After four of five qualifying sessions at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., Summit Racing Pro Stock racer Greg Anderson seemed certain to collect his fifth No. 1 qualifying position at drag racing’s biggest event. Despite changing conditions over the three-day period, his performance had never been headed, as he bettered his time with each attempt. Although in most circumstances this would have secured Anderson the pole for the Labor Day classic, the weather had also continued to improve, leaving the competition wide open heading into the fifth and final session late on Sunday afternoon.
Once again, Anderson showed the caliber that has earned him four U.S. Nationals wins, with his Summit Racing Pontiac tripping the finish line timers in 6.610-seconds with a top speed of 208.26 mph, his best run of the weekend to this point, and quicker than 26 of the other 27 drivers making an attempt. Ironically, it was his own teammate Jason Line, running in the lane opposite Anderson, edging him off the top spot and into the second starting position for Monday’s final eliminations at Lucas Oil Raceway. Even so, the four-time champion was far from disappointed with his team’s performance, and looks forward to challenging for the win on race day.
“That son of a gun did it to me again,” joked Anderson. “In the first four rounds, I outran him every time, but to his credit, when it counted in that last session he stepped up and got me. After letting Mike (Edwards) get in between us in the previous round, we wanted to make sure and avoid being on the same side of the ladder, which we were able to do. Although we were able to get the job done, from my perspective, we did it in reverse order.
“Still it was a good day for the Summit Racing team. Even though the weather conditions changed throughout the three days, my guys never missed a beat, giving Jason, myself and Ronnie (Humphrey, driver of the Summit/Genuine HotRod Pontiac) flawless cars to drive all weekend, and we ended up with all three in the Top Five, which considering how close the competition is in Pro Stock, is a great accomplishment.
“With qualifying behind us, the table is set the way we wanted, and all that remains is for us to execute our plan. After all, this is the U.S. Nationals, and we want that special 60th anniversary Wally…bad.”
Once again, Anderson showed the caliber that has earned him four U.S. Nationals wins, with his Summit Racing Pontiac tripping the finish line timers in 6.610-seconds with a top speed of 208.26 mph, his best run of the weekend to this point, and quicker than 26 of the other 27 drivers making an attempt. Ironically, it was his own teammate Jason Line, running in the lane opposite Anderson, edging him off the top spot and into the second starting position for Monday’s final eliminations at Lucas Oil Raceway. Even so, the four-time champion was far from disappointed with his team’s performance, and looks forward to challenging for the win on race day.
“That son of a gun did it to me again,” joked Anderson. “In the first four rounds, I outran him every time, but to his credit, when it counted in that last session he stepped up and got me. After letting Mike (Edwards) get in between us in the previous round, we wanted to make sure and avoid being on the same side of the ladder, which we were able to do. Although we were able to get the job done, from my perspective, we did it in reverse order.
“Still it was a good day for the Summit Racing team. Even though the weather conditions changed throughout the three days, my guys never missed a beat, giving Jason, myself and Ronnie (Humphrey, driver of the Summit/Genuine HotRod Pontiac) flawless cars to drive all weekend, and we ended up with all three in the Top Five, which considering how close the competition is in Pro Stock, is a great accomplishment.
“With qualifying behind us, the table is set the way we wanted, and all that remains is for us to execute our plan. After all, this is the U.S. Nationals, and we want that special 60th anniversary Wally…bad.”
