Mooresville, N.C., May 10, 2011 – Over the last eighteen months, one of the hallmarks of Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team’s performance has been their incredible ability to overcome challenges both on and off the track to maintain their position as one of the top organizations in the NHRA’s highly competitive Pro Stock category. Prior to the 2010 season, the combination of team owner Ken Black’s health issues and Anderson’s devastating house fire left the team fighting to catch up, yet they were still able to win five races in seven final round appearances and claim the Full Throttle Pro Stock championship.
It was a similar situation heading into the 2011 campaign, as a transporter fire three days after the season-ending awards ceremony destroyed their championship-winning Pontiac and much of their equipment, requiring the team focus on rebuilding instead of research and development throughout much of the off-season. Even so, in the first five races Anderson has already won once in two final round appearances, with teammate Jason Line adding two victories of his own. However, coming off an uncharacteristic performance in Houston two weeks ago, the four-time champion is counting on his KB Racing team’s resilience to propel them to a strong showing at this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta.
“It almost looks like this Summit Racing team thrives on adversity, so this race should be right in our wheelhouse,” said Anderson. “This is a very important weekend for this entire team with a lot of potential distractions. There are a ton of pre-race activities starting with the press conference on Thursday followed by the Coca-Cola dinner honoring the Full Throttle champions.
“If that wasn’t enough, this is the second of three races sponsored by Summit, so there’s naturally going to be a little extra pressure to do something really good. Fortunately, it seems like more often than not, this team comes through when the stakes are high. This weekend we’re coming off a race where we didn’t do well, looking to rebound in front of our main sponsor at their race. That may lead to a few sleepless nights in the days leading up to Atlanta, but, based on our track record, I feel like we’re going to rise to the occasion.”
Anderson can also take some solace in his record of success at Atlanta Dragway, site of this weekend’s event. Located north of Atlanta in the town of Commerce, it is track with which he has extensive experience, first as the crew chief for Hall of Famer and Georgia resident Warren Johnson, and then as a driver, scoring three wins in six final round appearances.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Atlanta Dragway,” said Anderson. “It’s been a great track for me, and I have a lot of history there with as many laps outside the race car as I do behind the wheel of my Summit Racing Pontiac. I know it well, and have always been fairly successful there, so I really like it, and my car does as well.
“The racing surface in Atlanta is actually pretty good. It’s got a very good starting line, and the quality of the track continuing all the way down, although there have been a few bumps develop over the last few years that we’re hoping they’ll work on before we get there. It’s generally not one of the surfaces we have to worry about. You can use all the power you can bring.
“That’s why we’ve been testing a lot since Houston. We’re trying to learn what we did wrong there, so we rectify it and bring a great product to Atlanta. I’m confident we’ll have great race cars and we’ll be in a tremendous frame of mind, so hopefully we’ll have a big weekend.”
It was a similar situation heading into the 2011 campaign, as a transporter fire three days after the season-ending awards ceremony destroyed their championship-winning Pontiac and much of their equipment, requiring the team focus on rebuilding instead of research and development throughout much of the off-season. Even so, in the first five races Anderson has already won once in two final round appearances, with teammate Jason Line adding two victories of his own. However, coming off an uncharacteristic performance in Houston two weeks ago, the four-time champion is counting on his KB Racing team’s resilience to propel them to a strong showing at this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta.
“It almost looks like this Summit Racing team thrives on adversity, so this race should be right in our wheelhouse,” said Anderson. “This is a very important weekend for this entire team with a lot of potential distractions. There are a ton of pre-race activities starting with the press conference on Thursday followed by the Coca-Cola dinner honoring the Full Throttle champions.
“If that wasn’t enough, this is the second of three races sponsored by Summit, so there’s naturally going to be a little extra pressure to do something really good. Fortunately, it seems like more often than not, this team comes through when the stakes are high. This weekend we’re coming off a race where we didn’t do well, looking to rebound in front of our main sponsor at their race. That may lead to a few sleepless nights in the days leading up to Atlanta, but, based on our track record, I feel like we’re going to rise to the occasion.”
Anderson can also take some solace in his record of success at Atlanta Dragway, site of this weekend’s event. Located north of Atlanta in the town of Commerce, it is track with which he has extensive experience, first as the crew chief for Hall of Famer and Georgia resident Warren Johnson, and then as a driver, scoring three wins in six final round appearances.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Atlanta Dragway,” said Anderson. “It’s been a great track for me, and I have a lot of history there with as many laps outside the race car as I do behind the wheel of my Summit Racing Pontiac. I know it well, and have always been fairly successful there, so I really like it, and my car does as well.
“The racing surface in Atlanta is actually pretty good. It’s got a very good starting line, and the quality of the track continuing all the way down, although there have been a few bumps develop over the last few years that we’re hoping they’ll work on before we get there. It’s generally not one of the surfaces we have to worry about. You can use all the power you can bring.
“That’s why we’ve been testing a lot since Houston. We’re trying to learn what we did wrong there, so we rectify it and bring a great product to Atlanta. I’m confident we’ll have great race cars and we’ll be in a tremendous frame of mind, so hopefully we’ll have a big weekend.”
