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BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 7, 2007) – A new track surface coupled with heat and humidity produced a cornucopia of varied types of runs during qualifying for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals on the quarter-mile track at Bristol Dragway.
The end result was still the same though as the top four in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings finished in the top four positions on the final qualifying ladder.
Greg Anderson put his KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac in the No. 2 position. His best of four qualifying passes was a run of 6.782 seconds at 204.35 mph.
Jeg Coughlin (6.765/204.05) is No. 1 and Coughlin’s teammate Dave Connolly (6.782/203.58) holds down third. Anderson ’s teammate Jason Line (6.789/203.86) begins his quest for his second consecutive win here at Bristol Dragway from the number four spot.
As he goes for his 50th career win, Anderson begins with Kenny Koretsky in the opening round of eliminations.
After 11 races, excluding the points earned here for qualifying, Anderson has gone to six final rounds, winning all six. He leads the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings with 992 points, which also puts the Minnesota native, who now lives in the Charlotte N.C. area, in the lead for the first segment – Countdown to Eight – of the Countdown to the Championship. Jeg Coughlin is second with 825 points (-167) and Coughlin’s teammate Dave Connolly, with 775 points (-217), in third.
Then comes Anderson ’s KB Racing teammate Jason Line with 682 points, 310 behind Anderson , in fourth. Rounding out the top five is Allen Johnson in fifth with 584 points, 408 off the lead. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
In addition to his win in 2004, Anderson claimed the first of his 49 career wins at Bristol Dragway in 2001.
ELIMINATIONS: Note the later start: Final eliminations for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals begin for all teams at 12 noon on Sunday, July 8. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Bristol time (ET) and subject to change.
TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals were aired on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD on Saturday (July 7) from 4-6 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (July 8) from 9 p.m. until midnight. The elimination show repeats early Monday morning, July 9, from 3:30-5:30 a.m. Also, be sure to tune into NHRA Race Day, the show which provides the drag racing fan with the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (July 8) on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD from 11-11:30 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season up into three distinct segments: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1.
After the 17 regular season races, all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, but only the top eight drivers continue to vie for the championship in the four-race second segment. The top four drivers after the four-race playoff then move to the third and final segment that will be run over the final two races – the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona . While all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, only one of the four can be crowned the 2007 champion.
KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth , Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti , Mich.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT: Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment (Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts | 800-230-3030), headquartered in Tallmadge , Ohio , has been the leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers from three warehouses in Tallmadge , Ohio , Sparks , Nev. , and McDonough , Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB Racing LLC, which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.
Anderson qualifies No. 2 on new Bristol Dragway surface
BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 7, 2007) – A new track surface coupled with heat and humidity produced a cornucopia of varied types of runs during qualifying for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals on the quarter-mile track at Bristol Dragway.
The end result was still the same though as the top four in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings finished in the top four positions on the final qualifying ladder.
Greg Anderson put his KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac in the No. 2 position. His best of four qualifying passes was a run of 6.782 seconds at 204.35 mph.
Jeg Coughlin (6.765/204.05) is No. 1 and Coughlin’s teammate Dave Connolly (6.782/203.58) holds down third. Anderson ’s teammate Jason Line (6.789/203.86) begins his quest for his second consecutive win here at Bristol Dragway from the number four spot.
As he goes for his 50th career win, Anderson begins with Kenny Koretsky in the opening round of eliminations.
After 11 races, excluding the points earned here for qualifying, Anderson has gone to six final rounds, winning all six. He leads the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings with 992 points, which also puts the Minnesota native, who now lives in the Charlotte N.C. area, in the lead for the first segment – Countdown to Eight – of the Countdown to the Championship. Jeg Coughlin is second with 825 points (-167) and Coughlin’s teammate Dave Connolly, with 775 points (-217), in third.
Then comes Anderson ’s KB Racing teammate Jason Line with 682 points, 310 behind Anderson , in fourth. Rounding out the top five is Allen Johnson in fifth with 584 points, 408 off the lead. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
In addition to his win in 2004, Anderson claimed the first of his 49 career wins at Bristol Dragway in 2001.
ELIMINATIONS: Note the later start: Final eliminations for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals begin for all teams at 12 noon on Sunday, July 8. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Bristol time (ET) and subject to change.
TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals were aired on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD on Saturday (July 7) from 4-6 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (July 8) from 9 p.m. until midnight. The elimination show repeats early Monday morning, July 9, from 3:30-5:30 a.m. Also, be sure to tune into NHRA Race Day, the show which provides the drag racing fan with the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (July 8) on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD from 11-11:30 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season up into three distinct segments: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1.
After the 17 regular season races, all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, but only the top eight drivers continue to vie for the championship in the four-race second segment. The top four drivers after the four-race playoff then move to the third and final segment that will be run over the final two races – the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona . While all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, only one of the four can be crowned the 2007 champion.
KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth , Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti , Mich.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT: Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment (Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts | 800-230-3030), headquartered in Tallmadge , Ohio , has been the leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers from three warehouses in Tallmadge , Ohio , Sparks , Nev. , and McDonough , Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB Racing LLC, which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.
