CONCORD, N.C. (May 24, 2024) — An early flat tire kept Tanner Gray from dominating Friday’s ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it didn’t keep him from winning.
Gray began Friday by claiming the pole for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 — the second of his career and his second at Charlotte — and kept the momentum going in ARCA competition.
The drive to victory, however, was not as straightforward as Gray expected. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota blew a right-rear tire in the opening stages, fell a lap down and fought his way back to the front in the final laps. Gray held off a spirited late-race charge from Carson Kvapil in scoring his first ARCA victory less than an hour before going for his first Truck Series triumph.
Kvapil had a two-second lead with 20 laps to go in the 100-lap race, but a crash involving Con Nicolopoulos and Mitch Gibson with 15 to go bunched up the field. It also gave Gray a clear pathway to victory: Stay out under the caution period, take the lead, and fend off Kvapil’s No. 82 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet.
Kvapil closed to within a car length of Gray with five laps to go, but Gray held his nerve and hung onto the lead. Kvapil faded in the final three laps and was forced to settle for second with pole winner Andres Perez third, Will Kimmel fourth and Lavar Scott fifth.
“To be able to come here and rebound the way we did is really cool,” Gray said. “We fought a little adversity in the beginning, cutting the right-rear (tire) down and going a lap down. To be able to execute a solid race and finish off those last few laps is really cool.
“Hopefully, we can do it again in the Truck race.”
