Anderson taking fate in his own hands in round one at Texas Motorplex
DALLAS, Texas, October 17, 2015 – Greg Anderson came into the 30th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals second in the points, 72 marks out of the top spot and with the No. 3 man in the standings 32 points back. As the race at Texas Motorplex is the fourth of six in NHRA’s 2015 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, Anderson is eager to close the gap between No. 1 and 2, and he certainly wants to make a healthy move away from third.
On Sunday morning in the Lone Star State, Anderson will have the opportunity to do just that. His first-round opponent is Chris McGaha, who has been a surprising force this season and is currently No. 3 in the Pro Stock points. Just two weeks ago, at the most recent race on the tour at Maple Grove Raceway, McGaha shut down Anderson in the final round.
“This is a golden opportunity,” said Anderson. “It’s obviously what you would want if you drew it up, and you don’t get a chance like this very often. If you’re in a position of needing to make up some ground like I am, you can’t sit back and hope for someone else to beat your competitors for you. I’m glad it’s in my own hands. If you aren’t looking for a round like that, something is wrong with you and you shouldn’t be racing in this class. We’ll go at it first round tomorrow like it’s the final round, and hopefully we move on and it only gets more interesting after that. We’ve got a big day coming up tomorrow.”
Qualifying in Texas began for Anderson with a 6.535-second pass at 212.03 mph that was greater than the both ends of the previous track record. At the conclusion of the first round of qualifying, his Summit Racing Chevy held the new track record for speed. In the second round, he improved to a 6.499 at a sturdy and even better 213.13.
Saturday brought cool and fast conditions that the KB Racing team was happy to handle, and Anderson improved to a crisp 6.484 at 213.81, resetting once again the track record for speed, and followed up with a 6.499, 213.23. Although he did not claim any of the bonus points available in qualifying, Anderson was still confident in the capabilities of his Summit Racing Chevrolet.
“The power is there; the power is definitely there,” said Anderson. “We just haven’t made a real clean run yet. We missed a little bit on the set up today, just like yesterday, and we haven’t got it right on the bullseye yet. Hopefully, we’ve saved that for tomorrow.”