Jonathan Gray’s first trip to the final round at a national event occurred on both his birthday and Father's Day with his dad and his entire family in attendance.

"I was really excited going into that final round because I knew we had a shot – I knew we had a chance to win, and I'm very fortunate to be able to say that at this point in my career," said Gray, driver of the Gray Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

The Mooresville, N.C.-based driver has qualified for every event with surprisingly relative ease thanks to the solid support of his experienced Gray Motorsports team, and Bristol's efforts marked the third time in only seven races ever attempted as a Pro Stock driver that Gray qualified in the top half of the field. Starting from the No. 8 spot, he earned lane choice over Chris McGaha for round one.

As per what has come to be the norm, Gray exhibited superior starting line skills and launched ahead of his competitor, ultimately wheeling his increasingly noteworthy Gray Motorsports Camaro to a 6.706, 207.18 mph win over McGaha's 6.709, 207.37 to log the second round-win of his career. The draw for round two, however, was enough to strike a nerve for the usually calm and cool Gray. Next up on the ladder was his older brother and the one who paved the way for success in the extremely tough category, Shane.

With their team owner and father, veteran drag racer and seven-time professional NHRA winner Johnny Gray, standing between the cars piloted by his two sons, the brothers squared off for the win light for the first time on Sunday. The younger Gray held an advantage at the staring line and traded it in for victory at the finish line stripe as matching 6.703s appeared on the scoreboard.

"That was a bittersweet deal there," said Gray with a shake of his head. "At the top end of the racetrack, [the media] up there were talking about it and carrying on, but I didn't really care for it, to be honest. There really wasn't a reward in it for me, and it was interesting for sure because we ran identical e.t.s, but I got lucky. Plain and simple."

Gray had to quickly put the brother vs. brother match behind him and focus all attention on what was immediately ahead: his first chance to race in the semifinals at an NHRA national event. Former world champion Jason Line awaited him at the starting line, and Gray was more than ready when he left the gate. Immediately seizing an advantage with a .033 to .041 reaction time, he again won the round on a holeshot, 6.730, 206.23 to 6.726, 206.39.

His challenger in the final was Erica Enders-Stevens. Both drivers were identical in terms of reaction time, but in the whirlwind of excitement surrounding the first final round of his career, Gray had trouble as he left the starting line and could not recover.