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Brandon Gray Gets 1st Win at Brownstown

By Alex Wollf

At long last Brandon Gray got his first career win in Dutch Mill Buffet UMRA TQ Midget competition on Saturday night at the Brownstown Speedway. Gray started fifth in the 20-lap feature and worked his way to the top spot after passing early leader Ron Combs who he had finished second to twice in the 2010 season. Jason Goff finished second, Zach Cougill was third, Ron Combs was fourth, and Doug Roland rounded out the top five.

The eight-lap heats were won by Ron Combs and Nick Speidel. The $50 from the “Tony Stewart Rookie Challenge” went to CJ Leary who was the highest finishing rookie. The five gallons of fuel for the G&G Oil “Hard Charger of the Race” went to Doug Roland who came from 11th to 5th in the feature.

The next stop in the 50th anniversary season of the Dutch Mill Buffet UMRA TQ Midgets is Friday July 16 at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds in Columbus

Brandon went out and Qualified 4th quick which set him up for a pretty good night at the Rushville Nationals. Started on the pole of the trophy dash and lead all four laps to get his first trophy dash win of the 2010 season. He ran 4th In his heat. That set him sitting outside the 4th Row in 8th starting place for the feature. At the drop of the green he quickly made his way to the front and on about lap 6 he took the lead and lead till about half way when Ron Combs in the TSR #50 passed him. He still ended up 2nd. All in all was a good points night for the Gray Racing#11. Thanks to all the fans that came and we will see you all back tonight.

Started inside last row in my heat and finished 2nd. Started inside row three for the A and then took the lead on lap 10 and lead every lap but the last two. Made a mistake going into turn three and Ron Combs in the TSR #50 Got under me. But we had a strong finish and looking forward to Montpelier and Kokomo next weekend.

Brandon Is going the run the 2010 season with the UMRA. This is the 50th year for the UMRA and it should be an exciting one! Brandon is in the shop getting the car ready to go out and win some races this year. Will post pics of the 2010 design when its all done. Also the 2010 schedule should be getting posted any day now. Thanks and look forward to seeing you all at the track.

Gray started out the 2009 season with the goals of running as many UMRA races as possible in both the dirt and pavement divisions. His second race out was in Gas City, Indiana in which he ran a solid second for the majority of the race until he ‘biked’ the number 11 machine and feel back to fourth. “We were very happy with that run,” says Gray. “We were up at the front for most of the event, but with the near crash that sent us back to fourth, we still came out with that goal of a top five!”

“I have to say that the one particular night that really stands out from this season is the night I ran second to the TQ King, Terry Goff,” says Gray. “That night we were strong and whenever one can race hard with him, it is certainly an accomplishment.”

Brandon ran many UMRA events with a few MTQRL shows towards the end of the season. For his third season out, his stats of seven top ten’s with only one outside the top five shows that he is in the right position to earn him a championship for 2010. Those are the plans for ’10; To win that championship. Undecided at the present time whether or not to run solely with the UMRA or the MTQRL, but one can be sure that whichever the Greenfield, Indiana native decides to race with, he will certainly be aiming for the top!

Brandon would like to thank all of his friends, family and fans for all of their support through 2009 and special thanks would go out to Gray Auto, Petry Excavating, Jackson Oil & Solvents, and Goff Racing.

On a separate note, Brandon would like to thank Driver Websites for building him a very nice website that he will be able to use on a weekly basis to keep everyone up to date. Very inexpensive and easy to update, Driver Websites certainly has a tool in which all racers need. Be sure to check out Brandon’s site at www.brandongrayracing.com and if you like what you see go to www.driverwebsites.com to learn more about what they have to offer!

“I went there wanting to win,” says TQ midget driver Brandon Gray going into the last race of the year at Mount Lawn Speedway. “We have had pretty good success at this track always finishing in the top five with the exception of once. It was our last race of the year and we really wanted to finish the year out strong.”
The qualifying session didn’t go quite as planned for the #11 Gray Auto Goff Chassis, as the motor was a little tired from the exhausting race season. So, Brandon started fourth in the heat race and made his way up to the top two to line him up at 12th for the main event on the 3/10ths paved oval. Gray muscled through the field and up to fourth to cap off the night, just missing that podium finish.
“We wanted to win this deal, but coming from 12th to fourth is a success,” explains Gray. “My guys had the car working great, we just lost it a little bit in our qualifying efforts and the first few laps of the main. But, after the car got rolling, we were fast!”
Stay up to date with Brandon and the gang through his new team website, www.brandongrayracing.com. The plans are uncertain at this time for next year, but be sure to know that whichever series the #11 is in, Gray will put that car towards the front!
Special thanks to Gray Auto, Petry Excavating, Jackson Oil & Solvents, Goff Racing, and all of the fans that show up week in and week out!