By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
MARTINSVILLE, VA – On lap 132, a frightening crash saw DGR – Crosley Group driver Taylor Gray barrel roll at Martinsville Speedway.
Gray had been battling mid-pack in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in his No. 17 Gray Motorsports Toyota with Sammy Smith. The No. 12S of Smith slowed suddenly with a flat left rear tire exiting turn two. As he attempted to pull out of the way, Gray had nowhere to go and he slammed into Smith.
The contact lifted the No. 17 onto the hood of the No. 12S. The forward momentum sent Gray’s DGR – Crosley machine into a roll and a half down the backstretch before landing on its’ roof. Several other drivers spun to avoid colliding with the upside-down No. 17.
Gray described the harrowing moments inside the barrel rolling No. 17.
“I knew it was coming. I had a feeling for sure, but just clipped the 12 car’s left front and then momentum just checked me and started rolling and finally stopped. Luckily, for a second I was like, man, when is this thing gonna stop rolling over? But it finally stopped.”
The red flag was displayed immediately as safety crews rushed to stranded driver. Gray emerged unscathed and walked to the ambulance. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
The 14-year-old driver credited the safety crew for the fast response.
“Unfortunately, I stopped on my roof. The safety guys did a really good job rolling me back over. It’s their job to take it a little bit more serious. But I think they thought it was more serious than it actually was. I was perfectly fine. So that’s what’s all matters.”
The red flag last just over 30 minutes as the clean-up took place. Gray’s flip is at least the second in the 25-year history of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Gray had started 15th in the 200-lap race. His qualifying lap allowed him to skip the two qualifier races and advance directly to the main. Gray had been running in the top half of the field for much of the first half of the race.
The Denver, NC native explained that they were biding their time, waiting for everyone else to wreck or run into trouble.
“We had a really good race car. Just really unfortunate that that had to happen. I think we definitely had a car or contention to win or even maybe a top three. We were just playing the race out, letting everybody wreck. But unfortunately, we were one of the ones that wrecked.
“So, I guess we’ll just have to race another day and come back next year to get our clock.”