Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NHRA– Chevrolet Records 10th Consecutive Pro Stock Victory of the Season

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA SUMMERNATIONALS
OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK AT ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY
SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 2017

Chevrolet Records 10th Consecutive Pro Stock Victory of the Season

• Greg Anderson earns second Pro Stock win of season, eighth at racetrack
• Courtney Force claims fifth No. 1 qualifier honor of season, reaches semifinals
• No. 2 qualifier Robert Hight sets track speed record, advances to semifinals
• Brittany Force records 100th career Top Fuel elimination round victory

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 11, 2017) – Old Bridge Township Raceway Park holds fond memories for Greg Anderson, and the four-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock champion added another with his eighth career victory at the historic racetrack.

Anderson, driving the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, paced Team Chevy teams that advanced to at least the semifinals in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock in the 48th NHRA Summernationals.

Anderson claimed the top prize at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park for the third consecutive year by outrunning local favorite Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS) 6.613 seconds to 6.665 in the final on a day in which the track temperature checked in at 131 degrees Fahrenheit and the ambient temperature hit 96 degrees. Anderson, who ran his career win total to 88, was the No. 5 qualifier.

“He got me on the starting line but my crew did the job. Vincent beat me, but my crew beat that crew,” said Anderson, who is 13-12 in elimination round victories against Nobile. “It’s a neat racetrack that you get both worlds – you get the best of everything and you get the worst of everything, and it makes it a real challenge for the drivers, real challenge for the crew, so it becomes a 100 percent team effort if you win here. Probably why I’ve won eight times, because I’ve got a great team behind me.”

Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is the site of Anderson’s maiden Pro Stock victory in 2002, and where he provided KB Racing with its 100th victory in 2012. That win also was the first for the Pro Stock class with the new Chevrolet Camaro.

“You go in there confident because you have history there,” said Anderson, who missed the third round of qualifications Saturday to attend his son’s high school graduation ceremony in North Carolina. “Looking back at winning there for the first time in 2002, it was beyond fantastic. Every win is great, but some of them sure standout, and that was one of them. A lot of neat things have happened for the KB Racing team at Raceway Park, and for me, personally.”

Courtney Force, who advanced to the Funny Car final last week at Epping, New Hampshire, advanced to the semifinals in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS. Force’s bid to claim her first victory of the season was halted when she tripped the red light by .012 of a second for a foul.
Force had earned her fifth No. 1 qualifier honor of the season and reset the racetrack Funny Car elapsed-time record to 3.862 seconds. Her father, John Force, holds the season record of 13 top qualifier wins, set in 1996. Courtney Force has 15 career No. 1s, tying sister Ashley Force Hood, whose career spanned from 2007-10.

John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight, the No. 2 qualifier in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, also advanced to the semifinals for the fourth time at Englishtown. During qualifications, he set the track speed record of 332.43 mph.

In their 102nd career round matchup – the most of any pro drivers in NHRA history — Cruz Pedregon got the best of John Force (PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the first round. Force, the No. 12 qualifier, is a four-time Funny Car winner at Old Bridge Township Park Raceway.
Brittany Force, who seven days earlier defeated reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the final at Epping to score her first win of the season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, lost in the semifinals to No. 1 qualifier Brown. Force, who picked up her 100th career victory in the second round, was the No. 5 qualifier. She had won the previous two meetings in 2017.

Anderson joined Tanner Gray and Bo Butner as two-time Pro Stock winners this season – all by Team Chevy competitors – through 10 races.

Anderson dispatched Butner – the No. 1 qualifier, KB Racing teammate and Pro Stock points leader in the Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS — in one semifinal. Nobile advanced to his second final at Old Bridge Township Raceway by defeating Jeg Coughlin Jr. (JEGS.com Elite Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS).
John Gaydosh Jr. (Gaydosh Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS) picked up his first round win of the season and third of his Pro Stock career in ousting No. 2 qualifier Tanner Gray (Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS), a two-time winner in his rookie season, in the first round. Also in the first round, Epping winner Erica Enders (Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS) competed in her 399th career elimination round. She fell to teammate Coughlin in what was their first matchup since Englishtown last year.

The four-week eastern swing continues June 16-18 with the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee. Jason Line was the No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS and defeated KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson in the final to lead Team Chevy. FOX Sports 1 will telecast eliminations and finals at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday.

Vic Cagnazzi of New York City advanced in Stock Eliminator to the fifth round of eliminations in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. He was the No. 28 qualifier of 76 entries.

ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING NHRA PROGAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to Greg Anderson for earning his record eighth Pro Stock victory at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park on a challenging day because of the weather conditions. And congratulations to the spectators for sticking with the action throughout the day. It was another successful weekend for Team Chevy, with Greg Anderson and Vincent Nobile facing off in the Pro Stock final, Courtney Force and Robert Hight setting track records and reaching the Funny Car semifinals, and Brittany Force continuing her Top Fuel hot streak by advancing to the semifinals. The action continues next weekend in Bristol, Tennessee, and we’re hopeful of seeing another strong outing by Chevrolet teams and drivers.”

An interview with Pro Stock winner GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; second win of the season; eighth win at the racetrack and 88th of his Pro Stock career):

Q: PRETTY CRAZY WEEKEND FOR YOU. YOU FLY HOME TO ATTEND YOUR SON’S GRADUATION AND DON’T MAKE ANY QUALIFYING RUNS AND TODAY SLOG YOUR WAY THROUGH IT.

GREG ANDERSON: It certainly wasn’t an easy day. It was a tough weekend, and for me I hate to even think of missing a run but my wife explained to me how important it would be to be there and I agreed. And when I left, I told my guys I’ll be back for Q4 or you’ll probably never see me again if I don’t make it there in time. Everything worked out. It was a neat atmosphere and neat deal, and it brought a tear to me eye. I’m glad I was there, and the only thing I’m sad about is I missed the party afterward but this make up for that. We’ll just have to go home and have another party. I’ve never actually my son one of these Wallys, and I have 88 now and this one is absolutely going to him. He’s not an honor student; it’s been kind of a struggle for him. But he bore down this year and last year and he upped his grades and he made it through no problem. I’m proud of him. For some people, school doesn’t come too easy, and he’s probably one of them, so I’m proud of him. My daughter, it was a breeze for her. I’m glad I witnessed it and glad to come back here and win the Summernationals for the eighth time. This place has been magical for me even before I got behind the wheel (as a crew member). Just a magical place; it’s been great all my career whether I’ve been working on a car, driving a car. I don’t understand why we race anywhere else around the country. We should just have them all right here.

Q: WAS THIS AS MUCH WORK AS YOU’VE HAD TO PUT IN TO EARN A WALLY?

GREG ANDERSON: It was. This was the first real hot racetrack we’ve had all year, and this is a great racetrack. When it’s cool out, you set world record times. When it’s hot out, like it can be here in Englishtown, you can struggle because it’s hard to get ahold of that starting line. You have good barometric pressure up here, the cars make good power, and then you lose the starting line with the heat. So it’s like the worst of both worlds for Pro Stock cars. It’s very hard to get them hooked up in low gear, and you saw the challenges everybody had today. We were able to do a better job than the rest. It’s a neat racetrack that you get both worlds – you get the best of everything and you get the worst of everything, and it makes it a real challenge for the drivers, real challenge for the crew, so it becomes a 100 percent team effort if you win here. Probably why I’ve won eight times, because I’ve got a great team behind me.
Q: YOU HAD TO DO A DIFFERENT TUNING BECAUSE OF THE HEAT.

GREG ANDERSON: Absolutely. I was here on Friday and I got the one run yesterday, but Friday was almost one of those deals where you throw everything you have at the racetrack. And then it’s completely change the race car, basically lift the gas cap up and slide a new race car underneath for heat like we have here today. You get the best of both worlds and you get the best of both worlds, and that’s what you want in a racetrack – something that really challenges you. It’s like the U.S. Open for golf. It really challenges the golfers. This place really challenges the racers and crews, and to come out on top is a great feeling.