ummit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson delivered a strong performance on Sunday, powering his way to a runner-up finish at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Nationals in Gainesville, Florida. After being one of three drivers to record the quickest elapsed time in NHRA Pro Stock history in qualifying at 6.495-seconds, Anderson started from the third position based on a top speed tie-breaker. Racing in temperatures substantially warmer than the previous two days, he used a combination of driving acumen and solid performances to defeat Larry Morgan, Shane Gray and Ron Krisher in the early rounds to advance to the 96th final round of his stellar career.
Anderson’s opponent for the championship run was a familiar one – his teammate Jason Line in an identically prepared Summit Racing Pontiac, whom he would face without the luxury of lane choice. Knowing they would need to extract the maximum from their race car in order to make a competitive run in the left lane, the team performed wholesale changes to the car, which paid off with a very impressive 6.545-second, 212.43 mph pass.
Unfortunately, issues with the starting line Christmas tree proved to be a distraction, allowing Line to gain an advantage, which he parlayed into a hole-shot win, using a 6.554-second, 211.96 mph pass to hold off the hard-charging Anderson. Although naturally disappointed by not gaining his third Gatornationals win, Anderson quickly acknowledged that it had been a great day for the entire KB Racing crew.
“I’ll tell you what happened – he got lucky,” joked Anderson afterwards. “The first thing that happened is that we struggled with getting my race car off the starting line all day long, so we were winning ugly, but still winning. At the same time, Jason’s Summit Racing Pontiac had been good all day, so we were stuck in the left lane for the final, where our chances of winning were pretty slim.
“We made wholesale changes to it, and somehow we fixed it. It made a great run in that lane, and we should have won the race, but something crazy happened when we staged. His light flickered two or three times and didn’t trigger the tree, so I ended up sitting on the limiter for way too long and broke my concentration. It was the only way I could have lost and I did. It’s just a case of bad luck, nothing else.
“But the bottom line is that when we went up there, neither one of us could lose – it was just a personal deal between me and Jason, because we both want to win. I’m a little stunned, but I still feel great for this KB Racing team for the moves we made and the things we learned as the weekend went on. It gives us a lot of confidence that we have good hot rods, and should have a great year. Jason is obviously the hottest guy in the class right now, which is good for Summit and for KB Racing, and bad for Greg Anderson (laughs), so I look forward to going to the next race and trying to wrestle the trophy away from him.
“In all seriousness, everything is great, although we need to fix what’s wrong with our third car. Fortunately, some of the things we did today with my car can be applied to Ronnie’s Summit/Genuine Hotrod Hardware Pontiac and get it straightened out, so that by the time we get to Las Vegas, we’ll have three strong Summit Racing Pontiacs challenging for the win. We can’t wait to get there and see Ken, Judy and Kenny, as well as all our friends from Summit. We’re coming in riding a wave, and we’re going to see if we can keep that wave going.”
Anderson’s opponent for the championship run was a familiar one – his teammate Jason Line in an identically prepared Summit Racing Pontiac, whom he would face without the luxury of lane choice. Knowing they would need to extract the maximum from their race car in order to make a competitive run in the left lane, the team performed wholesale changes to the car, which paid off with a very impressive 6.545-second, 212.43 mph pass.
Unfortunately, issues with the starting line Christmas tree proved to be a distraction, allowing Line to gain an advantage, which he parlayed into a hole-shot win, using a 6.554-second, 211.96 mph pass to hold off the hard-charging Anderson. Although naturally disappointed by not gaining his third Gatornationals win, Anderson quickly acknowledged that it had been a great day for the entire KB Racing crew.
“I’ll tell you what happened – he got lucky,” joked Anderson afterwards. “The first thing that happened is that we struggled with getting my race car off the starting line all day long, so we were winning ugly, but still winning. At the same time, Jason’s Summit Racing Pontiac had been good all day, so we were stuck in the left lane for the final, where our chances of winning were pretty slim.
“We made wholesale changes to it, and somehow we fixed it. It made a great run in that lane, and we should have won the race, but something crazy happened when we staged. His light flickered two or three times and didn’t trigger the tree, so I ended up sitting on the limiter for way too long and broke my concentration. It was the only way I could have lost and I did. It’s just a case of bad luck, nothing else.
“But the bottom line is that when we went up there, neither one of us could lose – it was just a personal deal between me and Jason, because we both want to win. I’m a little stunned, but I still feel great for this KB Racing team for the moves we made and the things we learned as the weekend went on. It gives us a lot of confidence that we have good hot rods, and should have a great year. Jason is obviously the hottest guy in the class right now, which is good for Summit and for KB Racing, and bad for Greg Anderson (laughs), so I look forward to going to the next race and trying to wrestle the trophy away from him.
“In all seriousness, everything is great, although we need to fix what’s wrong with our third car. Fortunately, some of the things we did today with my car can be applied to Ronnie’s Summit/Genuine Hotrod Hardware Pontiac and get it straightened out, so that by the time we get to Las Vegas, we’ll have three strong Summit Racing Pontiacs challenging for the win. We can’t wait to get there and see Ken, Judy and Kenny, as well as all our friends from Summit. We’re coming in riding a wave, and we’re going to see if we can keep that wave going.”
