Anderson Scores 78th No. 1 with Carolina Nationals Pole
CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 19, 2015 – Greg Anderson is off and running as raceday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals comes into view. Driving the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, Anderson plowed through qualifying at zMAX Dragway with great intent, scoring a total of 10 bonus qualifying points en route to the 78th low qualifier award of his career. He will race Wally Stroupe in the first round on Sunday as he pursues the trophy at the first race of six in NHRA’s 2015 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.
Anderson, a three-time zMAX Dragway winner, recorded a 6.541-second pass at 211.83 mph in the first round of qualifying under warm conditions, and later on Friday evening he was quick down the quarter mile with a 6.524, 212.26 to vault into the top spot.
Saturday’s sessions took place on a hot racetrack, but Anderson and Team Summit had little trouble navigating the racing surface. In the first round of the day he launched his red racecar to a 6.545, 211.73 that was the quickest of the lot. In the final session, he wheeled his way to a 6.550, 211.99 that was second quickest.
“It was a little warmer out there today, just like we figured it would be,” said Anderson. “We were able to make two very high-quality runs again, though, and the only driver who was faster than us today was our KB Racing teammate Bo Butner. That’s pretty cool, and I feel like everything is right on schedule. We had some cool battles during qualifying, some great side-by-side runs, and hopefully that’s a prelude to what’s coming tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.
“We have a great tune-up for this racetrack when the sun is out and it’s warm, and Team Summit is sure enjoying this weekend. The fans are having a blast, too. What a great crowd we had today. It was a lot of fun to put on a good show for them, and I think it’ll be another good show tomorrow. I’m not scared at all about the sunshine out there. It’s warm, but I’m not one little bit scared because I have a great hot rod under me. I’m going to see if I can ride that baby all the way to the finish line and get that win light four runs in a row.”
Anderson entered the first race of the Countdown as the No. 2 seed, just 30 points behind Erica Enders. Last year, his Summit Racing teammate Jason Line was the No. 1 seed.
“Last year, it came down to the final run of the year,” recalled Anderson of the head-to-head battle between Line and Enders for the trophy. “It was the final round at Pomona, and it was winner take all. Every single point is valuable, and I got a lot of those bonus points in qualifying. That’s hopefully going to be very good for the future. You are looking for all the points you can get. We’ve got a good start, and if we can keep that up and go four rounds tomorrow, things are going to be looking very good for KB Racing.”