Anderson Back in the Game After Another Great Outing at U.S. Nationals
BROWNSBURG, Ind., September 2, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson is enjoying the upswing that he has been waiting for all season long. Another powerful showing, this time at the 59th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis, has the four-time series world champion in an optimistic frame of mind as NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship is ready for launch.
The driver of the white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro was enthusiastic following four sessions of qualifying at the event that stretched across a long holiday weekend. Anderson’s performance included a qualifying best time of 6.640 at 208.10 mph and a bonus point earned in the final session as the third-quickest of the round.
In the opening act of eliminations, Anderson utilized a .024-second reaction time and a 6.624 at 208.49 to better Greg Stanfield’s .027 and 6.680, 206.04, and the victory set the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver up for a second round meeting with young gun Rickie Jones. Jones was stellar at the tree, recording a near-perfect .003-second reaction time, but old pro Anderson was quickly on his tail, launching with a very swift .009 and pairing it with a 6.673 to top a troubled Jones, who slowed to an 8.027.
A six-time U.S. Nationals winner and eight-time finalist at the prestigious and historic event, Anderson felt confident despite a lack of lane choice as he entered the semifinals for a meeting with points leader Mike Edwards. Luck had previously been on Anderson’s side in Indy, but this time good fortune fell on the other side as the two Chevrolet Camaro drivers clocked identical 6.640s and Anderson bested his opponent on speed, 208.36 to 207.46 but win light flashed in Edwards’ lane. The margin of victory was a mere .011-second in Edwards’ favor due to a .012 reaction to Anderson’s respectable .023.
“The good news is, we’ve got cars that are ready to win races,” said Anderson. “We were very close to being able to win the U.S. Nationals today, and we’re back in the game. We’ve got a week off to work on our stuff and try to get it better for Charlotte, and we want to win that first race of the Countdown. The Summit Racing team will be testing at zMAX Dragway this week for two days, and hopefully we’ll make some performance gains, come to the next race and run low e.t. of each round. That’s what we’re looking for.”
The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals marked the last event to earn points and jockey for positions before NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship, and Anderson enters the chase for the biggest trophy of the season in the No. 7 spot. His teammate, Jason Line, is No. 6.
“One of the two of us needs to win that race,” said Anderson. “Going in seeded that low, you really don’t have any mulligans left. You have to come out of the gate strong, and hopefully we can make up even more ground at our test session. It’s a dogfight out here right now. There are a lot of cars that can win this thing; it’s wide open. We’re happy with our Summit Racing Camaros, and if we can gain a little bit of an edge in performance this week, we’ll have an even better shot at that big trophy.”
