Sonoma, Sunday: As the defending event champion, Johnny Gray and the Pitch Energy team had high expectations entering the 2013 NHRA Sonoma Nationals, and with a category best four titles in four final rounds so far this year, the group was confident they would put on a great show for the fans at the racetrack located in California’s Napa Valley.

Indeed, the Pitch Energy Dodge was commanding attention, just not the kind the tight-knit crew was looking for. During qualifying, the team battled a gremlin – suspected to be in the ignition system – and were unable to secure a spot in the field until the last session. With the ship righted, Gray blasted into the No. 12 spot with a 4.112 at 306.46 mph in his final shot.

On raceday, Gray proved to have recovered from any issues when in the first round when he clicked off a stout 4.057 at 315.42 mph that was the second quickest of all the Funny Cars in the opening act and held as third quickest through all of the eliminations rounds.

Gray was fired up and quite prepared to illuminate another win light in the second round. He left the starting line ahead of opponent John Force but soon got into trouble. Right around the 330-foot marker, Gray’s Pitch Energy Dodge rattled the tires and he pedaled through the tire smoke, but the engine was resistant. The blower exploded and the body of the bright orange Funny Car split in half but stayed tied to the chassis with the new tethering system mandated by the sanctioning body in Denver last week. Gray’s vision was obscured by a repositioned piece of his Funny Car and the Pitch Energy Dodge rubbed against the guard wall before he was able to bring it to a stop. The driver emerged from the car apparently uninjured and of his own accord.

“I don’t even know what the lights were, what the numbers were down low or anything, but it felt like we left on time, felt like the car was making a nice run, then all of a sudden it just took the tires off,” said Gray. “When it took the tires off, the motor turned loose. Something happened in the motor and it blew the blower up. [There is a] new tether system that NHRA mandated and we put on the cars, I told them I didn’t want to be the 60-year-old guinea pig, but I guess I was.”