Tanner Gray Repeats As Charlotte Truck Polesitter

Tanner Gray in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday. (Jacob Seelman photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Tanner Gray earned his second Charlotte Motor Speedway pole in a row during NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Gray, the driver of the No. 15 Dead On Tools Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, turned a lap of 30.296 seconds (178.241 mph) to repeat as the top starter for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200.

The Artesia, N.M., native was the polesitter for the 2023 edition of the race as well. Friday marked his second Truck Series pole in his 105th start.

“I don’t know that I’ve really figured out anything about this place; these guys just bring me a really fast Toyota Tundra to the racetrack each week,” said Gray of the 1.5-mile Charlotte quad-oval. “That always makes your job easier as a driver.

“We had some mechanical issues here in last year’s race, so we’re looking to try and redeem ourselves on that front,” he added. “All in all, I’m really proud of the effort and it’s cool to [get a pole] with Dead On Tools onboard. We’ve been unloading really well over the past few races, so that’s a real sign of progress and hopefully will propel us toward the playoff berth we’re hoping to get this summer.”

Gray’s TRICON teammate, regular season point leader Corey Heim, will join him on the front row Friday night after posting a time of 30.372 seconds (177.795 mph) in the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski will start third in a Ford F-150, with Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth rolling off fourth in a Chevrolet Silverado RST.

Rookie Layne Riggs closed the top five for Front Row Motorsports, followed by Chase Purdy, Connor Mosack, Jack Wood, Kaden Honeycutt, and Bayley Currey.

Notables starting deeper in the field include Stewart Friesen (12th), two-time and defending series champion Ben Rhodes (13th), Taylor Gray (14th), Nick Sanchez (16th), Grant Enfinger (17th), and three-time series champion Matt Crafton (22nd).

Tyler Ankrum spun during his time trial attempt and will start on the outside of row 17 in 34th as a result.

Both Christian Eckes and Daniel Dye failed to make a qualifying lap due to various maladies. That duo will line up 35th and 36th, respectively, for the 134-lap, 201-mile race.

With 38 trucks on the grounds for 36 available starting spots, Jennifer Jo Cobb and Justin Carroll failed to qualify.

Broadcast coverage of Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.