It has been well documented this season that the overall competitiveness in the Pro Stock class has not been what it once was.

With the KB Racing duo of Jason Line and Greg Anderson dominating the NHRA regular season, with the pair racing to 14 wins in the first 18 races, the remaining Pro Stock teams were left trying to play catch up. But over the last few months, those teams have gotten back in the fight.

And this weekend at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, the competitive spirit that once defined the Pro Stock class was back in full force as four extremely entertaining rounds of qualifying ended with Shane Gray earning his second No. 1 of the season in his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro as he leads the field into race day at Gateway Motorsports Park.

“I think it’s getting back. The class is still shy on cars, but maybe time will heal that,” said Gray, who earned his seventh career top qualifier award on Saturday. “I definitely think the class is starting to move forward a little bit. And I think all of these teams out here are starting to get a better handle on the setup. Every team that’s out here racing works just as hard as the next guy. And everybody deserves success at some point. So, yeah, I think everybody is getting there.”

Gray raced to the qualifying lead during session three Saturday afternoon. After topping session one on Friday, and then seeing his time get overtaken by Greg Anderson later in the evening, Gray again retook the top spot with a 6.604-second pass at 209.42 mph during the third session and watched as that time held for the top spot.

The entertaining sessions saw the top three spots flip-flop following every session, with six different drivers taking a turn among the top three qualifiers. After four, Bo Butner, in the Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro, qualified second with a 6.605 at 209.17 mph, and Greg Anderson, in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro, qualified third with a 6.605 at 209.07 mph. Vincent Nobile (6.606) and Alex Laughlin (6.610) round out the top five.

“I always like to out-qualify my buddy Greg. He and I are great friends off the race track and it’s fun anytime you can run with those guys,” Gray said. “It’s Countdown time. There are six races in total, five races until this deal is over. You’ve got race day tomorrow, so I think everybody’s doing all they can do to finish as high as they can.”

Gray, who enters Sunday’s eliminations seventh in the Countdown to the Championship standings, 152 markers back of leader Jason Line, will face Dave River in round one seeking his first win of 2016.

“I’m real confident with the car for tomorrow,” Gray said. “The way I see it now, the only person that can screw this up is me. We’ve got a good car and it’s making good runs. It’s safe. So now all we can do is see what tomorrow brings.”