Anderson No. 3 on Friday at NHRA Winternationals
POMONA, Calif., February 6, 2015 – Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing NHRA Pro Stock team were on the hunt for more performance over the winter, and it would appear that they found what they were seeking. On Friday at the season-opening 55th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals, Anderson wheeled his white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a fast pass that sent him all the way up to the No. 3 spot with two more qualifying passes to go on Saturday.
The first session gave indication that the KB Racing team was onto something. Anderson piloted his sleek Camaro to a 6.553-second pass at 211.79 mph to grab hold of the No. 5 position. Well into the top of the field, crew chief Rob Downing turned it up a notch and was rewarded with a pleasingly quick 6.535, 211.99, and the third best run of the round was rewarded with a bonus qualifying point. Anderson’s Summit Racing teammate Jason Line ended the day as the No. 1 qualifier.
“We definitely thought we could hang with the top cars, and it’s certainly not over yet, but to be qualified one and three is very positive,” said Anderson, whose best qualifying position last season was the No. 4 spot. “You never know what will happen from here on out, but there is no question that any pre-season jitters about not being able to hang with these guys were wrong. It’s a confidence builder, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. It’s supposed to be a little bit cooler, and there might be a cloud our two, and that means we could be quicker yet. One and two, that’s the goal.”
Although Anderson and Line were both quick and gave the field a run for their money, they both agree that there is room to improve.
“We definitely think we can run better, and we’re learning as we go – always learning as we go,” said Anderson. “We tested in Phoenix earlier this week, and this is definitely a different racetrack than we just tested on, and it’s definitely a much different racetrack than we tested on in the middle of winter in Florida. It’s just a little bit of an adjustment for everybody, but we made some adjustments better than most today. We’ll see how it goes through the rest of the weekend.
“There were a lot of top running cars that struggled today, so they’ve got to make some serious moves for tomorrow – and you know, that’s an uncomfortable feeling. I would much rather be in our shoes. We’re just going to make our tiny little adjustments and try to pick up half a hundredth to a hundredth and see how that stacks up.”