Anderson Sees Third Consecutive Four-Wide Final
CONCORD, N.C., April 21, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson came very close to scoring a third-consecutive trophy at the popular Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, the fifth race of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. It was also the first final of the season for four-time Pro Stock series champion Anderson, the No. 5 qualifier.
Qualifying for this season’s event was abbreviated to just two full sessions for the pros due to a near-total washout on Friday, with more rain and tornadoes in the forecast. On Saturday, however, the skies were clear and the air was cool. The Pro Stock cars came alive in the excellent conditions, and Anderson put a quick 6.508 at 213.67 mph on the scoreboard to top the charts in speed and earn another start from the top half of the field.
Similar conditions on raceday encouraged the Summit Racing team, and Anderson did his job in the opening act with an efficient .022 reaction time that preceded a 6.514 at 212.53 mph that was good for a pass to round two. The veteran driver took it up a notch at the starting line with a stellar .011-second reaction but then nearly immediately fell into tire shake. Luck was on the four-time world champion’s side, however, as two of the four opponents red-lighted and he was able to advance to the final round alongside Mike Edwards. Joining them in the final set of the day were drivers Erica Enders-Stevens and Shane Gray.
Anderson’s march towards the winner’s circle came to a jolting halt when he again experienced ferocious tire shake on the tricky racing surface, and Edwards moved ahead to take the win.
“It wasn’t a terrible day, but we certainly wanted more,” said Anderson. “To come here as the defending event champion, to have won here before and to know what that feels like, well you just want it again. That didn’t happen today. We had some luck – and we needed it – but we didn’t get the job done. There is good to come from that, though: every race we are becoming more and more determined to turn this thing around and get our Summit Racing Camaros winning races again.”
“Team Summit has a lot of experience at this racetrack, we’ve tested many times here, and that came into play during qualifying. But the truth of the matter is that qualifying is only one piece of the puzzle. You have to have the whole package – testing, qualifying well, and then turning on win lights on raceday. It was great to make it to the final round here, but I’m looking forward to taking it one step further and getting the win. Houston will be the first chance to do that, and I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity.”
