Winning NHRA national events in the Pro Stock class is not easy.

Well, Tanner Gray never received that memo.

In his rookie season, and just over a month after his 18th birthday, Gray already has won two NHRA national events.

Gray’s most recent trip to Victory Lane came Sunday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by Minties at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan.

There was no drama in the final round for Gray as he was handed the win when five-time Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. recorded a redlight at the starting line.

“I just went up there (with the mindset) to have fun,” said Gray, who pilots the Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro for his family. “I felt like I was pretty consistent all day. I was .022, .011, .012 (on lights in the first three rounds), and I felt like I missed it a little bit there in the finals, and I was worried when I let the clutch out and I happened to look up and see my scoreboard was lit, so I was pretty pumped up. Jeg is one of the greatest drivers to come through the sport and my guys gave me a great race car and I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for them. They make my job easy.”

In eight career Pro Stock races, Gray has two wins – his first coming at Las Vegas April 2 – and he has compiled an impressive 17-6 round record in eliminations. On Sunday, Gray beat Drew Skillman, four-time world champion Greg Anderson, Vincent Nobile and Coughlin.

Gray won at Topeka while debuting a brand-new Chevrolet Camaro SS built by Jerry Haas. The only runs Gray made in his new Camaro came on May 15-16 at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, S.C.

In addition to piloting a new Camaro, Tanner also was racing without his teammate and father, Shane Gray. Shane chose to sit out Topeka to support the efforts of his son and fellow Gray Motorsports teammate Skillman.

Tanner did make it three generations of Grays to reach the winner’s circle at Topeka’s national event. Tanner’s father, Shane won at Heartland Park Topeka in Pro Stock in 2011 and his grandfather, Johnny was the nitro Funny Car champion at Topeka in 2013.

“For me, I kind of keep the same mindset whether he (his dad) is there or not,” Shane said. “I know he’s supporting me and has my best interest in mind. I just worry about cracking the tree and hitting my shift points.”

Although the younger Gray is only eight races into his NHRA Pro Stock career, he has believed from the start of the season his team can compete for a world championship.

“We have Dave Connolly (his crew chief) and Craig Hankinson (Gray Motorsports car chief) on occasions and some of the best crew guys in the business,” Tanner said. “We have a great engine shop back home (in Denver, N.C.) and those guys work their butts off, so there’s no doubt that we have a championship-caliber team and so far, I feel like I’ve shown to be able to compete with the best of them. My deal is I just have to get more consistent as a driver and just work on bettering myself. Just because you win a race doesn’t mean you’re the best. I need to go back and continue to hit the practice tree and studying.”