Summit Racing–Anderson getting reacquainted with the white Summit Racing car in Topeka

Anderson getting reacquainted with the white Summit Racing car in Topeka
 
TOPEKA, Kan., May 24, 2014 – Greg Anderson had a surprise for fans and competitors in Topeka. A last-minute decision by the seasoned team put Anderson behind the wheel of the white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro and sent the red Camaro back to the garage. Although they didn’t shoot right up to the top of the pack, Anderson and the KB Racing crew made strides towards becoming reacquainted with the white car and qualified in the No. 10 position. Anderson will race V. Gaines in the first round of eliminations.
 
“We were having a little trouble with the red car, and our teammate Vincent Nobile had some good runs on this particular car in the first four races of the season,” said Anderson, referring to the Summit Camaro that Nobile raced to the No. 1 qualifying position at the season opener and took to three consecutive semifinals. “We really liked the runs it was making when Vincent was driving it, and we had the plan to bring it back out after it was updated to a 2014 model. It took a few races to get that done, and it just happened to be that it was ready before this race. Now we have three cars that are the same and we just need to keep nitpicking at this one. We’ll get it going.”
 
Qualifying was shortened to three rounds as wet weather washed away the second session on the first day. Anderson was on the board on Friday night with a 6.651-second pass at 208.42 mph but was unsatisfied with the No. 12 spot. On Saturday morning, he made his best pass of the weekend so far, a 6.630, 207.69, that bumped him up a few positions on the ladder. Ultimately, following a 6.632, 208.01 in the final session, Anderson’s position was set at 10th.
 
“I need to be faster, but thankfully the car isn’t doing anything dumb – it’s just not lighting up the scoreboard like we think it should,” said Anderson, who will race Gaines for the first time on Sunday since defeating him in the first round of the NHRA Finals last fall. “The car is close, and it’s making good runs and certainly not acting like the red car was, but it isn’t where it needs to be just yet. We just need to squeak the last few couple hundredths out of it.
 
“We’re just going to make small changes because it’s close, but we are going to work on getting those few extra hundreds – and then I think we will have a chance to win. The good news is that it seems consistent and doesn’t seem far off. Hopefully we can make the right moves in the right direction and not knock it out of its happy place. It seems very happy, so we are just going to get it running a little faster.”