “I don’t know – put us in a lot of bad spots all year and did it again there. I don’t know. I need to do a better job. All-in-all, I just feel sorry for my guys and everyone involved in this deal. I need to do a better job.”
Gray’s 36th-place finish at Pocono, his worst result of the 2023 season left him with a 47-point deficit from the Playoff cutline currently guarded by Matt Crafton with one race remaining in the regular season.
While earning the 10th and final Playoff spot by points in next Saturday night’s Worldwide Express 250 for Carrier Appreciation race seems all but impossible, Gray must go to Richmond with a win-or-bust bust mentality to join his TRICON teammate Corey Heim for the seven-race Playoff run to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway on Nov. 3, 2023.
The win would also be Gray’s first career Truck Series triumph and a track the TRICON driver openly admits he has struggled at in the past.
Being mistake free and doing a “better job” though for the July 29 race could be the winning ticket to pull off a Truck Series upset.
“Yeah, we are going to a place that I’m not very good at – in a must-win,” sounded Gray.
“Proud of everyone at TRICON for bringing fast trucks, I just need to do a better job. I feel like I’ve made a lot of dumb mistakes all year to put us in the position that we are in. To do that at a race that you must run well at is pretty bad. I just need to figure some things out on my end.
“I just need to do a better job.”
In three previous Richmond Truck Series starts, Gray has a best finish of 16th, twice, including last August’s race. While he has completed all but four laps in his three starts, he carries an average finish of 18.7 at the 0.875-mile short track – a far cry from Victory Lane.
The beauty though of the Truck Series is you just never know what’s going to happen, especially when a Playoff spot is on the line.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email: [email protected].
