Track: Bristol Motor Speedway, 0.533-mile oval
Race: 17 of 23
Event: UNOH 200 (106.6 miles, 200 laps)
Schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 17
7:30 p.m…………..Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performace F-150
Tanner Gray has never raced at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) until this week, but he does have a few races under his firesuit belt at the half-mile oval. Gray has two prior starts in what was the NASCAR K&N East Series (now ARCA East) last year, resulting in two top-10 finishes. He was 10th in the spring race and improved to sixth in the fall race.
In 16 Truck Series races this season, Gray has two top-five, five top-10 finishes, has led four laps and sits 14th in the driver point standings. He finished 16th last week at Richmond (Va.) Raceway after using the same pit strategy as a majority of the field, waiting for a late-race caution that never came to take his last set of tires.
Although Gray does have experience at Bristol, he will have to make the transition from what it was like driving a car versus a truck. Being a short track, aerodynamics should not be as big of a factor as at other tracks, but he will likely spend the early laps adjusting his line and braking points.
The UNOH 200 from Bristol Motor Speedway will be run on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on FS1. The 200-lap race will be broken into three segments with stage-ending cautions on laps 55 and 110.
Gray on Bristol: “I’m looking forward to going back to Bristol. I had fun racing there in the K&N race last year. I’ve spent time watching film of recent Truck Series races at Bristol and talking to my spotter, Kevin Hamlin, about different lines to try. Things happen really fast there, so you have to be on your toes every lap. The only time you get a chance to catch your breath is under caution, and the goal at Bristol is to not be the caution.”
