After struggling to get a consistent handle on their race car in qualifying, Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team knew they had their work cut out for them entering Sunday’s final eliminations of the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Running out of the fifth position, they got off to a good start in the first round, recording a solid 6.642-second, 208.10 mph pass to eliminate Steve Kent. They then duplicated that success in the second round against Kurt Johnson, advancing to the semifinals for the second time in the last three races.
However, their 6.667-second pass found them relegated to the less-preferred right hand lane for their encounter with veteran Mike Edwards, with whom Anderson is battling for second place in the championship standings. Although the team responded by recording the quickest pass of the day in that lane at 6.646-seconds with a top speed of 207.78 mph, their effort fell shy of overcoming their rival’s starting line advantage and 6.663-second, 208.17 mph, putting a premature end to their day.
Though naturally disappointed by the results, Anderson found reason to smile at day’s end. Not only was he encouraged by his race car’s renewed performance, looking forward to renewing the fight in two weeks at the NHRA season finale in Pomona, Cal, but he also took pride in that his teammate Jason Line was able to clinch the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock championship, giving the KB Racing team a total of six titles (Four for Anderson and two for Line) in its ten-year existence.
“The high point of today is that we seem to have gotten our race car back,” said Anderson. “That run in the semifinal was the best run I made all weekend, and shows us that we can run like we need to, which we will need going into Pomona. Mike is running very well right now, and it’s going to take our best to get second place away from him, but I think we’re up to it.
“I had a good day today, and he had a great day, setting the stage for a battle in that last race between four cars for second place. It’s going to be interesting, and even though it’s not for the No.1 spot, we are going to treat it like it is, going in with guns blazing. It’ll mean the world to us if our Summit Racing Pontiacs can finish 1-2 in the points – after all, that is our ultimate goal at the start of every season.
“In any case, with Jason clinching the title, it was still a great day for Summit and KB Racing. How can you be upset when that happens? Best of all, we won’t have any pressure on Jason out there, so maybe he can help me out. We know what the job is at hand, and we’ll be itching to unload at Pomona.”
However, their 6.667-second pass found them relegated to the less-preferred right hand lane for their encounter with veteran Mike Edwards, with whom Anderson is battling for second place in the championship standings. Although the team responded by recording the quickest pass of the day in that lane at 6.646-seconds with a top speed of 207.78 mph, their effort fell shy of overcoming their rival’s starting line advantage and 6.663-second, 208.17 mph, putting a premature end to their day.
Though naturally disappointed by the results, Anderson found reason to smile at day’s end. Not only was he encouraged by his race car’s renewed performance, looking forward to renewing the fight in two weeks at the NHRA season finale in Pomona, Cal, but he also took pride in that his teammate Jason Line was able to clinch the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock championship, giving the KB Racing team a total of six titles (Four for Anderson and two for Line) in its ten-year existence.
“The high point of today is that we seem to have gotten our race car back,” said Anderson. “That run in the semifinal was the best run I made all weekend, and shows us that we can run like we need to, which we will need going into Pomona. Mike is running very well right now, and it’s going to take our best to get second place away from him, but I think we’re up to it.
“I had a good day today, and he had a great day, setting the stage for a battle in that last race between four cars for second place. It’s going to be interesting, and even though it’s not for the No.1 spot, we are going to treat it like it is, going in with guns blazing. It’ll mean the world to us if our Summit Racing Pontiacs can finish 1-2 in the points – after all, that is our ultimate goal at the start of every season.
“In any case, with Jason clinching the title, it was still a great day for Summit and KB Racing. How can you be upset when that happens? Best of all, we won’t have any pressure on Jason out there, so maybe he can help me out. We know what the job is at hand, and we’ll be itching to unload at Pomona.”
