Tanner Gray
Gray at Martinsville Speedway in 2024
Born	Tanner Sean Gray (1999-04-15) April 15, 1999 (age 25) Artesia, New Mexico, U.S.
Achievements	2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
101 races run over 6 years
Truck no., team	No. 15 ( Tricon Garage)
2023 position	14th
Best finish	14th ( 2020), ( 2023)
First race	2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 ( Martinsville)
Last race	2024 SpeedyCash.com 250 ( Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 24 1
ARCA Menards Series career
17 races run over 4 years
ARCA no., team	No. 18 ( Joe Gibbs Racing)
Best finish	19th ( 2019, 2020)
First race	2019 Pensacola 200 ( Pensacola)
Last race	2024 General Tire 200 ( Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 10 1
ARCA Menards Series East career
13 races run over 2 years
Best finish	3rd ( 2019)
First race	2019 New Smyrna 175 ( New Smyrna)
Last race	2020 Skip's Western Outfitters 175 ( New Smyrna)
First win	2019 Who's Your Driver Twin 100s ( South Boston)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 9 1
ARCA Menards Series West career
5 races run over 1 year
Best finish	13th ( 2019)
First race	2019 ENEOS NAPA Auto 150 ( Irwindale)
Last race	2019 Monaco Cocktails Gateway Classic 125 ( Gateway)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 1
Statistics current as of April 21, 2024.

Tanner Sean Gray (born April 15, 1999) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in drag racing and stock car racing. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gray is the youngest professional driver to win a national event in NHRA history, and the youngest driver to win a solo NHRA season championship. ^[1]

Racing career

Drag racing

2017 marked the first year for Gray racing in the Pro Stock class within the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series alongside his father Shane Gray.

Gray made NHRA history 13 days before his 18th birthday at the 18th Annual Denso Spark Plug Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 2, 2017, by winning the final round against Bo Butner. He was 17 years, 11 months, and 18 days which was younger than 40-year record holder Jeb Allen, who was 18 years, 1 month, and 8 days. ^[1]

He won the 2017 Auto Club Road to the Future Award. The award is given to the top rookie from all of the sport's pro categories, including Pro Stock Motorcycle, Top Fuel and Funny Car. ^[2]

In 2018, Gray won 8 times en route to the Pro Stock title, becoming the youngest ever NHRA season champion. ^[3]

ARCA Series

2019-2020: DGR-Crosley

On September 25, 2018, Gray announced he would race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for DGR-Crosley in 2019. ^[4] The move came after Gray had met team owner David Gilliland in summer 2018. ^[5] He picked up his first win at South Boston Speedway in early May. ^[6]

In December 2019, the team announced that he would continue to drive in the East Series, now the ARCA Menards Series East, part-time in 2020, as well as part-time in the big 20-race ARCA Menards Series, ^[7] where he would share the full-time No. 17 car with his younger brother Taylor (who ran the Sioux Chief Showdown races) and Anthony Alfredo.

2021: David Gilliland Racing

Gray returned to the ARCA Menards Series in 2021, running the season-opener at Daytona, finishing 7th.

2024: Joe Gibbs Racing

On December 13, 2023, it was announced that Gray will return to the ARCA Menards Series and run six races in 2024, driving the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. He will run at the tracks 1.5 miles and longer, since the original driver of the car, William Sawalich, is ineligible to race at those tracks due to his age. ^[8]

NASCAR Truck Series

2019–2020: DGR-Crosley

In October 2019, Gray made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut with DGR-Crosley at Martinsville Speedway in the No. 15 Toyota Tundra; running a three-race schedule, he also competed in the ISM Raceway and Homestead–Miami Speedway events in the No. 7. ^{[9] [10]}

On December 16, 2019, DGR-Crosley announced Gray would run full-time and for rookie of the year in the Truck Series in 2020, driving the team's No. 15 truck, ^[11] now a Ford F-150 after the team switched from Toyota to Ford in the offseason. Gray had a decent rookie season, earning eight top tens and four top fives, finishing 14th in the point standings and 5th in Rookie of the Year standings.

2021–2022: David Gilliland Racing

He returned to the team for 2021, under the new name David Gilliland Racing. ^[12] He would have an abysmal season, only earning two top tens and finishing 18th in points.

He improved significantly in 2022, which included three consecutive top ten finishes in the first three races of the season. ^[13] He earned six top tens and two top fives throughout the season, improving to a 15th place points finish.

2023–present: TRICON Garage

October 27, 2022, David Gilliland Racing announced that they will be moving to Toyota Racing Development in 2023, and rename to Tricon Garage (with Tricon styled in all-capital letters). Gray would remain as one of the drivers for the team. ^[14] He started the 2023 season with a career-best 2nd place finish at Daytona, only behind race winner Zane Smith. ^[15] He would also score his first career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, with a lap of 29.936, and a speed of 180.385 mph (290.302 km/h). ^[16] He finished the season 14th in points.

Other racing

Gray has raced in different types of cars, including Late models, modifieds, Midget cars, and stock cars. He has raced on oval dirt tracks in the area of Mooresville, including racing in the Mini Outlaw Karts category alongside Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu on Wednesday nights at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury.

Personal life

Gray was born April 15, 1999, to professional drag racer and national event champion Shane Gray and his wife Amber of Artesia, New Mexico. He is the grandson of funny car and pro stock champion Johnny Gray, making Tanner a third-generation Gray to race in the NHRA. In addition to racing, Johnny Gray was the president of Marbob Energy, the New Mexico oil producer co-founded by his father. Gray and his sister sold the company in 2010 for $1.7 billion in proceeds. ^[17] Since 2021, Johnny Gray has co-owned Tricon Garage. ^[18]

The Gray family moved from New Mexico to Mooresville, North Carolina in 2010 so that Shane Gray could pursue a career as a professional drag racer in the NHRA. Tanner's younger brother, Taylor Gray, is also a NASCAR and ARCA driver for Tricon Garage and currently competes full-time for them in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well as part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, both in the No. 17 car.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NCTC	Pts	Ref
2019	DGR-Crosley	15	Toyota	DAY	ATL	LVS	MAR	TEX	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	IOW	GTW	CHI	KEN	POC	ELD	MCH	BRI	MSP	LVS	TAL	MAR 20			46th	59	[19]
		7																							PHO 17	HOM 16
2020		15	Ford	DAY 23	LVS 8	CLT 20	ATL 11	HOM 12	POC 12	KEN 9	TEX 36	KAN 18	KAN 4	MCH 3	DRC 15	DOV 17	GTW 10	DAR 29	RCH 16	BRI 3	LVS 3	TAL 29	KAN 36	TEX 10	MAR 31	PHO 15	14th	511	[20]
2021	David Gilliland Racing			DAY 35	DRC 20	LVS 12	ATL 19	BRD 13	RCH 24	KAN 18	DAR 33	COA 31	CLT 22	TEX 9	NSH 18	POC 16	KNX 31	GLN 14	GTW 19	DAR 24	BRI 38	LVS 23	TAL 34	MAR 3	PHO 35		18th	323	[21]
2022				DAY 4	LVS 5	ATL 8	COA 17	MAR 21	BRD 15	DAR 34	KAN 18	TEX 24	CLT 6	GTW 30	SON 13	KNX 22	NSH 30	MOH 20	POC 10	IRP 23	RCH 16	KAN 16	BRI 17	TAL 31	HOM 25	PHO 8	15th	487	[22]
2023	Tricon Garage		Toyota	DAY 2	LVS 13	ATL 24	COA 8	TEX 27	BRD 8	MAR 5	KAN 18	DAR 3	NWS 18	CLT 27	GTW 21	NSH 11	MOH 20	POC 36	RCH 16	IRP 15	MLW 11	KAN 26	BRI 29	TAL 25	HOM 11	PHO 9	14th	533	[23]
2024				DAY 16	ATL 19	LVS 20	BRI 15	COA 10	MAR 16	TEX 8	KAN	DAR	NWS	CLT	GTW	NSH	POC	IRP	RCH	MLW	BRI	KAN	TAL	HOM	MAR	PHO	-*	-*	[24]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NKNPSWC	Pts	Ref
2019	DGR-Crosley	15	Toyota	LVS	IRW 2	TUS 2	TUS 2	CNS	SON	DCS	IOW 6	EVG	GTW 15	MER	AAS	KCR	PHO	13th	195	[25]

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	AMSC	Pts	Ref
2019	DGR-Crosley	54	Toyota	DAY	FIF 12	SLM 7	TAL	NSH	TOL 8	CLT 6	POC	MCH 5	MAD	GTW 17	CHI 15	ELK	IOW	POC	ISF	DSF	SLM	IRP	KAN 6	19th	1440	[26]
2020		17	Ford	DAY 16	PHO 4	TAL 13	POC 15	IRP	KEN 9	IOW	KAN 5	TOL	TOL	MCH	DRC	GTW	I44	TOL	BRI	WIN	MEM	ISF	KAN	19th	203	[27]
2021	David Gilliland Racing			DAY 7	PHO	TAL	KAN	TOL	CLT	MOH	POC	ELK	BLN	IOW	WIN	GLN	MCH	ISF	MLW	DSF	BRI	SLM	KAN	76th	38	[28]
2024	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Toyota	DAY 24	PHO	TAL 3	DOV	KAN	CLT	IOW	MOH	BLN	IRP	SLM	ELK	MCH	ISF	MLW	DSF	GLN	BRI	KAN	TOL	-*	-*	[29]

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	AMSEC	Pts	Ref
2019	DGR-Crosley	15	Toyota	NSM 12	BRI 10	SBO 1*	SBO 4	MEM 3	NHA 5	IOW 6	GLN 11	BRI 6	GTW 15	NHA 2	DOV 2	3rd	458	[30]
2020		17	Ford	NSM 18	TOL	DOV	TOL	BRI	FIF							47th	26	[31]

References

External links

• Official website
• Tanner Gray driver statistics at Racing-Reference