Anderson Ready to Battle from the No. 6 Position in Topeka
Event: 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals
Location: Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kansas
Day/Date: Saturday, May 18, 2013
Day two of the NHRA Kansas Nationals concluded with Summit Racing driver Greg Anderson qualifying sixth and preparing for a first-round match with Larry Morgan. Anderson, who has qualified in the top half of the field at all but one of the events during the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, had the opportunity to make four passes down the racetrack for the first time since the Las Vegas race earlier this spring.
Unforgiving weather has plagued qualifying, and sometimes raceday, at the most recent three events leading up to this weekend’s NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, and qualifying has regularly been shortened to just two or three sessions as opposed to the usual four.
“It was good to be able to get all four runs in finally,” said Anderson. “There isn’t much you can do about the weather, and it just seems like we’ve fought that a lot lately. You have to take whatever Mother Nature deals you, and you do the best you can. We were thankful that we were able to make four passes so far this weekend, and we’d like to make four more tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
On the first day of qualifying, Anderson’s Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro made smooth runs on a hot racing surface that was surprisingly responsive. Equally as surprising was the fact that the runs were not as quick as Team Summit believed they had the potential to be. Anderson clocked a 6.662 at 207.88 mph in the first session and crossed the finish line with a 6.655 at 207.85 mph in the early evening session.
The team regrouped and came to the table with high hopes on Saturday morning for the first of two remaining sessions, but a 6.717 at 204.82 mph wasn’t what they were looking for.
“We went in the wrong direction there,” said Anderson. “We lost two miles an hour that we shouldn’t have, and that was an eye-opener. So for the next round, we spun around, did a 180, and picked that 2 1/2 mph back up tonight [with a 6.705 at 206.80 mph]. That was the right direction, and now we definitely know the direction we need to go in for tomorrow. We’ll pray for more good weather and to have sharp minds so that we can make good decisions, and we’ll see what we can do with our Summit Racing Camaros.”
