Three-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson completed a solid qualifying effort on Saturday, capturing the fifth starting position for Sunday’s final eliminations of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV. In three of the four sessions, Anderson’s Summit Racing Pontiac was among the quickest of the 25 cars attempting to qualify, highlighted by his 6.737-second, 204.51 mph best on Friday evening.
This marks Anderson’s 14th Top Five qualifying effort in 16 starts on the Nevada quarter-mile as he looks to add to his NHRA-leading six wins at this spectacular facility. Naturally, racing in his sponsor’s event at his convalescing team owner’s home track, he has more than enough reasons to do well. Even so, he is keeping everything in perspective heading into race day.
“It’s been a great weekend so far, and we want to keep it going tomorrow,” said Anderson. “We have all the dignitaries from Summit at the track with us, and we want to put on a show for them, as well as for (team owner) Ken Black and his family. We may have a lot on the line, but we’re going to go out and have fun.
“We’re not going to over stress or over think everything that’s going on this weekend, we’re just going to race the way we’re capable of. If we do that, I’m confident we’ll get the results we’re looking for.
“I’m a lot more positive than I have been all year, and all it took was an attitude adjustment from Ken to get us straightened out. The mind is a big part of this game, and we beat ourselves up every time we do something wrong, after which we would often spiral down, not thinking straight.
“That’s where Ken would get us back on track, doing it right at the scene if we had a bad race. It had been a half-dozen races since we’d seen him, and obviously we need him in our corner. Of so many ways that we miss the man, that’s just one.
“He gave us a little pep talk on Thursday night, and it obviously showed in our performance. We’re certainly not going out there and dominating, but we’re racing better than we have all year. These are extremely tough conditions. We’re dealing with a really hot racetrack with a greasy starting line, and we don’t have a lot of power because we’re up in altitude, which is something we haven’t had to deal with all year.
“Fortunately, we’re holding our own with the Summit Racing Pontiac. We may not be running the quickest e.t.’s but we’re making consistent runs, which is what we’re going to need tomorrow. You’re going to have a lot of mistakes being made by people overpowering the racetrack, shaking the tires and whatever, so we just have to stay consistent and not panic about not being the fastest car, because the fastest car doesn’t always win.
“We need to keep our head screwed on straight and stay consistent, driving well and keeping a smile on our face. If we do that, I think we’ll have a great chance of going the distance and putting the car in the winner’s circle at the SummitRacing.com Nationals. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I know we’re going to have a huge challenge with the racetrack, but I think we’ve learned a lot in the last few days that we’re going to put to good use. I can’t wait to get out there.”
Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and McDonough, Georgia. For more information, please visit www.summitracing.com.
