Anderson No. 1 on Saturday at Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., September 5, 2015 – Greg Anderson loves the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, and on Saturday at the esteemed event held at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, the driver of the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro rose to the occasion as he blasted to the top of the field. If it holds, it will be the fourth Indy No. 1 for Anderson, who last grabbed the pole at the U.S. Nationals in 2006.
After a Friday rainout, Anderson came to the plate loaded with a 6.612-second pass at 209.01 mph that sent him up to the No. 2 position. A little fine-tuning was all it took to send his quick and fast Summit Racing Chevy to the top. A 6.562, 210.70 was the quickest and fastest run of the day, handing Anderson and the KB Racing team the pole and top speed. He also picked up a very valuable set of five bonus points.
“Coming here, I was 16 points behind [points leader Erica Enders], and I kind of resigned myself to the fact that neither of us would be far enough apart during qualifying where enough points would be made to make up that difference,” said Anderson. “I didn’t think qualifying points would matter, but as it turns out right now, I’ve made five bonus points today and she didn’t make any. We have to keep that run going, but I think it’ll come down to eliminations. If I can go one round more than her, then I can get the No.1 seed heading into the Countdown to the Championship.”
Anderson has a very strong history at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, and he is the only currently competing Pro Stock driver to have six victories on the hallowed grounds of Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The only current driver across all categories with more U.S. Nationals trophies is Tony Schumacher.
“Indy has been very special to me,” said Anderson, who had 76 low qualifier awards on his scorecard coming into the U.S. Nationals. “It was special to me back in 1999 when I went to my first final here, but even before then. It’s just magical, and I love this race. I love the challenge it presents. The competition is always higher here, and that makes it special.
“Tomorrow, it will depend on the weather as to whether or not that No. 1 will hold. We make our first run at 11 o’clock in the morning, and if we wake up to some cloud cover, then we might have conditions that are just as good as they were today. But you just never know what’s going to happen. It’s not over until it’s over. But I feel good that our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro is a car that can contend for No. 1. If conditions are good, I think we can even get better. We’re in the hunt.”