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 sprinkled throughout, with DGR-Crosley. In the East, he finished third in the final point standings, scoring a win at South Boston Speedway in the process. That year, he also made three Truck Series starts for the team, scoring top 20s in all three.
Gray then began his full-time Truck Series endeavor in 2020, where he didn’t make a whole lot of noise as a rookie. He scored a quartet of top fives and an additional quartet of top 10s en route to a 14th-place points finish. In 2021 he regressed in performance, scoring just one top five and two top 10s, slipping back to 18th in the final standings.
In 2022, Gray started the year with two straight top fives and three straight top 10s, but only scored three more top 10s after that and no more top fives. Still, he improved back up to 15th in the standings. He then matched his career-best points finish in 2023, 14th, by way of three top fives and six top 10s, but a lot more consistency within the top 20.
That brings us to 2024, where Gray has found a new level of speed. Though he sits at no top fives and five top 10s, it took him all the way up until the most recent race at Talladega Superspeedway to record a DNF. He only has two finishes outside the top 20 this season, both coming within the last three races. The 25-year-old was even a fringe contender for the playoffs for most of the season before a late slide left him on the outside looking in.
As it stands, Gray sits 12th in the standings, which would be a career-best. He is currently 16 points behind Layne Riggs for the 11th spot, the highest position in points to not qualify for the playoffs. A stage win early in the season has also helped the No. 15 team in points.
In addition, Gray was tapped by Joe Gibbs Racing to drive its No. 18 ARCA car at tracks where William Sawalich was ineligible to race due to age. In six starts, Gray was able to grab his first two career wins, aiding the No. 18 team to an 11-win season en route to the owners’ championship. So even in a series he didn’t compete full-time in, Gray was able to make a difference and capture some wins and a championship.
For starting his career going nearly 220 mph for a quarter-mile, Gray has adjusted well to stock cars. 2024 is definitely a season he can build off of.
Speaking of ARCA, that’s where younger brother Taylor arguably found his most racing success prior to this season. Gray was always destined as a stock car driver and didn’t follow in the footsteps of his older brother, father or grandfather.
Before moving up to the Truck Series, Gray made several starts in all three of ARCA’s divisions, winning at least one race in all three. He only ran one full-time season in the East, much like Tanner. Despite notching a win, Taylor came up short and finished runner-up in the standings to Sammy Smith.
Gray raced part-time in the Truck Series in 2022, nearly winning at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park before a late spin from the lead. He returned for a full-time slate in 2023 but was forced to miss the first three races of the year due to age.
Upon getting behind the wheel of the No. 17 (a number he has also used nearly his entire racing career, much like his older brother with the No. 15), Gray was able to notch three top fives and an additional three top 10s. While a 15th-place finish was nothing to write home about, it’s certainly a solid start for a rookie who missed three races.
Now, in his first official full-time season in 2024, Gray’s performance has looked a lot like his ARCA ways. After nearly winning the season opener before getting caught up in a last-lap crash and flipping, Gray then went on a six-race run of consecutive top-10 finishes. He has another four top fives and five top 10s after that, with only four DNFs on the year.
That was good enough for him to make the 2024 playoffs, where he is still alive and seeking a Championship 4 appearance. If it wasn’t for teammate Heim stealing the show with his six wins, it would be the younger Gray who would be the flagship driver for TRICON. Even if he comes up short of a Championship 4 appearance, it will still be a career year for the 19-year-old.
That’s not all the racing Gray has done, as he has competed in an additional 12 races for JGR in the Xfinity Series. Driving the No. 19, he has earned two top fives and three top 10s, and arguably could have had more results of the like if it weren’t for crashes or mechanical failures taking him out of contention.
Though that hasn’t stopped JGR from continuing to give him more opportunities, and Gray has parlayed his part-time opportunity in 2024 into a full-time ride with JGR for 2025.
Gray will pilot the No. 54, which will be owned by Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs. Two full-time seasons was all Gray needed to get a promotion up the ladder, and it will be exciting to see what he can do in a full-time Xfinity Series ride.
That will leave Tanner in a position to continue to improve in a truck in 2025 (provided his plans remain the same as this season), while almost certainly getting a new teammate to replace his brother.
Either way, both brothers should be proud of the improvement they’ve shown this season. They both have shown that they belong in the sport, and despite coming from two completely different backgrounds in racing, they both have been able to prove their worth behind the wheel of a truck.
Grandpa oughta be proud, that’s for sure.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.