Anderson Encouraged After Opening Indy Qualifying in Fifth

Anderson Encouraged After Opening Indy Qualifying in Fifth

Event:  58th annual Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals

Location: Lucas Oil Raceway, Clermont, Ind.

Day/Date: Friday, August 31, 2012

Racers faced several challenges during the opening day of qualifying for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind. For most of the day, there was a question as to whether the solitary attempt would even occur, as showers seemingly surrounded the racetrack.  In addition, with the remnants of Hurricane Isaac forecast to hit the Indianapolis area on Saturday, competitors were unsure if and when their next attempt might come.  Finally, Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team were anxious to see the results of the testing they had done on their Chevrolet Camaro during the past two weeks.

Fortunately, the precipitation held off, allowing for the completion of the professional qualifying session, with Anderson tripping the finish line timers in 6.655 seconds with a top speed of 208.17 mph, placing him fifth with four attempts remaining.  Although conceding that the run was far from perfect, he was encouraged by the progress the team had made.

“I think we’re going to be better,” said Anderson. “We made horrible runs with both cars and were still within a couple hundredths of the top spot, which is somewhat encouraging considering that at the last few races we were making decent runs and were five hundredths off.  I definitely think we are directionally correct, and can get even closer once we start making better runs with our Summit Racing Camaros.

“We overestimated the starting line a little bit today.  It wasn’t quite what we thought it was and as a result we spun the tires too much.  Still, that’s okay, because we now have something to work with.  Now we just need the rain to hold off so we can get four more qualifying attempts, allowing us to get even closer.  We have a good starting point and now we need to see what we can do with it.”