Ever since rebranding prior to the 2023 season, TRICON Garage has quickly elevated itself from a fringe top-10 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team to a routine contender for wins and championships.
Part of that success stems from the addition of Corey Heim the same season. Since Heim entered the fold, the team immediately became championship contenders, and it arguably should have won the 2023 championship before getting spun from the lead late.
The addition of Heim to the team has seemingly elevated everybody’s performance, especially in year two. After running anywhere up to three full-time trucks when the team was known as David Gilliland Racing (or DGR-Crosley), the team now runs five full-time trucks, and none of them have seen a dip in performance.
Dean Thompson, also in his second season, is on pace to earn his highest points finish in his third full-time Truck Series endeavor. The team’s all-star truck, the No. 1, has seen a plethora of drivers with varying degrees of success. Heim has ramped up his domination, with six wins on the season. Only Christian Eckes feasibly stands in the way of a championship season for the No. 11 team.
But perhaps no drivers have found greater improvement than a pair of siblings, whose grandfather is a part-owner of TRICON. Both drivers have seen measured improvement this season, not just in the Truck Series, but in other series that have called upon their services.
The Gray brothers, Tanner and Taylor, have competed in the Truck Series full-time since 2020 and 2022, respectively. Their grandfather, Johnny Gray, is a former NHRA driver who now co-owns TRICON with David Gilliland. Both brothers entered the Truck Series on the heels of success in previous racing series, but struggled to adapt to the trucks right off the bat. Now, it seems they have it figured out.
Let’s start with the elder Gray.
Tanner Gray came over to NASCAR after following in his grandfather’s footsteps and competing in NHRA alongside his father Shane Gray. He drove the No. 15, a number he continues to compete with to this day.
Competing in the NHRA Pro Stock Series, Gray made history by becoming not only the youngest NHRA winner (17 years, 352 days old), but also the youngest NHRA champion, winning the NHRA Pro Stock championship in 2018 at just 19 years old.
In 2019, Gray began a transition to stock cars, running the full ARCA Menards Series East schedule, with select West and Main division starts…
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