The father and son Pro Stock duo of Johnny and Shane Gray have much to be proud of as the 2010 season comes to a close. Launching an in-house engine program is an enormous and risky undertaking, but their first year into it has shaken out to be quite productive; both cars will finish in the top 10 in the Full Throttle Series standings and Shane has been a serious contender for the Rookie of the Year title. He qualified for every race this season – 11 times in the top half – and has been to the final round twice. On Sunday, he scored his first national event victory.

Johnny hasn't quite enjoyed the rosy success of his son but has done a fine job in his own right; he was a finalist in Seattle and only missed qualifying twice – in Phoenix and at the spring race in Charlotte. On nine occasions this year, he has qualified in the top half of the tough Pro Stock field, twice just missing the pole and earning a start from the No. 2 spot.

Crew chief Craig Hankinson is pleased with what he has seen coming out of their engine shop this first season.

The father and son Pro Stock duo of Johnny and Shane Gray have much to be proud of as the 2010 season comes to a close. Launching an in-house engine program is an enormous and risky undertaking, but their first year into it has shaken out to be quite productive; both cars will finish in the top 10 in the Full Throttle Series standings and Shane has been a serious contender for the Rookie of the Year title. He qualified for every race this season – 11 times in the top half – and has been to the final round twice. On Sunday, he scored his first national event victory.

Johnny hasn't quite enjoyed the rosy success of his son but has done a fine job in his own right; he was a finalist in Seattle and only missed qualifying twice – in Phoenix and at the spring race in Charlotte. On nine occasions this year, he has qualified in the top half of the tough Pro Stock field, twice just missing the pole and earning a start from the No. 2 spot.

Crew chief Craig Hankinson is pleased with what he has seen coming out of their engine shop this first season.

"Things are further along than I expected them to be at this point," said Hankinson, who leads the charge of the two-car team with the assistance of former Pro Stock world champion Jim Yates and Yates' son, Jon, who twists the wrenches on Shane's car.

"Earlier in the year we were struggling, more with the blue car [driven by Johnny] than the orange car [Shane's Pontiac GXP], but I knew we would get there. I didn't think we would get this far, but to make the top 10 with both cars, it was a big deal. In the first year with this new program, that was our goal, but if we didn't make it I wouldn't have been disappointed. If the season would have ended right there [after both cars were guaranteed a top 10 finish] I would have said we had a good season."

Ever the businessman, team owner Johnny is looking towards the future and seeking even more improvements.

"I'm pacified a little bit, but not satisfied," said Gray of the first year of the in-house program led by builder Joe Hornick. "We've got to find more power. The guys run the cars real well, and it makes the motors look good, but we're pretty short on power in all actuality. If we can find a little power over the winter, then maybe we can be a little stouter of a contender next year.

"We're still adding equipment to the shop and improving on it, still moving people around and getting ideas, and working with different people to come up with different ways to build horsepower, so it's a learning curve."

Gray is playing a waiting game at the moment to see where he will end up next season, and there have been murmurs of a return to Funny Car for the former nitro driver-turned Pro Stock pilot who is backed by TBC Retail Group, the owners of Big O Tires, Tire Kingdom, and NTB Service Central.

"At the moment, I have a brand new Jerry Haas car sitting there, just waiting for a paint scheme. I haven't heard anything, but I'm waiting for [my sponsor] to tell me exactly what they want me to do next year," said Johnny. "I can assure you that Shane will be back in the Big O/Tire Kingdom car, but exactly what they're going to do with me, I don't know. I'm just like a duck, if it doesn't rain, I'll walk. I don't care."

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