Greg Ray

Gregory Ray(born August 3, 1966) is an American former race car driver.

Greg Ray
Born	(1966-08-03)August 3, 1966 Dallas,Texas,U.S.
Retired	2004
Indy Racing LeagueIndyCar Series
Years active	1997-2004
Teams	Knapp Motorsports A. J. Foyt Enterprises Team Menard Sam Schmidt Motorsports Access Motorsports
Starts	73
Wins	5
Poles	14* (does not include Charlotte 1999)
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	1stin1999
Previous series
1992-1994 1996	Toyota Atlantic Indy Lights
Championship titles
1999	Indy Racing LeagueChampion

After winning theSCCAnationalFormula Atlanticchampionship in 1993, he moved up to theCART-sanctionedToyota Atlanticseries in 1994.

In1997he made hisIndy Racing Leaguedebut driving for Thomas Knapp in an unsponsored black #97 car. He made his mark on the series a year later during qualifying for the1998 Indianapolis 500.Driving the same, plain, black #97, he qualified second behindA. J. Foyt's driverBilly Boat.The car attracted sponsorship from local businesses and the national anti-tobacco campaign, and became known as Ash Kicker Racing. Though he failed to finish that race, he scored several good results in subsequent races and caught the eye of successful businessman and team ownerJohn Menard Jr.

In1999he won the IRL championship on the strength of three victories. However,2000was a difficult season with only one victory. He qualified on pole for theIndianapolis 500but subsequently finished last (33rd). In 2001 Ray and Menard had split, and his replacementJaques Lazierwon his first victory at theChicagoland Speedway.

Things continued to go downhill from there, as Ray bounced around three separate cars in2002before starting his own team in2003,Access Motorsports, the lone team utilizing aPanozchassis withHondaengines. He gained sponsorship fromTrimSpabut failed to light up the scoreboard and in2004,he ran a few races before giving his seat to formerInfiniti Pro SerieschampionMark Taylor.The team closed at the end of the year from a lack of sponsorship.

Ray had 5 wins in his 74 IRL starts.

Racing career

IndyCar career

Early years

Greg Ray made his debutIndy Racing Leaguestart during the 1997 portion of the1996-97 Indy Racing League seasondriving the #97Thomas Knapp MotorsportsDallara-Oldsmobile Aurorain 5 of 10 events including theIndianapolis 500where he would finish 25th due to a water pump failure. Ray's best finish came at theTrue Value 500atTexas Motor Speedwaynear Ray's hometown ofDallas, Texasto finish 29th-place finish in points.

For1998Ray would continue to drive Knapp's #97Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurorawith sponsorship fromMercury OutboardsandMercury Marinefor the opening rounds of the season. However, during practice for theIndianapolis 500Knapp's team was without a sponsor. Ray would manage to qualify second betweenA. J. Foyt EnterprisesteammatesBilly BoatandKenny Brackand would gain race day sponsorship fromJustice Brothers, Inc.,True Value,The Nashville Network,and Ray's hometown trackTexas Motor Speedway.In the race, Ray led for 18 laps before retiring on lap 167 due to a gearbox failure. Ray would follow up his 500 performance with a 2nd-place finish at theTrue Value 500atTexas Motor Speedwaywhere Ray acquired sponsorship fromAT&Tbut Knapp's team skipped races due to a lack of sponsorship. Ray then drove a two-race stint forA. J. Foyt Enterprisesin the #11ConsecoDallara-Oldsmobile Auroraas a replacement to the injured Billy Boat (who beat Ray to the pole position at Indianapolis and the win at Texas) at thePep Boys 400KatDover Downs International Speedwaywhere Ray would set the fastest lap before getting taken out in a crash and theVisionAire 500KatLowe's Motor Speedwaywhere Ray retired with gearbox failure. Knapp then reopened his team for the final three races of the season with sponsorship fromGenoa RacingandBest Access Systemsbut would retire from each race.

Championship winner

Knapp's team then closed its doors for good due to a lack of sponsorship but Ray was signed on to drive the #2Glidden/MenardsDallara-Oldsmobile Auroraand would take pole positions at theMCI WorldCom 200atPhoenix International Racewayand theVisionAire 500KatLowe's Motor Speedway(the latter of which was cancelled due to an accident that killed three spectators). Ray would retire from the first three races before getting three wins atRadisson 200andColorado Indy 200 Presented by Deloitte & Toucheboth atPikes Peak International Racewayand theMBNA Mid-Atlantic 200atDover Downs International Speedwayto get the championship (Ray's only time in the top 10 in points).

Downturn

For2000Ray would continue to drive for Menard in the #1Conseco/Quaker State/MenardsDallara-Oldsmobile Aurorascoring six poles in the series' nine races including theIndianapolis 500where during the IRL's split withCARTChip Ganassi Racing,a CART team, entered a pair of cars for CART driversJuan Pablo MontoyaandJimmy Vasserwith Montoya starting second to Ray. Because of this Ray and Montoya were the favorites to win. Ray would lead 26 of the first 66 laps before crashing on lap 67 and finishing in 33rd (last) place with Montoya leading 167 of the 200 laps on his way to an easy win. Ray would go on to win theMidas 500 ClassicatAtlanta Motor Speedway.However, Ray would drop to 13th in points.

In2001Ray would continue to drive for Menard in the #2Johns Manville/MenardsDallara-Oldsmobile Aurora.Ray continued to be an excellent qualifier with four poles in the series' first ten races but had trouble finishing races with a win at thezMax Atlanta 500 ClassicatAtlanta Motor Speedway.Ray's relationship with Menard got even worse after theIndianapolis 500where Ray qualified 2nd and would lead 40 laps before finishing 17th, 8 laps down. Ray split from Menard after theBelterra Resort Indy 300atKentucky Speedwaywhile Ray's replacement,Jaques Lazierwon in his second race in the car at theDelphi Indy 300atChicagoland Speedway.Ray would drive the season endingChevy 500atTexas Motor Speedwayreturning toA. J. Foyt's teamin the #11A. J. Foyt RacingDallara-NissanInfinitiwhere Ray would start 13th and finish 8th in his only other top 10 of the year besides his Atlanta win.

Starting off2002without a ride Ray was hired to drive the #11Harrah'sDallara-ChevroletforA. J. Foyt Enterprisesin place of the injuredEliseo Salazar.Ray made his 2002 debut at theIndianapolis 500starting 31st and crashing after 28 laps and finishing in 33rd, last, place again. Ray continued to drive Foyt's #11 (later #41 when Salazar returned) through theGateway Indy 250atGateway International Speedway.Ray would then drive forSam Schmidt Motorsportsin the #20Dallara-Chevroletwith sponsorship fromEmpress CasinoandYoung Chevroletin the final two races of the season. Ray's best finish of 2002 was a 12th at theBoomtown 500atTexas Motor Speedwayin Foyt's #11 car. This led to a 23rd-place finish in points.

Fielding his own cars

Without a ride for2003Ray started his own team called Access Motorsports fielding Ray in the #13Trim SpaPanoz G Force-Honda.The team started out strong with a 9th-place finish at theIndy Japan 300atTwin Ring Motegiand followed that up with an 8th-place finish at theIndianapolis 500.Ray would equal his 8th-place finish at theKansas Indy 300atKansas Speedway,theEmerson Indy 250atGateway International Speedway,and theChevy 500atTexas Motor Speedway.In addition, Ray would have 5th place qualifying efforts at theSunTrust Indy ChallengeatRichmond International Racewayand theBelterra Casino Indy 300atKentucky Speedway.Ray would finish 15th in points despite missing three races.

In2004Ray looked to be in good shape after a respectable 2003 season. Ray acquired sponsorship fromRenovacfor the opening rounds on his #13Panoz G Force-Hondaand would have a 2nd place start at theIndy Japan 300atTwin Ring Motegi.But prior to theIndianapolis 500the team was without sponsorship but Ray was able to get sponsorship fromRent-A-Centerdue to the company being based in Ray's home town ofPlano, Texas.After Indianapolis Ray fielded his own cars without sponsorship at theBombardier 500atTexas Motor Speedwayand theSunTrust Indy ChallengeatRichmond International Racewaygetting a 7th-place finish at Texas. But soon a lack of sponsorship caught up to Ray as he had to withdraw from the following race, theArgent Mortgage Indy 300atKansas Speedway.Ray would quietly finish 23rd in points and the team closed up shop at the end of the season.

Ray soon afterwards retired from racing after being unable to find a drive for the2005 season.

Other racing

SCCA career

Ray started off his career by driving in various divisions of theSCCAby first attending SCCA driving schools in September 1991. By 1992 Ray is competing in several SCCA-sanctionedFormula Ford 2000series. In that season Ray had 7 podium finishes and set a track record lap for a Formula Ford 2000 car atSears Point Racewayand would take the series championship.

In 1993 Ray moved up to theFormula Atlanticseries and would take the championship in series in dominating fashion.

CART career

In 1994 Ray moved toCART's version of the Atlantic championship, thePlayer's/ Toyota Atlantic Championshipcontinuing to drive the same car he won the 1993 championship with. Ray would dominate this series also with wins atPhoenix International Raceway,Mosport International Raceway,and theMilwaukee Mile.Ray would have seven other podium finishes, six pole positions, and eight fastest laps with the championship.

By1996Ray was competing in thePPG/ Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered by Buickdriving forTeam KOOL Greenin the #27KOOLLola-Buick V6.Ray's best race of the season came at the race at theMilwaukee Milewhere Ray started 4th and finished in 2nd place. Ray would finish in 12th place in the overall championship.

IROC career

After winning the1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League championshipRay drove aPontiac Firebird Trans Am,representing thePep Boys Indy Racing League.Ray had a best finish of 7th at the race atTalladega Superspeedwayand would also start 2nd at theIndianapolis Motor Speedwayrace. Ray would finish in 11th place in the championship.

Video games

Ray has appeared as a playable driver in theracing games;Indy Racing 2000andIndyCar Series 2005.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year	Track	Car	Engine	Class	Finish	Start	Status
1993	Road Atlanta	SwiftDB4	Toyota	Formula Atlantic	1	1	Running

American open–wheel racing results

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position)

American Continental Championship results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos	Points
1992	Primus Racing	FIR 3	MOS 3	IOW 2	WGI 4	LRP 2	TRR 11	SON1 1	SON2 3	1st	111

Atlantic Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Rank	Points
1992		MIA	PIR	LBH	LRP	MTL	WGI	TOR	TRR	VAN	MDO	MOS	NAZ	LS1 24	LS2 15		52nd	1
1993	Genoa Racing	PIR	LBH	ROA	MIL 16	MTL	MOS	HAL	TOR	NHS	TRR	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LS1	LS2	52nd	1
1994		PIR 1	LBH 14	MOS 1	MIL 1	MTL 5	TOR 10	TRR 5	MDO 3	VAN 2	NAZ 13	LS 2					3rd	148

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
1996	Team Green	MIA 7	LBH 11	NAZ 18	MIS 15	MIL 2	DET 8	POR 6	CLE 10	TOR 16	TRO 6	VAN 17	LS 16	12th	48

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points	Ref
1996–1997	Knapp Motorsports	DallaraIR7	97	OldsmobileAuroraV8	NHM	LVS	WDW	PHX	INDY 25	TXS 8	PPIR 17		NH2 Wth	LV2 30							29th	73
			31									CLT 22
1998		DallaraIR8	97		WDW 25	PHX 11	INDY 18	TXS 2	NHM				ATL 24	TX2 21	LVS 25						21st	128
	A. J. Foyt Enterprises		11							DOV 15	CLT 17	PPIR
1999	Team Menard	DallaraIR9	2		WDW 21	PHX 21	CLT C1	INDY 21	TXS 2	PPIR 1	ATL 23	DOV 1	PPI2 1	LVS 21	TX2 3						1st	293
2000		DallaraIR-00	1		WDW 17	PHX 19	LVS 9	INDY 33	TXS 15	PPIR 20	ATL 1	KTY 7	TX2 26								13th	172
2001		DallaraIR-01	2		PHX 22	HMS 21	ATL 1	INDY 17	TXS 11	PPIR 18	RIR DNS	KAN 14	NSH 18	KTY 13	STL	CHI					18th	193
	A. J. Foyt Enterprises		11	InfinitiVRH35ADEV8													TX2 8
2002		DallaraIR-02		ChevroletIndyV8	HMS	PHX	FON	NZR	INDY 33	TXS 12	PPIR 18	RIR 12	KAN 19								23rd	128
			41											NSH 20	MIS 17	KTY 25	STL 19
	Sam Schmidt Motorsports		20															CHI 17	TX2 14
2003	Access Motorsports	G-ForceGF09	13	HondaHI3RV8	HMS	PHX	MOT 9	INDY 8	TXS 11	PPIR 18	RIR 12	KAN 8	NSH 16	MIS 10	STL 8	KTY 15	NZR 17	CHI DNS	FON 14	TX2 8	15th	253
2004		G-ForceGF09B		HondaHI4RV8	HMS 14	PHX 10	MOT 20	INDY 27	TXS 7	RIR 15	KAN	NSH	MIL	MIS	KTY	PPIR	NZR	CHI	FON	TX2	23rd	99

¹The 1999VisionAire 500KatCharlottewas cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities. Ray had qualified for the pole position.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1997	DallaraIR7	OldsmobileAuroraV8	30	25	Knapp Motorsports
1998	DallaraIR8	OldsmobileAuroraV8	2	18	Knapp Motorsports
1999	DallaraIR9	OldsmobileAuroraV8	2	21	Team Menard
2000	DallaraIR-00	OldsmobileAuroraV8	1	33	Team Menard
2001	DallaraIR-01	OldsmobileAuroraV8	2	17	Team Menard
2002	DallaraIR-02	ChevroletIndyV8	31	33	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2003	G-ForceGF09	HondaHI3RV8	14	8	Access Motorsports
2004	G-ForceGF09B	HondaHI4RV8	27	27	Access Motorsports

External links

• GregRayRacing.com
• [1]