On paper, it would seem that Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson completed another solid qualifying effort on Saturday, with his 6.585-second, 209.95 mph from Friday afternoon earning him the sixth starting position for Sunday’s final eliminations of the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas. However, even though he posted the third and fifth quickest time in the final two sessions at Royal Purple Raceway, the four-time champion felt there was still room for improvement in the hot and humid conditions, with both he and the crew immediately diving into the data from the past two days looking for answers.
“Our Summit Racing Pontiac is working well, but just isn’t running as well as we’d like in the last half of the racetrack,” said Anderson. “At this point, we’re not sure whether we should point the finger at the engine, the race car or the driver – in fact I was asking if the parachutes were dragging early. In any case, we have to figure it out, getting a better handle on these conditions.
“We were okay yesterday, but when the air went downhill today, we got a little off with Jason’s and my cars, although Ronnie’s (brother-in-law Humphrey, who was the No. 1 qualifier) was pretty good, which shows us we can run well in these conditions. We’re a little puzzled, but happy the car’s running well, because if we can figure out what’s wrong in the last half of the track, we’re going to be really fast. We’ll keep digging tomorrow, trying to make the right moves and correct whatever’s wrong, although we don’t want to screw the car up, because it is running the first half really well. We’re not disappointed, we just have some work to do.”
“Our Summit Racing Pontiac is working well, but just isn’t running as well as we’d like in the last half of the racetrack,” said Anderson. “At this point, we’re not sure whether we should point the finger at the engine, the race car or the driver – in fact I was asking if the parachutes were dragging early. In any case, we have to figure it out, getting a better handle on these conditions.
“We were okay yesterday, but when the air went downhill today, we got a little off with Jason’s and my cars, although Ronnie’s (brother-in-law Humphrey, who was the No. 1 qualifier) was pretty good, which shows us we can run well in these conditions. We’re a little puzzled, but happy the car’s running well, because if we can figure out what’s wrong in the last half of the track, we’re going to be really fast. We’ll keep digging tomorrow, trying to make the right moves and correct whatever’s wrong, although we don’t want to screw the car up, because it is running the first half really well. We’re not disappointed, we just have some work to do.”
