Anderson Rejuvenated and Ready for Raceday at Route 66 Raceway
Event: 16th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Location: Route 66 Raceway, Chicago, Illinois
Day/Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013
Greg Anderson wasn’t satisfied when he left Route 66 Raceway near Chicago on Friday night, but the Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro pilot returned on the second day of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals and quickly made amends with his racecar. The powerful combination of seasoned driver and improving hot rod clocked one of the quickest runs of the day in the closing session of qualifying to launch all the way up to the No. 4 position.
The first day of qualifying was abbreviated by one session when storms in the area surrounding Route 66 Raceway became a threat, and Anderson was deeply disappointed to forfeit a round after a 6.636 at 208.17 mph. The four-time Pro Stock champion seemed to realize that the pass was really just a warm-up to what was ahead. Sitting fifth after day one, Anderson improved in the first session on Saturday to a 6.621 at 208.23 and prepared for the final round of qualifying with optimism. The conditions were predicted to be ideal for incredible numbers, and the session certainly lived up to expectations.
In his white Summit Racing Camaro, Anderson got a hold of the racetrack and jetted to a head-turning 6.569 at 209.30 that was fourth-quickest in the category.
“That run felt a lot better,” said an enthused Anderson. “The racetrack and air were significantly better, and the whole class picked up. We gained on the pack, and that’s good; it’s definitely a good feeling going into Sunday. We think we can learn from what happened today and apply that towards tomorrow, so we’re going to bed feeling a little happier tonight.
“We’ll see how much sunshine we get tomorrow, and how the racetrack holds up, but it’s great out there and the surface just seems to be getting better every run.”
Anderson’s start from the No. 4 position is his best qualifying performance since the race in Atlanta earlier this year, and with a new car performing well in only its third event, the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver is looking forward to Sunday.
“We went into that last session thinking, ‘here is our opportunity, we have to capitalize on it,’ and I think we did,” said Anderson, who will race V. Gaines in round one on raceday. “We’re making forward progress, and we’re happy. Tonight was fun – these are the kind of race conditions we enjoy, and I wish we could do that more often. Now tomorrow we’ll see if we can negotiate the racetrack, take what we learned, and apply it.”
