To suggest that Gray Gaulding has experienced an eventful month would be quite the understatement.
The driver of the No. 08 for SS Green Light Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was able to secure a more powerful ECR Engine for Talladega due in part to an increased commitment from sponsor Panini Trading Cards. He capitalized on that support by driving his Chevrolet to a runner-up finish on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.
That was more than just a moral victory for one of the classic underdog teams competing within NASCAR’s second-tier division.
But then he revealed that his team was getting uncomfortably thin on funding and needed to secure more to continue at their current level of success. They got it on Wednesday in the form of an increased commitment from World Wide Safety Consulting.
Amidst the uncertainty of how long his season could last, the 21-year-old has done some of the best driving of his career and has become one of the more fascinating stories down the grid in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
His team, led by crew chief Patrick Donohue, is up roughly 10 positions from where team owner Bobby Dotter’s teams ran last year. Gaulding is 14th in the championship standings and 60 points behind Brandon Jones (in a Joe Gibbs Racing car) for the final provisional playoff spot.
That’s a testament to Donohue who crew chiefed for Joey Gase at Go Green Racing last season and to Gaulding himself.
"I do feel like a very underrated race car driver," Gaulding told Autoweek on Wednesday. "I have grinded for every opportunity I have. People talk like I come from a million-dollar family or that we must have brand new race cars but that’s not true. We’re just doing the best we can with what we have.
"And yes, I do wonder what if sometimes when it comes to getting to race a Gibbs car or a JRM car … But at the end of the day, this sport is a business, even if we're also athletes, but we're only as good as our equipment in this sport.
"Timing is everything. Timing hasn't always been the best with me. But when I look in the mirror as a race car driver, I feel like I am doing my best work right now."
His best work at Talladega got him to within one different decision of possibly winning a race for Dotter, even if the runner-up was his team’s best finish since Andy Lally scored a fifth-place at Mid-Ohio in 2017.
And while most drivers might beat themselves up over what they could have done differently in that position, Gaulding was content to leave Talladega with the runner-up, a clean car they can take to Daytona International Speedway in July and some additional respect for how he raced the championship favorites …
… even if there was a playoff spot on the line.
"I was fourth on the outside line and if I stayed there, I probably would have gotten a top-five," Gaulding recalled. "But what I did, moving down to the bottom to get around Briscoe and Bell, that was the best shot I had. And if not for a block that Briscoe put on me, you never know what could have happened. I wasn't going to race dirty though.
"I just didn't have enough steam or not enough help to get there. Maybe if I had another 50 or 100 feet, but I felt like every move I made coming to the checkered were the best ones, so I have no regrets."
The result also earns him a spotlight as one of the four Dash4Cash contenders this weekend at Dover International Speedway. If he can finish ahead of defending series champion Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, he would pocket an addition $100,000 for his team.
Unfortunately, and unlike Talladega, he didn’t expect to have such an opportunity. He will not have access to an ECR Engine this weekend due to the advance notice one requires to purchase an engine lease, but Gaulding will do what he has done all season.
He says he is going to drive smart, drive hard and hope circumstances again give him a chance on Saturday.
If nothing else, his performance this season, both behind the wheel and in activating his sponsors, is producing a solid foundation under him at SS Green Light. With the increased commitments from World Wide and Panini, Gaulding and Dotter believe they could make this a top-10 program next season.
"I just want to thank Panini for what they do," Gaulding said. "People might say that I'm saying this because I want them to do more with us but the truth is, look at my career, I've always tried to do right by the partners that have stepped-up for me.
"I want to get their brand awareness out there. When I hand out cards at the track or during driver introductions, I want them to know that I'm working as hard for them as they are for me. I'm thankful for Panini because there is no sport without the sponsors. Sponsors and fans. And with Panini, I get to say thank you to them both with how we activate this program."
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