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Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

A scant 24 points separate sixth-place Garrett Gray from fourth-place Anthony Huff in the standings at Motor Mile Speedway, with five points races remaining.

Garrett Gray 360

• Garrett Gray, in panorama. Click here to see him on top of his trailer along with his father and a friend.

The Garrett Gray file

• Age: 22
• Home: Olive Branch, Miss.
• Experience: Three years at Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tenn.; 13 races at Motor Mile
• Car: 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
• Career Late Model Stock wins: Two (Music City Motorplex, Motor Mile) Season stats: One win, three top fives, seven top 10s

RADFORD -- Garrett Gray couldn't sleep the night before he won his first Late Model Stock race at Motor Mile Speedway.

"I don't know if it was a coincidence or whatever, but it was something," said Gray, who claimed his only victory June 3. "I thought something was going on."

One would think a few moments of repose might have been easily attained after an 11-hour ride.

That's how much time the 22-year-old racer from Olive Branch, Miss., spends en route to Motor Mile each weekend -- a trip that includes a stop in Nashville, Tenn., to pick up his race car from the shop of occasional Motor Mile driver Andy Johnson.

But Gray seems to be getting used to the journey, which typically begins on Friday morning and ends more than 1,200 miles later back in Olive Branch on Sunday night.

"Sometimes he gets a little irritated at the long drive," said crew chief Randy Weaver, who joins up with Gray in Nashville. "But once he gets there and he's there, he loves the place."

That was never truer than the night Gray won the first of twin 50-lappers after running in the tire tracks of Philip Morris and passing the defending track champion when Morris found tire trouble.

Gray's victory came in his sixth start at the Pulaski County oval on the heels of little hoopla. His only previous Late Model Stock experience came at Music City Motorplex in Nashville, where Gray visited the winner's circle once.

That was in 2003 at end of his rookie season.

The win at Motor Mile ended his dry spell and might have been the biggest upset of the season. Only five others have finished atop the scoring pylon in 13 races this campaign.

"He came out of nowhere," said Morris, a six-time winner. "To come to Motor Mile, which is a really difficult, tight-cornered track, and do as good as he's done, it's amazing."

The trip to Victory Lane only exacerbated Gray's restlessness that weekend.

"After the win, with all the adrenaline rush, I still couldn't sleep," he said.

Unfortunately for Gray, a wake-up call had already come. Gray's Chevrolet made contact with the wall before taking the checkered flag out front. But Gray didn't feel the effect until the second 50-lapper, when he slid backward and finished eighth.

The next several weeks were a struggle. Gray finished inside the top 10 only once in the next four races and lost considerable ground to the points leaders.

His confidence in car and crew waned.

But Gray bounced back with a fourth-place finish in late July. He now blames the slump more on focusing too much on the competition than driving ill-handling equipment.

"I think it was sort of a driver problem," Gray explained. "I started driving out of the rear-view mirror."

With six races left on the schedule, Gray is looking ahead.

If his season ends as strong as it started, he'll give Weaver and Johnson a lot of the credit. The two prepare Gray's equipment during the week while Gray works at the family-run garage door-hanging business back home.

Johnson agreed at the beginning of the season to rebuild and service Gray's cars if he would take them to Motor Mile to race. Weaver came on board as crew chief.

Weaver and Gray have established a good chemistry, despite being apart during the week.

"He just wants to go fast," Weaver said. "He's not one of those kids that's real picky. You can do anything to the race car whatsoever and he'll go out and try it. He never questions anything."

A scant 24 points separate sixth-place Gray from fourth-place Anthony Huff in the standings, with five points races remaining.

Third-place Kelly Kingery has a fairly safe cushion of 56 points over his closest pursuer.

But Gray isn't using the long hours in the motor home to crunch numbers. He spends more time on the Sony PlayStation than fretting about the what-ifs. He's sleeping better, too.

"The whole year that's all I've been worried about is points," Gray said.

"I've been uptight and nervous. There's hardly a chance of finishing in the top three in points now so I'm going to go out there and try to win."