rpm.espn.com: Greg Ray

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Friday, December 7

Greg Ray
By Jack Arute
ESPN.com

Team: Kelley Racing
Nationality: United States

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Poles
Top 5
Top 10
Money
Best finish

2001 18 1 4 1 2 $839,875 1st, Atlanta

Career 5 14 8 12 $3,319,325 1st, five times

Ray
Ray

2001 Recap
The Good: Ray continued the pole winning legacy of Team Menard by winning four poles and two outside poles in the 10 races that he ran for the Wisconsin building supplies magnate.

Season Highlight: At Atlanta Motor Speedway Ray took the pole and led every lap using the same Oldsmobile engine.

The Bad: Despite blazing speed, the team could not convert it into strong race finishes. Tension ran high in the team and as lackluster results piled up so did the chasm between driver and owner. The "lightning in a bottle" that delivered the 1999 IRL championship to Greg Ray evaporated.

Season Lowlight: A practice crash at Richmond International Raceway injured Greg Ray's back, forcing the Plano, Texas native to withdraw from the event without turning a lap. Some say that it set the wheels in motion for Ray's eventual dismissal from the team later in the season.

Key Stat: In 11 races (10 for Team Menard and 1 for AJ Foyt) Ray finished out of the top 10 NINE times.

2002 Outlook
What needs to be done: Ray replaces Mark Dismore at Kelley Racing for the 2002 season. His cousin Thomas Knapp also moves to Kelley as Ray's engineer. These two need to shift their focus from terminal speed over to consistent finishes. Ray needs to re-acquire the patience that marked his '99 performance index.

Prediction: Chemistry is an underrated factor in motorsports. Knapp's influence will re-ignite Ray's career. While this will be Ray's first drive as part of a two car team, Scott Sharp's driving style closely resembles Ray's and should improve the exchange of information between the two teammates.

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