Chevrolet Drivers Aim to Add to Victory Total at zMAX Dragway

CHEVROLET AT CHARLOTTE

What: 11th NHRA Carolina Nationals
When: Friday, Oct. 12-Sunday, Oct.14
Where: zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina
TV: FS1 live qualifications, 5:30 p.m. ET Oct. 13
FS1 live eliminations and finals, 2 p.m. ET Oct. 14

Chevrolet Drivers Aim to Add to Victory Total at zMAX Dragway
Four-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson to compete in 450th career race

DETROIT (Oct. 10, 2018) – At the outset, Greg Anderson just wanted to drive a Pro Stock car in a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event.
This weekend, the four-time Pro Stock champion will compete in his 450th race.

The NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, is the fourth of six races in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship and second at the racetrack this year. The facility next door to Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in April.

Anderson, completing his 20th NHRA Pro Stock season, has amassed numbers that rank at the top of the record books in all the professional categories, including:

91 event victories (all in a Chevrolet or other GM brand); second on the all-time Pro Stock list to Warren Johnson (97) and third in all pro classes. John Force leads with 149.
102 No. 1 qualifiers; tied with Bob Glidden for second in Pro Stock and third overall. Johnson has 138 and Force has 155.
798 elimination round victories; could join Force (1,308), Johnson (874) and Tony Schumacher (834) as only pro drivers with 800.
In 2004 title season, set NHRA single-season records for round wins (76), wins (15), final rounds (19 in 23 races), and No. 1 qualifiers (16).
Longest career qualifying streak of active drivers (367 from 1988 Pomona 1 to present).
Anderson, a Minnesota native and North Carolina resident, began his drag racing career as a crew member and then was crew chief for multi-time champion Johnson before taking the reins of father-in-law Troy Humphrey’s Pro Stock car in 1998. He joined KB Racing for the 2001 season and registered his first victory in Bristol, Tennessee.
“I never really set any goals. Just to be able to drive one and come to a race and have a chance to run with these guys was all I wanted and all I expected,” said Anderson, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS. “I had no idea what it would become. I just hoped I could to go out and compete and not look like a complete fool and maybe get lucky some day and win a race. I’ve surpassed that a little bit and it’s been a great run.

“I did not envision it and I know you tell everybody to follow their dreams and dream big, but I didn’t. I don’t think anybody saw anything that I would be great behind the wheel. I think they saw I was a hard-working guy, a decent guy and would do a good job.”

KB Racing owner Ken Black saw all that and more when he extended the invitation. It’s been a successful partnership on and off the racetrack for 17-plus years.

“Greg is one of those guys who leads by example,” Black said. “He’s staying an extra hour at the shop after it’s time to go home, making sure something gets done. It rubs off on the guys at the shop and inspires everybody. Like the book says, leadership starts at the top and flows down. He’ll go down as a legend in the sport.

“It’s been a good marriage for us. We trust each other, respect each other, and we both want to win. He takes losing real hard. He’s the most competitive person I think I’ve ever met. He worries more than I do about (primary sponsor) Summit (Racing Equipment) because he wants them to be happy. When we’re not winning races for Summit, he’s more unhappy than I am. ‘We’ll get it tomorrow’ is my attitude; I have faith in all these guys to get it done.”

Tanner Gray, who has won the past two races and seven overall driving the Gray Motorsports/Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS, paces the Pro Stock pack by 52 points over Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS). Gray won the 2017 fall race.

Reigning Funny Car champion Robert Hight has also won the past two races driving the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to stretch his advantage to 50 points over second place. Hight won at the racetrack last fall and reset the track Funny Car speed record in the spring 2017 meet.

John Force Racing teammates Courtney Force (Advance Auto Parts TrueTimber Chevrolet Camaro SS) is fifth in the Funny Car standings and John Force (PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS) is eighth.

Brittany Force, the reigning Top Fuel champion who drives the Advance Auto Parts TrueTimber Chevrolet dragster, is seeking her second win of the season. She set the Top Fuel track elapsed time record of 3.689 seconds on the way to earning the No. 1 qualifier honor in the April four-wide race.

Brandon Bakies of Alexandria, Louisiana, who earned his first national event victory in the Super Stock final Oct. 8 in Ennis, Texas, is entered in the class in his COPO Camaro this weekend. Also competing in their COPO Camaros will be Vic Cagnazzi of New York City and Jeff Warren of Clinton, North Carolina.

Driving their Chevrolet COPO Camaros in Stock Eliminator this weekend will be 2016 class champion Jeff Strickland of Red Bay, Alabama; Darren Poole-Adams of Shelby, North Carolina; Adam Badgett of Mount Airy, North Carolina; Cody Phillips of Lumberton, North Carolina; Chip Johnson of Fayetteville, North Carolina; Jeff Myers of Decatur, Indiana; Dan Fletcher and son Thomas Fletcher of Churchville, New York; and Cagnazzi.

FS1 will telecast live coverage of eliminations and finals at 2 p.m. ET Oct. 14.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (reigning class champion; holds track Top Fuel elapsed time record set in spring race on way to No. 1 qualifier; ninth in points): “Overall big improvements for our Advance Auto Parts team. Even after front halving the car and making a lot of changes over the last couple of weeks we are still trying to figure this car out. I think we will be looking good in Charlotte. We will have cooler conditions and I have a lot of confidence in us.”

FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner of past two races and four overall this season; won at track in fall 2017; holds Funny Car track speed record, set in spring 2017; first in points): “I have so much confidence in (crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock), Chris (Cunningham) and this Auto Club team. The Camaro we started the Countdown with was awesome, but it got destroyed in St. Louis. These guys went back to the shop and built a brand new race car for Dallas. We had some minor gremlins, which is part of the deal with a new car, but by Sunday we were dialed-in and won the race. I am excited to get back on the track.”

COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (11-time No. 1 qualifier and winner at Phoenix, Atlanta, Topeka and Richmond; No. 1 qualifier at track in 2017 fall race; holds track Funny Car elapsed time record, set in spring 2017 race; fifth in points): “I don’t believe our championship chances are over by any means. I actually feel pretty good our Advance Auto Parts TrueTimber Camaro was able to get down the track in the heat (at Dallas). We made our best run last Sunday when it mattered the most. It was one of the quickest runs of the first round. Unfortunately, we were matched up against someone that ran a little better. We had to battle some issues in qualifying and we didn’t qualify where we wanted to. We are going into Charlotte looking to turn our luck around. We still have a shot at this championship we just have to keep our focus.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has 1,308 round wins and 149 class victories; ninth in points): “I still gotta shot, but we’ve gotta go rounds. I thought I had moved up more in the points, but I guess there are a bunch of us grouped together. We’ve gotta break outta that pack and, so far, we haven’t done it because we’ve been stuck in the second round. I live for winning. I’m up against all these young guns, but so far, I’m holding my own. We’ve got a pretty good hot rod right now. It’s not the quickest but it’ll go down through there and, early in the year, we couldn’t do that.”

PRO STOCK:
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE GRAY MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (seven-time winner this season, including the past two events; first in points): “We’ve been struggling with qualifying it seems like and for whatever reason we’ve been able to pull it out on Sunday. Some of it being luck and some of it just making good runs and beating the guy in the other lane. When you can go and beat Jeg (Coughlin Jr. in Dallas final), one of the best to come through the class, it means a lot to me to go up there and beat him, especially when the stakes are so high in the championship. I just want to keep the momentum going.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner and runner-up at Charlotte four-wide; second in points): “We lost some points last week at Dallas but are still second in the Countdown, so we go to Charlotte to try to make up those points with consistent, strong runs in qualifying and on race day. This class is so strong, so close that anybody can win on Sunday. Hopefully it will be the Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro.”

DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in two of past three races; fourth in points): “We didn’t have a great weekend in Dallas, going out in the second round when I red-lighted. You just can’t make those kinds of mistakes in the Countdown and expect to move up. Our car is running good and if the driver can focus on his job we’ll be OK at Charlotte.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier nine times this season and 102 in career, tying Bob Glidden for third all time; four-time winner at track; holds track Pro Stock speed record, set in 2015; fifth in points): “This weekend, we have to find a way to run the table. It’s as simple as that. Jason’s (Line) car was very fast on Sunday in Dallas, mine was fast on Friday in qualifying there, so what we have to do now is make sure our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros are consistently fast, no matter what the conditions are. It looks like the conditions are going to be very different this weekend from what they were in Dallas, so it could be very interesting. We hope it’s interesting in a good way. If we can build on what we already have, there is still hope for a very good ending to this year for us.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time runner-up; seeking 50th national event win – 47 in Pro Stock, two in Stock Eliminator; has 100 final-round appearances in Pro Stock and Sportsman classes; seventh in points): “For the last couple of races, the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro has been the best it’s been all year, and sure, that gives you a little bit of confidence going into the weekend. I have a great car right now, and I know what went wrong for me last week – I just didn’t do a good job driving it on Sunday. Maybe it’s easier said than done, but I’m certainly going to try my hardest to be better. It’s been a busy but good week, and now we’re ready to get to zMAX Dragway and win for Team Summit.”

BO BUTNER, KB RACING, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning class champion; winner at season opener; eighth in points): “We ran well at certain points last weekend, and everyone on the team has been trying their hardest, that’s for sure. Just like last weekend and every weekend before that, the goal is to put a KB Racing Chevy Camaro in the winner’s circle on Sunday. zMAX Dragway is a beautiful track, and it’s right there in a cool town that’s all about racing. I look at it like this, we have three more races to enjoy this year, and we’re going to do our best to do that.”