Taylor Gray Got His 1st Win: It’s Been a Long Time Coming

Heading into 2025, Taylor Gray was a total unknown in Xfinity, as his part-time stint with JGR in 2024 showed promise, but it looked like he had a long way to go. Especially since he didn’t even win a truck race. But now we know precisely how promising he is.

Taylor Gray’s 1st trip to Martinsville

Taylor Gray first showed everyone he could win races at that level when the Xfinity Series rolled up to Martinsville for the 1st of 2 times that year. He led 87 laps in that Operation 300 Toyota.

Including the white flag lap and into turn three on the last lap. But then Sammy Smith hit him like a heat-seeking missile, which spun him into the wall and robbed him of his 1st win, instead of giving it to Austin Hill.

Taylor Gray’s Texas Runner-Up and Charlotte Pole

The incident quickly warmed him up to fans after the outrage subsided. As they wanted to see him get the win he was robbed of by the No. 8, and only a few races later at Texas, it looked like he was going to get it.

Taylor Gray didn’t lead any laps, but by mid-race, he fell out of the order. All the way from starting in 12th, he fell to 18th by the halfway point. But his crew chief made the proper adjustments.

And the 54 was charging through the field, but then Taylor Gray encountered a problem that even the best Cup drivers haven’t always solved. Being fast enough to catch and pass Kyle Larson.

Learning His Way Through the Next Gen Era

Ultimately, he wasn’t, and the man who has the most wins in the Next Gen era won the Xfinity Texas race. At the same time, Taylor Gray is for the very 1st time. At the next race in Charlotte, he looked even more determined to get that win.

As he earned his 2nd career Xfinity Series pole, he was hoping to start and finish in 1st. To start, everything was smooth sailing as Taylor Gray led the first 23 laps of the race. But then another Buschwhacker, Bryon, took the lead from him.

He did finish top 10 in both stages 1 and 2, but it wouldn’t finish that way. Near the end he fell off all the way till he finished in 30th place. Not the way he wanted the race to go, for sure.

Taylor Gray’s Near Mexico Triumph

After another poor finish at Nashville, the Xfinity Series made its long-awaited return to Mexico. Nobody picked Taylor Gray to win, as he was an Xfinity rookie with little experience and no road-course specialty.

Despite all that, he qualified 8th and stayed up front all day. He led lap 44, and his average position all day was 5th. Most importantly, on the last lap, he was 2nd.Right behind another Buschwhacker and hometown hero, Daniel Suarez.

Taylor Gray gave it everything he could, even almost taking out Suarez himself, which would’ve been ironic, all things considered. But despite Taylor Gray giving it 110%, Daniel Suarez would earn his hometown win. And Taylor Gray walked away with another runner-up.

Taylor Gray Martinsville Get Back

Taylor Gray didn’t get another 2nd place for the rest of the regular season, but he would remain consistent. And due to Zilisch snatching most of the wins that summer, he made the playoffs anyway.

He was eliminated early on, though, so heading into the next Martinsville race, he was not 1 of the drivers who wanted so badly to clench his way into the final 4. But the fire that burned for his 1st win was only burning more every week.

A fire grew even larger as he returned to the same track; he had been robbed of that achievement months ago. He quickly rebounded from his 13th-place starting spot and charged up to be 5th by mid-race.

On lap 202, he dove to the inside and got the lead, but then behind him appeared Sammy Smith with everyone wondering if he’d pull the same stunt as last time. But on the final lap the same opportunity came, making everyone hold their breath.

Final Thoughts

But he wasn’t going to try the same trick that failed, so he drove clean, and this time Taylor Gray would cross the start/finish first for his 1st career win. Thanks a bunch for reading!