Anderson Qualifies Third for U.S. Nationals
Event: 58th annual Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals
Location: Lucas Oil Raceway, Clermont, Ind.
Day/Date: Saturday, September 8, 2012
After a five-day delay due to heavy rains, qualifying for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind. was finally completed on Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway. Taking advantage of cooler temperatures and lower humidity, the Pro Stock field was able to produce significantly quicker elapsed times, with the top sixteen drivers eclipsing the quickest time from a week ago.
Among those making significant improvements were Greg Anderson and his Summit Racing team, with their Camaro posting the quickest elapsed time of the early session at 6.556 seconds with a top speed of 210.87 mph, a run that would earn the defending event champion the third starting spot for Sunday’s final eliminations. Anderson gave credit to a two-day test session in Charlotte during the week for the team’s improved showing.
“We’re definitely in a lot better shape than we were a week ago,” said Anderson. “We were happy with the outcome and the e.t. of today’s first run with our Summit Camaro, although it still wasn’t as clean as we’d like. We thought we could improve on our second attempt, but we underestimated the racetrack and went a little over center. The starting line wasn’t really that good and we smoked the tires, which affected the entire run.
“The test session we had at zMAX Dragway during the week definitely seems to have helped us. It appears we have found the direction we need to head with this Camaro. The good news is that we believe it has the potential to run faster, including setting low elapsed time. However, that means we have to go out and do it, making clean runs every time.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a good day with perfect weather, and we just have to do a better job getting off the starting line so we can haul the mail. If we execute perfectly we will have a chance to win the U.S. Nationals, which is all we can ask for.”