Greg Anderson used a combination of luck, skill and horsepower on Sunday to score a runner-up finish at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern NHRA Nationals in Atlanta, GA. After qualifying fifth for Sunday’s final eliminations, the defending Pro Stock champion knew they would need a consistent and competitive performance from the driver, car and crew if they were to contend for their second win of the 2011 season. Things went according to plan in the first round, as Anderson bettered his qualifying time by a hundredth of a second, using a solid 6.618-second, 207.18 mph pass to eliminate former employer and Hall of Fame racer Warren Johnson.
Relegated to the less-preferred right-hand lane in the second round, Anderson used the best reaction time of the day in Pro Stock at .014 to gain the advantage on Rodger Brogdon, and then used a 6.622-second, 207.50 mph run to outdistance his opponent’s 6.625-second, 206.99 mph effort. In the semifinals, the three-time Atlanta winner posted another strong reaction time at .021, leaving the line almost two hundredths of a second ahead of No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards, with his 6.627-second, 207.69 pass outdistancing his rival, who shut off early due to tire shake, sending Anderson to the 98th final round of his stellar career, where he would face his teammate Jason Line.
With the desired result of winning their sponsor’s race already secured, there were still team bragging rights at stake in the final round. Although Anderson made his best run of the weekend at 6.610-seconds with a top speed of 208.33 mph, it was not enough to overcome his stablemate’s 6.600-second, 208.42 mph run. Although naturally disappointed at not scoring the victory, the four-time champion was still pleased with the day’s results.
“It was a great day for the Summit/KB Racing team, and a pretty good day for Greg Anderson,” said Anderson. “To be honest, I got as far as I could go today. For some reason, we couldn’t completely figure my car out this weekend, but we were still able to scrap and claw our way to the final round, which says a lot about the guys on this crew. They never give up, and they never stop trying. We just came up short against a great hot rod and a great driver, who luckily enough is my teammate, so things worked out pretty well. I’m happy for the team, and happy for Jason – he did a great job today.
“We did learn a few things about the issues that had us behind the eight ball with my Summit Racing Pontiac this weekend, and we finally gained on it in the final round, so we’re feeling pretty positive as we head to Topeka next weekend. But for now, we’re happy to celebrate with our friends from Summit – it feels really good to put both cars in the final at their race. They do so much for us and we want to make them proud, and today I believe we did.”
Relegated to the less-preferred right-hand lane in the second round, Anderson used the best reaction time of the day in Pro Stock at .014 to gain the advantage on Rodger Brogdon, and then used a 6.622-second, 207.50 mph run to outdistance his opponent’s 6.625-second, 206.99 mph effort. In the semifinals, the three-time Atlanta winner posted another strong reaction time at .021, leaving the line almost two hundredths of a second ahead of No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards, with his 6.627-second, 207.69 pass outdistancing his rival, who shut off early due to tire shake, sending Anderson to the 98th final round of his stellar career, where he would face his teammate Jason Line.
With the desired result of winning their sponsor’s race already secured, there were still team bragging rights at stake in the final round. Although Anderson made his best run of the weekend at 6.610-seconds with a top speed of 208.33 mph, it was not enough to overcome his stablemate’s 6.600-second, 208.42 mph run. Although naturally disappointed at not scoring the victory, the four-time champion was still pleased with the day’s results.
“It was a great day for the Summit/KB Racing team, and a pretty good day for Greg Anderson,” said Anderson. “To be honest, I got as far as I could go today. For some reason, we couldn’t completely figure my car out this weekend, but we were still able to scrap and claw our way to the final round, which says a lot about the guys on this crew. They never give up, and they never stop trying. We just came up short against a great hot rod and a great driver, who luckily enough is my teammate, so things worked out pretty well. I’m happy for the team, and happy for Jason – he did a great job today.
“We did learn a few things about the issues that had us behind the eight ball with my Summit Racing Pontiac this weekend, and we finally gained on it in the final round, so we’re feeling pretty positive as we head to Topeka next weekend. But for now, we’re happy to celebrate with our friends from Summit – it feels really good to put both cars in the final at their race. They do so much for us and we want to make them proud, and today I believe we did.”
