This has been a memorable couple of weeks for Jonathan Gray.

At the U.S. Nationals on Sept. 2, he upset two-time world champion Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson in the first round to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship.

This has been a memorable couple of weeks for Jonathan Gray.

At the U.S. Nationals on Sept. 2, he upset two-time world champion Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson in the first round to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship.

Then for an encore the rookie captured his inaugural NHRA Wally by winning the rain-delayed Carolina Nationals Saturday at Texas Motorplex in his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro.

“This is huge,” Gray said about his first win. “It’s huge for everybody back at the shop, all the guys back at Gray Motorsports. All the guys on my team are just awesome. I also have to thank my wife and kids for putting up with this and my mom and dad being extremely supportive of this deal. This is just really a cool deal.”

Gray defeated Rodger Brogdon, V. Gaines, Shane Gray, his older brother, and then he edged two-time world champion Jason Line in the finals.

Gray clocked a 6.589-second lap at 209.10 mph to defeat Line’s 6.605-second lap at 209.62 mph.

“I had the utmost confidence in my equipment and my guys and it all worked out,” Gray said.

Gray definitely has been a quick learner in the Pro Stock class. He skipped the first two races of the season at Pomona, Calif., and Phoenix, lost in the first round at Gainesville, Fla., and then skipped the first Las Vegas race.

Fast-forward to the present and he’s a contender for a Pro Stock world championship.

“I really didn’t have any intentions of running all of the races,” Jonathan said. “We ran Gainesville and everything worked out really good and we had a good time. I’m enjoying this more than anything I’ve ever done, aside from having my kids.”

Gray will not have much time to celebrate as he qualified No. 3 for the Texas FallNationals and the eliminations will be run Sunday the Texas Motorplex.

“The momentum going into (Sunday) is just huge,” Jonathan said. “We have all three cars in our team really running good and I don’t think we could’ve peaked at a better time. It would be awesome (to win Charlotte and Dallas).”

Shane Gray won the U.S. Nationals at Indy Sept. 2 and Dave Connolly, who drives the third Gray Motorsports Camaro, came to Charlotte fifth in the points.

“We will win another race or two before the Countdown is over whether it is me or Shane or Dave,” Jonathan said. “Quite honestly, I think we probably have as good a shot of winning the championship as anybody out here does. I think we are on a roll.”

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