Jackman Pat Gray's Unconventional, Pivotal Role in Logano Championship
On Friday night, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske team will take their seat at the head table during the NASCAR Cup Series Awards Ceremony in Charlotte, where they'll be toasted as the newest NASCAR Cup Series champions. Logano's third NASCAR Cup Series championship, which puts him on a prestigious list of 10 drivers who have accomplished the feat in the 76-year history of the series, wouldn't have been possible without an assist from jackman Pat Gray.
Gray stepped in mid-race when the team's jackman Graham Stoddard had to exit the race for medical reasons. Gray would finish out the race, which Logano would go on to win by 0.330 seconds to pick up the championship, as a member of the No. 22 Team Penske pit crew.
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In an exclusive interview with Racing America on SI, Gray said a missed opportunity at a NASCAR Cup Series championship with Brad Keselowski in 2020 had left a fire burning deep inside of him to capitalize if he ever got a chance to compete for a title in NASCAR's top division again.
"We won an Xfinity Series championship with Austin [Cindric] in 2020, but then we ran for the Cup championship with Brad [Keselowski] that same weekend. We came in second, which is hard," Gray admitted. "Ever since that weekend, I've wanted an opportunity bad again at trying to win a championship. It's just been like this empty void. So, every time championship weekend comes around, and we're not in it, I just kind of get envious of the guys who get to compete on that stage."
While Gray, a member of the No. 2 Team Penske pit crew, felt his chance at contributing to a NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2024 was over due to his driver Austin Cindric being eliminated from Playoff contention in the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, the unexpected call came in the middle of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix.
"Yeah, so, we have intercoms. We have ear molds so we can hear our crew chief and spotter, but then we also have the ability to hear our pit crew coach, who sees all of our pit stops in the hauler. He's able to communicate with us to tell us things, and we have microphones on them. So, he comes over, and he says, 'Hey, Graham might not be able to finish. I will let you know, but just be ready.'"
Gray says moments later his Pit Coach Ray Gallahan told him to head to the No. 22 team's pit stall to finish out the race. At that point, things were chaotic for Gray, who attempted to let his crew chief understand the situation while grabbing his gear. He would eventually tell fueler Andrew Lackey to fill in crew chief Brian Wilson on the situation as he embarked on the trek from pit stall 11 to pit stall 24, where Logano's crew was pitting from in that race.
With laps clicking off, Gray knew he had to quickly get ready as a caution at any point could mean it was time for his first pit stop with the No. 22 team.
"We're almost getting to the point where if there was a caution, they might pit," Gray said. "So, it's like okay, I need to get over there quick. And we were in like pit stall 11, and they were [at 24]. So, I just run over there, not even, and you asked about the mental aspect, I'm not even thinking about the scenario. I'm like, Okay, I have to get over there, get my pre-pit stop stuff ready."
For those unfamiliar with pre-pit stop prep work, pit crew members aren't just plug-and-play. Gray had a lot to accomplish on his checklist before he could jump over the wall with the No. 22 team.
As a jackman, not only is he tasked with raising and lowering the car during each pit stop, but he also has to serve as a tire carrier as well. Each tire carrier has a different method of gripping tires, which means a different pattern of tape is required for each tire carrier.
Gray began to work on taping up his tires in the pit stall. Not only is each team member's tire grip different, but each car is also different. As he taped the tires, Gray began firing off questions to the No. 22 team over the pit crew's separate radio channel about the car so there would be no surprises when he went over the pit road wall.
"I'm asking the guys on the radio, talking to the 22 pit crew now, I'm like, 'Hey, what's the fender clearance on the left rear? What's the fender clearance on the right front?' Because those are the two tires that I put on," Gray explained. "And then I'm asking, 'What's the jack peg height?' You know, and I'm just trying to get an idea of the setup, because every car has different setups, and you know how to approach that pit stop. And Phoenix is a tough race to pit when it comes to setups. So, I'm just asking all of these questions, and trying to really focus."
As Gray was trying to lock in, mentally, the NBC Sports cameras were in the pit stall, in his face, trying to tell the story to the rabid NASCAR fans watching at home. While Gray was appreciative of the coverage, he admits he was close to telling them to leave so he could properly prepare. Once the prep work was completed, the anxiety of the situation subsided, and Gray found his Zen. He was ready to go to battle.
"Then we approached that first pit stop cycle, and looking back at it, it was the coolest feeling I ever had in all sports," the lifelong athlete said. "Because I played sports, I was always a three-sport athlete until college, and then I played college football. And you know, you have these moments you either dream about, or you have the opportunity to crush [it] at that time. When this happened, I think it was because of the 2020 championship. We were there, and we had butterflies and adrenaline, but this time around, when I had this opportunity, I was super zoned in. I'm like, 'I'm going to make this, I need to take advantage of this, and we're going to crush this.' There wasn't a doubt in my mind. It was like I was extremely zoned in."
While he was zoned in, there was still the question of how well Gray would fit in with the other team members on the No. 22 pit crew as the choreography, and chemistry of each team is ultra-important. The 33-year-old says the fact that he's actually had a few reps with the No. 22 team in pit practice in the past made for an easy transition at Phoenix Raceway.
"Yeah, it really wasn't that difficult," Gray stated. "Another thing is we practice with the [No.] 22 [team] in the same time slot. Not that we, we don't intermingle, like you're saying, we don't switch out people a lot. But, there have been times when let's say someone couldn't go to work, I would step in and do a couple of pit stops with them. So, we kind of have an idea of how the choreography should be with different people."
Additionally, the No. 22 team relied heavily on technology to get Gray up to speed in their pit stall between pit stops.
"Jeremy Ogles, the tire carrier, actually did a great thing. So, we have access to a thing called DV Sport Galaxy, and it's our practice film, our helmet cameras, it's our race film. So, he was able, as I'm doing this, he pulls up on his phone, and he's watching, 'Okay, this is where Pat, this is how he runs out, this is where he jacks the right side,' this is where I could fit that tire to hand it off to him," Gray detailed. "So, he was looking that stuff up as I was getting ready, so I was like, okay, I shouldn't have to change much here. So, that was pretty cool."
It all worked out perfectly, and Logano was able to hold off his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney for the win in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race and in doing so, captured the third-consecutive championship for the organization.
Gray says being called into the No. 22 team's pit box mid-race was emotional at first as he felt for Stoddard who had worked all season for that moment.
"So, yeah, it's definitely bittersweet. Because the first part, you know, this is Graham's car that he's been on all year, and actually for years. So, that part is bittersweet, because you're just worried about him too," Gray continued, "But at the same time, once it was over, meaning the checkered flag had happened, in my mind, I knew this is something that I've wanted to do, probably ever since I was a little kid. Who doesn't want to say, 'It's 4th & inches, or it's the bottom of the ninth [inning], saying give me the ball,'? You're the person who can help in the most clutch situation. Like this is, if you play any sport, this is the scenario that you dream of being able to have the opportunity of."
As he was weighing out the emotions of what had just happened, Gray then found himself in an awkward situation. The No. 22 team wasn't his team, the No. 2 team is. He helped the No. 22 team to a championship, but he hadn't done battle with those guys all season long. What was the protocol? Was he supposed to join in on the celebration or was he supposed to fade away into the shadows and help his No. 2 team pack up?
"Right after we jumped off the wall, I kind of let them, I kind of just stayed behind the wall, and I stepped over," Gray said. "And I think it was maybe Jake Seminara, the Rear Changer, and those guys, and they were like, 'Get over here! Like, are you kidding me?' Kind of like gave me the okay feeling, like okay, they feel the same way that I do, right? Like, dude, we crushed it in this crazy situation. Get your butt over here so we can celebrate. So, it kind of made me feel good, because I was like, man I don't know how I should celebrate with this."
With that embrace from the No. 22 team, the veteran crew member in his eighth season was allowed to properly celebrate his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series championship win. And he finally got to finish what he started in 2020 when he came up short of a championship with Keselowski as his driver.
Unconventional Has Been the Name of the Game for Pat Gray's NASCAR Career
While Gray's path to celebrating his first NASCAR Cup Series championship as a pit crew member was unconventional, to say the least, it pales in comparison to the path that he took to become a pit crew member in the first place.
Gray, a native of New Jersey, played football at Monmouth University where he recorded six interceptions as a Safety to go along with a pair of touchdowns one as a kick returner, and one as a Wide Receiver, says that he didn't come from a racing family, and admits that he didn't know much about NASCAR before attending his first race, which was the 2016 Coca-Cola 600.
"I went to the Coke 600, and I did not know anything about racing," Gray recalled. "I went to a race, and I saw a friend, Chris Conklin, who was jacking the [No.] 21 [Wood Brothers Racing car] at the time, they say they needed a jackman. I didn't know what that was. It was the next week, I went in for a tryout. That was a Monday, and then Tuesday, they're like, 'Hey, can you start?' And I was like, 'Um, I guess, I don't know. I didn't plan on quitting my job or anything,'"
The then 25-year-old Gray had been working at Champion's, a Sports Performance Training Center in Cornelius, North Carolina, and was actually in the midst of a round of interviews to become a salesman for a commercial roofing company. Gray, who was on the fence about the whole NASCAR pit crew thing, was actually convinced to give it a try by the commercial roofing employee who was attempting to hire him.
"I remember the commercial roofing person, who was going to hire me, I said, 'Hey, I have this weird opportunity of trying to be on a pit crew,' and he was like, 'Oh, dude, go do that," Gray recollected. "And if it doesn't work, call me back. But go do that.' And I was like, 'Huh, that guy seemed pretty pumped up, so, maybe I'll give this a try.'"
Gray says two weeks later, he was pitting race cars for Team Penske in the NASCAR National Series, and he hasn't looked back since. With his first championship secured as a fill-in for the No. 22 Team Penske pit crew, Gray now looks forward to the 2025 season with confidence and optimism, as he looks to help Cindric and the No. 2 team land their first NASCAR Cup Series championship together.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.