Terry Gray…
Hemby Bridge, NC – Showed up at Anderson Speedway in South Carolina on Friday afternoon for the general purpose of selling some asphalt front ends and tires from my 2014 USCS asphalt campaign to other local sprinters who wanted to take their talents from the dirt to asphalt with the Must-See Racing Series.
Strolling through the pits realizing I showed up way too late to be a salesman and how pointless it might be to sell asphalt stuff to asphalt teams, I decided to say my howdys to people I knew, give the standard bear hug to Chris Seelman, and then head up into the stands and just be a sprint car fan for once.
Halfway through my grand introduction, I stop by the legendary black ten and stare down Terry sitting on the wheel-well chugging a Mountain Dew all by himself. I cautiously step up the ramp doing my best not to startle him. Unfortunately, my three hundred pound frame violently shakes the trailer causing his pop to shake and foam. I was caught.
I asked Terry the standard question of the weekend, “Where’s Morgan?” “Studying for a test.” “Oh, so you’re by yourself?” “Yup.” “Aight, well… you need any help?” “Wouldn’t hurt if you stood near my car for a little while.” “As long as I can keep my bookbag in your hauler. It has my wallet in it.” “That’s fine.”
And just like that, I could officially mark another legendary sprinter off my list of greats I have crewed for!
It seemed only fitting that the first time I ever crew for the original Outlaw would be at an asphalt track. At the turn of the century when Pete’s United Sprint Car Series consistently made asphalt stops all across the Southeast, my first non-World of Outlaw show would happen at Concord Motorsports Park in Concord, NC.
That night, Nascar fans would witness a lightning fast non-stop forty lap feature around the miniature Charlotte Motor Speedway only to end up in a tie between Kenny Adams and Terry. It was too close to call, but a fan’s camera eventually gave the nod to the Malabar Missile.
That night after the races, dad would introduce the family to Gray as he’s cleaning the injectors. He humored us for a little while and we eventually moved onto the next car in line.
Back to the future, the black Ten would lead his heat lap to lap beating some of the best asphalt cars in the country with a bent-up J&J from a horrific crash at 411 Speedway in Tennessee that would send Morgan to the emergency room for a checkup.
Must-See officials jokingly told Terry after the win, “You might win it all. Brandon took Kahne to victory lane at Lincoln a few weeks ago.” I assure you, I had nothing to do with either win, simply me just being in the right spot at the right time.
Feature time came and Terry’s second lap would eventually look the exact same as the other 48 laps to follow. Starting seventh and falling to the eleventh spot, before chasing down third and fourth, only to fall short in the fifth spot.
His goal for the night was to bring it home with a decent Top-Ten. Another ten laps and I would have been giving him bunny ears on national TV while he was being congratulated with a podium finish.
After we loaded up, I grabbed my bookbag and thanked him for the opportunity to clean his tires all night. After we shook hands, he asked me if I’d be at Hickory tomorrow night. I told him if he needed me, I’d be there.
He said it wouldn’t hurt if you stood around the car for a little while…
I’ll seeya tomorrow night then Terry!