Anderson Aims to Build on Winternats Win
Greg Anderson (Photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster; Click to enlarge)
Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team started the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season in perfect fashion, taking home the Pro Stock title at Sunday’s 52nd annual NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA. Starting from the fifth position, Anderson used a combination of strong performances and tremendous driving to defeat Larry Morgan, Allen Johnson and his teammate, defending champion Jason Line in the early rounds to advance to the final round, where he would square off against rival Jeg Coughlin.
Knowing he would need an error-free run to secure his fifth win at the NHRA season-opener, the four-time champion used his fourth .02 reaction time of the day to leave nearly in tandem with his opponent, and then powered through the quarter-mile in 6.549 seconds with a top speed of 210.87 mph, bettering Coughlin’s 6.586-second, 209.62-mph effort by approximately eight feet. It was the 71st national event win of Anderson’s career, fifth at the Winternationals and tenth at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
“It was a wonderful Sunday for the Summit Racing team,” said Anderson. “It seemed as if Jason and I had the two strongest cars today, and unfortunately because of where I qualified, we ended up having to race in the semifinals instead of the final, but we’re not about to complain. Once we both won in the second round, we knew we had a guaranteed berth for one of our cars in the final, and it turned out to be me, and I was able to close the deal, stopping that big yellow Mopar.
Greg Anderson (far lane) and Jeg Coughlin Jr.
“Going into the final, I knew how well Jeggie had been doing, but I tried to put it out of my mind, just as I had been all day. I had good, consistent, lights all day, and we were able to get my car to perform, and when we do that, I have a good shot at winning the race, and today it all turned out good. It was great to be back in the winner’s circle.
“Obviously, we’re very proud of the product we brought out here and the work that went into it during the winter. It looks as if we had as good, if not a better season of development than our competitors, and to get this first win of the season just feels great. It’s going to be a battle royal all season, but for now I am the only one who can say I’m going to win a race this year and it feels pretty darn good.
After working to dial in their tune-up throughout qualifying and with rain washing out the fourth and final session on Saturday afternoon, the KB Racing crew settled into the fifth position, coming into race day with several unanswered questions. However, any concerns were quickly addressed, as Anderson posted the quickest elapsed time of the opening round at 6.539 seconds with a top speed of 211.46 mph to eliminate veteran Larry Morgan. In the second round, he used an equally strong 6.550-second, 210.97 mph run to trailer Allen Johnson.
The final obstacle between Anderson and the 104th final round of his stellar career was a familiar one – teammate Jason Line, who had claimed the No. 1 qualifying position and been one of the strongest cars in eliminations. In one of the closest races of the day, he gained a slight advantage at the start and made one of best runs in the less-preferred right hand lane at 6.545-seconds, 211.03 mph to narrowly edge his partner’s 6.547-second, 211.83 mph pass, setting the stage for the final-round encounter with Coughlin.
“The good thing is that we knew going in that one of our Summit Pontiacs would be going to the final,” said Anderson. “However, the way Jason was running, I had pretty much resolved myself to doing the best job that I could, with the chances of my loading up before him being pretty good. Fortunately, things worked in our favor. He didn’t make a great run, giving me a slight opening, while I made a very nice run, especially for that right hand lane, and I was able to come out on top by a few thousandths.
“It takes a lot of things to win in this class right now, including execution and luck, and today we executed great, and I got a little bit of luck in that he did not run as well as he could have. That’s why races aren’t won in the logbook – they’re won on the track, with the favorites not always winning. He gave me the inch I needed, and I was able to take advantage of it.”
Having extended his NHRA-best streak of years with at least one national event win to twelve, Anderson took time to acknowledge the benefit this early-season victory will have on his race team, as well as the tremendous effort put forth already to get to this position. With only five days before qualifying gets underway at the next race in Phoenix, he knows there will be little time to celebrate this victory. In fact, the team already has plans to work on improving their performance even further, heading directly to Las Vegas for a test session prior to heading to Arizona.
“As I said before this race, we came here scared to death because we didn’t know how we were going to stack up against everybody else, so it feels great to be able to put a smile on everybody’s face,” said Anderson. “From the guys both here and back at our shop, to (team owners) Ken and Judy Black, to our sponsors, Summit Racing Equipment, Red Line Oil, Cometic Gaskets, Mac Tools, PAC Valve Springs, Wilson Manifolds, Diamond Pistons, K&N Filters and everyone else, this win rewards their confidence in us and lifts a load off our shoulders.
“Now we can get down to the nitty gritty and start digging in, focusing on going forward, knowing we’re going to have a great product with a chance to win every race when we roll in the gates. It’s a great morale booster for everyone on this team. Everyone’s happy and ready to work even harder. We’re going to blow out of here tonight and head over to Las Vegas to test and see how we can make things even better. This win is the best thing that could have happened to us and I believe the future looks great.”
