2016 Granite State Pro Stock Series Champion Sets Sights on Upcoming Season
Barry Gray has been driving race cars for the last three decades and the Belchertown, Mass. resident shows no signs of slowing down soon.
“I was getting ready to retire, I was so pissed off at the car because we couldn’t make it go no matter what we did. Our first race was good and then it got a little rocky. We changed who we were using to set the car up and from then on everything got better and we did well from that point on.”
Well enough that the Meadowsmotor.com team took down their first G.S.P.S.S. championship without the benefit of a single season victory. His 8 top 10 finishes helped propelled him to the series championship.
“Unfortunately we had no wins, Imagine a series championship with no wins, that’s the first time in I don’t know how many years without a victory. Every year we’ve raced we won a feature except this year. I started racing when I was 29 and now I’m 58.”
It wasn’t the first time that Gray won a championship without the benefit of a feature victory. He was the Riverside Park Speedway champion pulling off the same feat, but went on to win multiple victories at other tracks including the Monadnock N.H. speedway where he was a five-time track champion along with being the New Hampshire State Champion.
“We’re excited about the 2017 season, we went through the car and made a few changes, then sent it up to Jeremy Davis and he tweaked it a little more. After last year Davis started working on it and we learned a little more about the car and now the team and I are excited again to race another season”.
Opening day for G.S.P.S.S. will be April 30 at the Lee U.S.A. Speedway in Lee, N.H. but Gray has his sights on the event taking place at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. on July !st.
“I cant wait to race Loudon this year. I never had a chance to race on a one mile track. My son Adam ran an ACT race there last year, a
nd that was a lot of fun being a part of that team. Now I’m looking forward to it. It will be different from what I’m use to and it will be a learning curve and I’m sure a lot of fun drive “.
With expectations being at an all time high the Rick’s Auto Body, Statewide Auto Auction sponsored number 29 probably wont be shut out of victory lane this year.
Sources: Jim Snape/YankeeRacer.com
Photos by Crystal Snape