He’s not old enough for a driver’s
license, but he has already proven himself on some of NASCAR’s premier
tracks. 15 year old NASCAR Next driver, Gray Gaulding, started his racing
career competing on dirt bikes when he was just 3 years old. When Gaulding
was 9, his family (Mom, dad, and two sisters- McCall and Kennedy) moved to
North Carolina to allow him to chase his racing dreams. Gray recognizes he
wouldn’t be where he is today without their support and says he “can’t
even explain how much they’ve sacrificed for me to become a race car
driver.” The next phase of his racing career included racing Bandelaro and
legend cars before moving to late models in 2011 as a developmental drive
for Kevin Harvick, Inc. In 2013, Gaulding competed in 19 K&N Pro
series (East and West) races and won the West series finale in Phoenix,
making him the youngest driver to win a race in the series. This year he
will run a full K&N East schedule for NTS Motorsports in the #20
Krispy Kreme/TruMoo Milk Toyota as well as make his debut in the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series.
I recently had the opportunity to
interview Gray at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Gray is looking forward to all of
the opportunities he will have in what promises to be an exciting 2014
season. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’ll be able to do a lot of
learning.” Gray sees his biggest challengeas learning to drive the tracks he
will visit for the first time this year. He describes his driving style as
“driving every lap like it’s my last.” He also credits his crew chief and
crew members with helping him achieve the balance between being overly
aggressive and being on edge enough to know what his car needs to contend
for the win.
Gray has to achieve balance in his
racecar just like other drivers, but he also has an additional
challenge-balancing high school and his racing career. Having to live in both
worlds is another way for Gray to connect with fans of our generation
since many of us balance school with passions such as sports and
activities. Gray is completing his high school career with a combination
of virtual and traditional classes. “I do my virtual program when I’m on
the road, but I go to school when I’m home during the week.”Gray admits, “it
gets hard sometimes trying to do appearances and balance school work” but
he makes it work because “racing is [his] dream.”
Since Gray’s life is not a “normal”
teenager’s life, he thinks people might be surprised to know that he likes
“to hang out and be a typical 15 year old.” He loves to stay fit by playing
basketball and working out. Gray is consistently in the gym whether at
home or on the road because he recognizes that training not only enhances
his performance in the car but that it is also “just good to be healthy.”
While he knows it’s just as important to eat healthy as it is to stay
active, sometimes Gray treats himself to an oatmeal raisin cookie, frosted
MiniWheats, or a burger from In-N-Out!
Those who
already follow Gray’s racing career won’t be shocked to learn that his
go-to snack is courtesy of his sponsors- a Krispy Kreme doughnut with a
glass of TruMoo Chocolate Milk! And just like most every other teenager he
likes social media, games on his phone (“If I have free time, you will
catch me playing [Hill Climb].”), listening to music (rock and rap), watching
TV (preferably Race Hub as it is his “all time favorite!”), and sports
(“I’m a huge Dallas Cowboy fan!”)! Like many boys his age, he looks forward
to the day he can finally get his driver’s license! But unlike many boys
his age, he already owns a dream car- an ISF Lexus given to him by Toyota as a
perk of being a Toyota driver! Gray hopes that one day his garage holds a
Camaro and a Lamborghini!
Follow Gray’s career on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
