PRO STOCK

Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team had a storybook day on Sunday, welcoming team owner Ken Black back to the track by winning the Pro Stock title at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.Starting from the eleventh position, a determined Anderson overcame a lack of lane choice to eliminate the higher-qualified cars of Rodger Brogdon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Shane Gray in the earlier rounds before squaring off against teammate Jason Line in the final. 

(Ron Lewis photo)

In one of the closest races of the day, Anderson used a .022 reaction time and 6.654-second, 207.43 mph run to edge his running mate at the stripe, as Line posted an equally strong .033 reaction time and 6.656-second, 207.46 mph pass in the losing effort.  It was Anderson’s fifth win of the season, 65th of his career and seventh at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, propelling him to a commanding 115-point advantage in the championship standings.  However, as Anderson noted, today was about the man who had made it all possible, rejoining the team following a ten-month absence due to stroke last December.

“Without a doubt, this is the best day I have ever had at a racetrack,” said Anderson.  “I am just about speechless, which sounds odd for me. It was truly unbelievable how this Summit Racing team won today.  Everything I wished and prayed for came true.  The competition in this category is so tough and after qualifying, I obviously didn’t have an advantage on anybody.  I didn’t have lane choice all day and wasn’t making particularly good runs, but somebody was just guiding my car to the finish line ahead of the other guy. 

“I couldn’t have drawn this weekend up any better than it turned out, and the best part is how it’s going to impact Ken Black.  We were thrilled to have him back at the track with us, and hope our performance today goes a mile towards his recovery.  He’s already told me he’s coming to Pomona, and I absolutely can’t wait to see him there.”

For the third consecutive race, co-crew chiefs Rob Downing and Tommy Utt were able to transform a car that had struggled in qualifying into one of the quickest and most consistent on race day, allowing Anderson to make his charge.  In the opening stanza, he bettered his qualifying time by over a hundredth of a second to upset No. 6 qualifier Rodger Brogdon 6.664 to 6.696. 

After eliminating arch-rival Coughlin in the second round on a holeshot, Anderson then squared off against Rookie of the Year contender Shane Gray in the semifinals.  However, the race was over before it even began, as Gray’s red light handed the automatic win to Anderson. This set the stage for the all-Summit Racing final, marking the first time the teammates had squared off for a win since last year’s Brainerd race. 

“That final was pretty cool,” said Anderson. “We have a lot of pride on this Summit Racing team, and I think we’ve proved over the years that we don’t believe in team orders, so we weren’t about to start now.  After all, you have to feel like you earned the win.  It was a great race, and I was fortunate enough to come out on top.”

When Line squared off against Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson it marked the 14th time the duo would meet in the final.  In an extremely close contest, Line and Anderson left the line almost in unison, streaking down the track as if welded together.  However, Line’s 6.656-second, 207.46 mph pass would fall just shy of defeating Anderson’s 6.654-second, 207.43 mph run.  Even so, the 2006 Pro Stock champion was pleased with his outing.