SONOMA, CALIF., July 31, 2011 – Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team continued their mid-summer surge on Sunday, capturing the Pro Stock title at the Fram/Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. Starting from the second position, Anderson defeated Gordie Rivera, Rodger Brogdon and Erica Enders in the early rounds before squaring off against 2009 Pro Stock champion Mike Edwards in the final.
In one of the closest races of the day, Anderson combined a .043 reaction time and a 6.562-second, 210.28 mph pass to edge Edwards, who posted a .031 r.t. and 6.576-second, 210.14 mph lap, by an almost immeasurable two thousandths of a second. It was Anderson’s third win of the season, 68th of his career and fourth at Infineon Raceway, setting a new record for wins by a Pro Stock driver at the Northern California quarter-mile.
“The final was exactly what we expected – a knock-down, dragged-out brawl,” said Anderson. “It seems like every time Mike and I lock horns we have a great race, and today was no different. The outcome was decided by two thousandths, and although Mike’s certainly won his share of those encounters, today was our day. The fans got to see a great race, and we can both leave here proud of our performance. I’m just happy that our Summit Racing team is the one standing here with the trophy.”
After struggling to hit the set-up on Friday, Anderson and the KB Racing team made steady progress throughout the rest of the weekend, posting the quickest elapsed time in the last session on Saturday, as well as three of the four elimination rounds on Sunday. After qualifying second, Anderson quickly announced his intentions on race day, posting the second-quickest elapsed time of the weekend at 6.546-seconds in his opening-round win over veteran Gordie Rivera.
The four-time champion followed that performance with a solid 6.564-second, 210.34 mph run to trailer Rodger Brogdon in the second round, setting up a semi-final encounter with Erica Enders. Once again, Anderson flexed his KB Racing Pontiac’s muscles, tripping the finish line timers in 6.567-seconds with a top speed of 209.92 mph to easily eliminate a tire-shaking Enders and advance to the 100th final round of his career and the meeting with Edwards.
Anderson’s performance also allowed him to clinch a spot in the Countdown championship playoffs, which will start in Charlotte, N.C. three races from now. Having now won two of the series’ last three races, the Mooresville, NC resident was quick to acknowledge the efforts of his crew and their role in today’s success.
“My Summit Racing team earned this trophy for me today,” said Anderson. “Thanks to my guys here at the track and the ones back at the shop. I had a great hot rod today, and that was absolutely the reason I was able to win this race. It’s a whole lot of fun to race when you have a car like I did this weekend. That’s what you strive for when you put those long hours in at the shop, and I’m glad we were able to take advantage of it.
“I also want to thank everyone at Summit Racing Equipment, Red Line Oil, Cometic Gaskets, Mac Tools, PAC Valve Springs, Wilson Manifolds, Diamond Pistons and everyone else who makes this all possible, as well as Ken and Judy Black. This win is for them as much as everyone else, and I can’t wait until they’re back out here with us.
“We absolutely love coming to Infineon Raceway. It is a magical place for the KB Racing team because it falls into our wheelhouse when it comes to how we run our race cars and engines. We knew coming here that we were going to run well, but then again, the conditions will allow our competitors to improve as well. Still, we have a great feeling coming here, and it shows in our positive results over the years.
“My only regret is that it’s not part of the Countdown. Even so, where it sits now helps to propel you into the playoffs, giving you the momentum you need going in, and I want to thank everyone here at the track for the tremendous job they do. It’s absolutely fun to race here.
“It’s good to have clinched our spot in the Countdown, but our work has only begun. We have three races to go, and we want to make the most of them so we can go into the playoffs with a full head of steam, so we’ll enjoy this win tonight, but tomorrow our focus will be squarely on Seattle, where we’d like to repeat these results.”
In one of the closest races of the day, Anderson combined a .043 reaction time and a 6.562-second, 210.28 mph pass to edge Edwards, who posted a .031 r.t. and 6.576-second, 210.14 mph lap, by an almost immeasurable two thousandths of a second. It was Anderson’s third win of the season, 68th of his career and fourth at Infineon Raceway, setting a new record for wins by a Pro Stock driver at the Northern California quarter-mile.
“The final was exactly what we expected – a knock-down, dragged-out brawl,” said Anderson. “It seems like every time Mike and I lock horns we have a great race, and today was no different. The outcome was decided by two thousandths, and although Mike’s certainly won his share of those encounters, today was our day. The fans got to see a great race, and we can both leave here proud of our performance. I’m just happy that our Summit Racing team is the one standing here with the trophy.”
After struggling to hit the set-up on Friday, Anderson and the KB Racing team made steady progress throughout the rest of the weekend, posting the quickest elapsed time in the last session on Saturday, as well as three of the four elimination rounds on Sunday. After qualifying second, Anderson quickly announced his intentions on race day, posting the second-quickest elapsed time of the weekend at 6.546-seconds in his opening-round win over veteran Gordie Rivera.
The four-time champion followed that performance with a solid 6.564-second, 210.34 mph run to trailer Rodger Brogdon in the second round, setting up a semi-final encounter with Erica Enders. Once again, Anderson flexed his KB Racing Pontiac’s muscles, tripping the finish line timers in 6.567-seconds with a top speed of 209.92 mph to easily eliminate a tire-shaking Enders and advance to the 100th final round of his career and the meeting with Edwards.
Anderson’s performance also allowed him to clinch a spot in the Countdown championship playoffs, which will start in Charlotte, N.C. three races from now. Having now won two of the series’ last three races, the Mooresville, NC resident was quick to acknowledge the efforts of his crew and their role in today’s success.
“My Summit Racing team earned this trophy for me today,” said Anderson. “Thanks to my guys here at the track and the ones back at the shop. I had a great hot rod today, and that was absolutely the reason I was able to win this race. It’s a whole lot of fun to race when you have a car like I did this weekend. That’s what you strive for when you put those long hours in at the shop, and I’m glad we were able to take advantage of it.
“I also want to thank everyone at Summit Racing Equipment, Red Line Oil, Cometic Gaskets, Mac Tools, PAC Valve Springs, Wilson Manifolds, Diamond Pistons and everyone else who makes this all possible, as well as Ken and Judy Black. This win is for them as much as everyone else, and I can’t wait until they’re back out here with us.
“We absolutely love coming to Infineon Raceway. It is a magical place for the KB Racing team because it falls into our wheelhouse when it comes to how we run our race cars and engines. We knew coming here that we were going to run well, but then again, the conditions will allow our competitors to improve as well. Still, we have a great feeling coming here, and it shows in our positive results over the years.
“My only regret is that it’s not part of the Countdown. Even so, where it sits now helps to propel you into the playoffs, giving you the momentum you need going in, and I want to thank everyone here at the track for the tremendous job they do. It’s absolutely fun to race here.
“It’s good to have clinched our spot in the Countdown, but our work has only begun. We have three races to go, and we want to make the most of them so we can go into the playoffs with a full head of steam, so we’ll enjoy this win tonight, but tomorrow our focus will be squarely on Seattle, where we’d like to repeat these results.”
