(Ron Lewis photo)

PRO STOCK

Greg Anderson, piloting a new-to-the-team Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, broke a 60-race winless streak and got the 75th national event win of his career.

"This is the second time in our career we've bought a used car from another racer, completely refurbished it, put a shiny paint job on it, and it's gone right to victory circle," said Anderson, who beat Summit Racing teammate Jason Line in the final round with a 6.538-second pass at 213.43 mph to his familiar foe's 6.554, 212.96. "It's kind of ironic because I grew up in the used car business. My father was a used car dealer, I worked a used car lot until I was 25 years old and moved to the south and went professional drag racing. It's kind of fitting, I guess. I've just always had a phobia against buying a new car. You get it right off the showroom floor, and you lose money. I kind of stuck with that philosophy, and it's worked out well for us."

En route to the final – the 117th of his career – Anderson halted Larry Morgan and Shane Gray before clocking a 6.560 at 213.67 mph that would go down as top speed of the meet to put No. 1 qualifier Chris McGaha on the trailer. The semifinals triumph over a tire-shaking McGaha set up the all-Team Summit final, the first since the race in Seattle in 2014 in which Line took the trophy home.

Anderson and Line left with just .005-second between them, Line launching first with a .020 to Anderson's .025-second reaction time. Anderson efficiently made up the difference and tripped the last timer with a 6.538 at another big speed of 213.43 to Line's 6.554, 212.96. Anderson is now 14-9 in final rounds with Line.

Greg Anderson (far lane) got the best of teammate Jason Line.  (Adam Cranmer photo)

Line had no sympathy for his teammate, friend and boss when they got to the staging lanes.

"I wasn't really thinking about Greg, to be honest with you," admitted Line. "It's hard to win these races, and that's what makes it special. I feel like out of all the finals I've lost, he's been on the winning end of quite a few. He's just tough to beat in the final. I wasn't going to cut him any slack, but that just wasn't enough today.

"The blue car is almost always good; it's a good car," said Line, now No. 2 in NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock points. "But we definitely damaged something that run, and we're not yet sure what. Still, we learned a lot, and it was a fun day. It was great to see that the red car is going to be a good racecar, for sure.

"I want to thank Mike Edwards. He has helped us for sure, and he's a ball to have around. I've been enjoying his company a lot, and no question, he is certainly a big part of this. We're happy to have him on board. This was a great day for our whole team."