Another strong qualifying performance for Anderson, No. 2 at NHRA New England Nationals
EPPING, N.H., June 13, 2015 – Greg Anderson and Team Summit put forth another tremendous performance on Saturday at the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals, and the driver of the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro ultimately missed out on scoring his second consecutive No. 1 by just a thousandth of a second. Qualified No. 2 at New England Dragway, Anderson will race Val Smeland in the first round of eliminations. He will be going after his first Epping win and the 77th NHRA Wally trophy of his career.
Qualifying was strong for Anderson and the KB Racing team, with four solid runs that brought in a pleasing total of nine bonus qualifying points.
“I’m not used to getting those things,” laughed Anderson, the most recent event winner on the tour after powering his Summit Racing Camaro to the 76th win of his career last week in Englishtown. “I don’t want to get spoiled and expect those bonus points every time, but it sure feels good right now.
“I have a great car, and I keep saying it but it seems like it keeps getting better each race. It’s a cool feeling, and I’m exciting. I’m digging this Summit Racing Chevy a bunch. We’re adapting well to different track conditions, and we have a tricky starting line here but Rob [Downing, crew chief] and Mike Edwards have done a fantastic job all weekend. I can’t say enough, and I’m ready to go race tomorrow.”
Anderson’s first pass of the weekend was a 6.560-second run at 212.83 mph, and he followed up with a 6.521 at 213.30 mph on Friday evening. Saturday dawned and the team kept the pace, sending Anderson powering down the quarter-mile dragstrip in 6.534-seconds at a big speed of 213.20 mph. He rounded out qualifying with a 6.555 at 212.66. The second day of the event provided an even more challenging racing surface as the sun beat down and many of his competitors couldn’t even make it down without shaking and shimmying, but Anderson was not concerned.
“I’d seen this before, and I knew Rob and Mike were going to hit it. They did,” said Anderson. “I had no concerns at all, and I almost giggled going down the track thinking to myself that there was nothing wrong with it.”
If Anderson had secured the top spot, it would have been the second weekend in a row to accomplish the feat and the 77th of his career. The No. 1 qualifier in Epping will have a bye run in the first round due to a 15-car field, and for Anderson, that isn’t an ideal way to start the eliminations.
“I’d definitely rather race someone,” said Anderson. “You kind of get out of your game when you don’t have a guy in the other lane. I’d much rather race someone, and it’s a hard game to turn it off and on. You have to be on at all times. The bottom line is, we might have a performance advantage over Val, but if we screw up in low gear or have any breakage, he can win. He’s just as tough as anyone else you’re going to race. You have to go up on kill and do the best you can. That’s what I plan to do tomorrow.”