Rookie of the Year candidate Shane Gray, in his third final round of the season, finally got it done at the 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The Denver, N.C., racer tree'd notorious leaver and four time Full Throttle Series national champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and closed the deal at the finish line, 6.566 to 6.568.

"I'm not really sure if this has soaked in yet," said Gray, who was .010 at the start to Coughlin's .046 reaction. "I remember that we staged up, I let the clutch out, and the yellow car disappeared. I put the car in high gear, I looked out the window, and he wasn't there. I went across the stripe and my light came on and it was like, 'What just happened, did I win? Is this the semis? What are we doing?' I went around the corner and everybody was jumping around. I have to say that Jeg Coughlin was the first one, he threw the passenger door open and stepped out and was a true sportsman. I think he was as happy for me as I was. It says a lot for him."

Rookie of the Year candidate Shane Gray, in his third final round of the season, finally got it done at the 46th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The Denver, N.C., racer tree'd notorious leaver and four time Full Throttle Series national champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and closed the deal at the finish line, 6.566 to 6.568.

"I'm not really sure if this has soaked in yet," said Gray, who was .010 at the start to Coughlin's .046 reaction. "I remember that we staged up, I let the clutch out, and the yellow car disappeared. I put the car in high gear, I looked out the window, and he wasn't there. I went across the stripe and my light came on and it was like, 'What just happened, did I win? Is this the semis? What are we doing?' I went around the corner and everybody was jumping around. I have to say that Jeg Coughlin was the first one, he threw the passenger door open and stepped out and was a true sportsman. I think he was as happy for me as I was. It says a lot for him."

The victory was redemption for Gray, driver of the Big O Tires Pro Stocker, after falling to Coughlin in his most recent previous final round at the national event in Brainerd. 

"About an hour before we ran, I just told myself, try not to beat yourself, Shane, and go give the guy a race," said the first-time winner. "But there was not much pressure for me because I don't have anything to lose. The stats say I'm not supposed to be there anyway. I've already exceeded my expectations and everybody else's, so it was no big deal."

No. 6 qualifier Gray certainly did not have an easy path to the money round; in the opening act he drew another notorious leaver, Dave Connolly, the winner of the recent Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Reading. Gray defeated 22-time Pro Stock winner Connolly on a holeshot, 6.593 to 6.585 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he met challenger Kurt Johnson, a 17-year veteran of the class with 39 wins on his scorecard. 

Gray was .002-second quicker off the starting line and cleared the finish line with a 6.608 to beat KJ's 6.622 and earn a pass to the semifinals for the ninth time this season and a chance to take on the No. 2 qualifier, V. Gaines and the Kendall Dodge. Gray tallied another holeshot win with a .025 launch to Gaines' .060 and a 6.603 to his opponent's quicker 6.582.

"The semifinals with V. Gaines, he had five hundredths on us, and I knew that I was going to have to try to make it up at the starting line," said Gray. "Fortunately, we were given the tools today to do that task. The crew guys, everyone from Jim Yates to Craig Hankinson, Craig Campton, Jon Yates, Toni Yates, my wife [Amber] – she has that sharp stick, poking me in the back. I get down, 'I don't know if I can do this or not, he's got five-hundredths on us,' and she'll give me a swat in the head. I have a lot of people behind me that believe in me, and I just love each and every one of them.

"This lets me know that my dad and I have to get back to the engine shop. We need more power; we're down in the performance end of it a little bit, and we're just going to work hard over the winter and come out next season, do a lot of testing over the winter. We want to come out to where we are an Allen Johnson or V. Gaines or Greg Anderson or Jason Line. We're not there yet."

Coughlin announced earlier in the weekend that the NHRA finals would be his last race in a Pro Stock car for a spell; the 52-time national event winner plans to park the JEGS.com Cobalt temporarily for a bit a breather and a chance to pursue other opportunities, including a return to his sportsman racing roots. The final round was the 84th for the Ohio-based driver.

Coughlin stopped newly crowned Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson in the opening round on a holeshot, used another holeshot to trailer Pistonator pilot Rodger Brogdon, and advanced to the final when No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson red-lighted by .010-second.
For Gray, closing out the year with a victory was a surreal highlight to an incredible rookie season.

"I told my wife when I started this deal, you know honey, it would be a great thing if we could just qualify, if I could just get in the car and actually start it without people laughing at me and then drive it to the starting line to do a burnout," said Gray. "For our team to finish fourth in the points and to win a race, this is a God-given thing that we were blessed with today and all year, at that. We have received way more than we deserve."

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