Anderson Relishes New Role at U.S. Nationals

For the first time in several years, Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team will be in an unusual position when they pull into Lucas Oil Raceway for this weekend’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind.  Even though they arrive as the defending event champions, they will not necessarily be seen as the favorites based on their struggles in recent races, which is certainly a departure from past seasons. However, having finally had time to thoroughly test their Chevrolet Camaros, Anderson is cautiously optimistic about his chances to prove the pundits wrong.

“We have a lot on our plate heading into Indy, with several things different from previous years,” said Anderson.  “For example, for the first time in a long while, we are not going into the race as one of the favorites.  This year, people are just not seeing us in that role because of the struggles we’ve had dialing in our new cars.  It’s no secret that we’re trying to make them better and faster, getting them ready for the playoffs.

“But the U.S. Nationals is the biggest and coolest race of the year, so I am not about to discount it as just another practice race before the start of the Countdown. That race means the world to me, and I want to go win it, which is why we are trying as hard as we can to have these Summit Racing Camaros on top of their game when we roll through the gates at Lucas Oil Raceway.”

Since returning from the last race in Brainerd, the Summit Racing crew has been balancing their normal between-race maintenance with research and development efforts both at the shop and on the racetrack. Taking advantage of the first break after a hectic summer schedule, numerous days were spent making as many runs down the track as possible without the pressure of national event competition, zeroing in on the proper tune-up, determining exactly what adjustments would work and which ones would not.

“We’ve spent a lot of time at the track during the off week, testing our Summit Racing Camaros so we won’t have to look for major improvements once we get to Indy,” explained Anderson.  “Basically we’re looking to have a better feeling about where we stand with the tune-up than we’ve had for the last couple Fridays at national events, which I am confident we will, putting us in a position to contend for the win. 

“We still have a lot of work to do, but I believe we’ve already learned a lot of things about these cars and made up some ground.  We still have some things to work on before this weekend, but I already feel we will be better than we have been at recent races.

“So while there are certainly a lot of things different about this year’s U.S. Nationals, including being the first time we’ll be there in Chevrolet Camaros, I stand by my statement that this is still the one race that means the most to win, so our goals have also not changed.  For this weekend we’ll put the playoffs on the back burner and concentrate on doing whatever it takes to successfully defend our U.S. Nationals title.”

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Lucas Oil Raceway edition:

3 - No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Lucas Oil Raceway, most recently in 2006.

3.83 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 12 Indy starts.

6 – U.S. Nationals wins by Anderson coming into this weekend, including one year ago, when he defeated teammate Jason Line in the final. Anderson’s win total is second only to Bob Glidden’s 9 for the most in Pro Stock history.

8 – Final round appearances by Anderson in Indiana.

9 – Times Anderson has qualified in the top five positions in his previous 12 Lucas Oil Raceway starts.

34 – Elimination round wins by Greg in his previous 12 starts at the “Big Go”, versus 6 losses for a .850 win percentage.

211.03 – Lucas Oil Raceway Pro Stock Top Speed Record, set by Anderson in 2011.

Anderson Searching for the Sweet Spot in Seattle

The sweet spot.  It is a phrase used by baseball players, golfers and racers to describe that area of the bat, club or tune-up which provides the maximum performance.  As each will tell you, it can be an elusive target, the pursuit of which can be rather lengthy and, at times, somewhat frustrating.  Such has been the experience of Greg Anderson and his Summit Racing team with their new Chevrolet Camaro.

In their first six races with the legendary muscle car they have certainly experienced their share of success, with one win in three final round appearances, a statistic made even more impressive by the fact that the KB Racing crew has yet to get fully acclimated to the needs of their still-new race car.  Even so, as Anderson prepared to head to the Evergreen State for this weekend’s NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Wash., he admitted that both he and his team still had some work ahead of them.

“Ever since we started racing this Summit Racing Camaro, we’ve been working non-stop to find its sweet spot, getting the right balance of performance,” said Anderson.  “Right now, it doesn’t want to run the first part of the track.  Anything down track is more related to the aero or engine packages, and even though we still have some work to do in that area, our biggest issue remains in the first 330 feet.

“Obviously, we’d love to spend a week at a track testing, but that’s not an option at the moment, so we turn our qualifying runs into learning sessions.  You hate to race that way, but it’s what we need to do at the moment in order to get these cars dialed in.

“Until we get the performance back where we need it to be, we’re also probably going to have a little inconsistency, as we make wholesale changes trying to make them better. These Camaros are completely different cars than the ones we ran before, presenting us with a new challenge that we just haven’t conquered yet. 

“The good news is that we got closer with Jason’s (teammate Line) blue car in Sonoma, so now we just need to find something that my red car likes as well.  That’s why we’re in test mode right now, working to have them ready for the Countdown.  We know they are going to run, we just have to determine what they want.”

For the second consecutive week, the “factory hot rods” will enjoy conditions that are conducive to creating horsepower, with cooler temperatures and plenty of oxygen.  Nestled among the trees in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Pacific Raceways will test the teams as they try to match their 1,400-horsepower hot rods to a racing surface that, as Anderson describes, has a personality all its own.

“The track at Pacific Raceways is pretty quirky, and it all comes down to the weather,” said Anderson.  “For some reason, it does not seem to like sunshine at all.  You have to know when you’re racing there that it can be a very, very good track if it doesn’t have direct sunlight on it.  If it’s cloudy with cool temperatures it’s one of the best we race on and with the power we make you can run really fast.

“However, that will change in a heartbeat once the sun pops out. When it gets over 80 degrees, you had better be ready to make some major changes trying to hook all that power up to the track.  It’s one of the racing surfaces on the circuit that changes more from cool to hot conditions, which can be tough, but we know that going in.  The key is knowing when to make the changes and when not to, and doing it better than your competition, which will be the test facing this Summit Racing team this weekend.  It’s going to be a battle, but I believe we’re up to it.

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Pacific Raceways edition:

2 - No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Pacific Raceways.

2.8 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 10 Seattle starts.

3 – Previous wins by Anderson at Pacific Raceways, most recently in 2010.

4 – Final round appearances by Anderson in the Pacific Northwest, including one year ago, when he was the runner-up to his teammate Jason Line.

16 – Elimination round wins by Greg in his 10 starts in Seattle, versus 7 losses for a .696 win percentage.

SEVEN DRIVERS EARN FULL THROTTLE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP BERTHS AT NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS

Seven drivers clinched Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoff berths at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, bringing the number of drivers who have secured their invitations to the playoffs to 14.

Top Fuel racers Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher, along with Funny Car driver Ron Capps, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. all locked up their positions during NHRA Sonoma Nationals qualifying.

On Sunday, Pro Stock racers Mike Edwards and Vincent Nobile clinched by advancing to round two, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. clinched by advancing to the semifinals.

The NHRA Full Throttle Series regular season concludes Labor Day weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus in Indianapolis. A six-race playoff series, the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, will lead to the crowning of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champs. The Countdown begins Sept. 14-16 at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C.

COUNTDOWN FIELDS TO DATE

Top Fuel

1. Spencer Massey

2. Antron Brown

3. Tony Schumacher

Funny Car

1. Robert Hight

2. Ron Capps

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson

2. Jason Line

3. Allen Johnson

4. Mike Edwards

5. Vincent Nobile

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Eddie Krawiec

2. Andrew Hines

3. Hector Arana Jr.

4. Hector Arana Sr.

Anderson Determined to Bounce Back in Sonoma

In the first nine races of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season, Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team were the picture of competitive excellence, winning four times in seven final round appearances, capped by their win in Englishtown, N.J. in the KB Racing team’s first race with the new Chevrolet Camaro.  Over the last four events, however, their pace has cooled somewhat, with only one final round coupled with a pair of uncharacteristically early exits. 

Therefore, as he and his crew head to the scenic Napa Valley for this weekend’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Anderson looks for he and his team to return to their winning form, which he believes will come from addressing any problem areas that have cropped up in recent weeks.

“We were racing really well just a few races ago, but seem to have fallen off our game a little recently,” said Anderson. “We need to get back on track, making better race day calls, with everyone concentrating on doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, racing smarter and getting as much as we can from every run.

“We also need to get some more performance from our Summit Racing Camaros.  Even though they have been extremely competitive right out of the box, we are still early in the process.  The bottom line is that we have a lot of work to do and a short time in which to get it done, so we’ll head to the friendly confines of Sonoma and see what we can do to rectify some of our issues.”

As Anderson alludes, one aspect seemingly working in the KB Racing team’s favor is the site of this weekend’s event. Located just north of San Francisco in the California wine country, the Sonoma quarter-mile has been one of the four-time champion’s best tracks, with four wins (including last year’s event) in seven final round appearances and an elimination round win record exceeding 80 per cent.  Although this certainly provides a welcome boost to their confidence, it is also an opportunity that the team knows they must take advantage of.

“We always feel good going to Sonoma,” said Anderson.  “We’ve historically done well there, so I’m sure we can turn our operation around and produce a better product this weekend than we did in Denver.  The conditions there are better than the hot and humid tracks we go to during the summer, so we’ll have a lot more power and our Summit Racing Camaros will run faster, which seems to play into our hands.

“But even though we might feel comfortable when we race in the Napa Valley, we still have to go there and execute.  As strong as our competition is running at the moment, we can’t afford to give anything up, so we have to try and make quality runs every time down the track.  As one the tracks which is usually one of our strongest, we need to make the most of it this weekend.”

Anderson Pads Points Lead with Runner-Up Finish in Joliet

Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team overcame a three-hour rain delay and horsepower-robbing hot and humid conditions on Sunday to score a runner-up finish at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois.  Starting from the eighth position, Anderson used a combination of solid performance and strong driving to advance to his eighth final round of the 2012 season, where he would square off against Erica Enders in a rematch of last year’s Joliet final.

Just as he had in the previous rounds, Anderson left the line in unison with Enders, who was looking to become the first woman to win a Pro Stock national event.  Although he was able to make a competitive 6.641-second, 208.30 mph run, it was not enough to hold off his opponent, who used a 6.627-second, 207.40 mph pass to score the win.

“We rebounded well today and had a pretty good hot rod, but just couldn’t seem to get near the top cars,” said Anderson.  “To this Summit Racing team’s credit, we raced hard and tough, and probably made it further than we should have to be honest, because we just didn’t have the performance we needed to put us over the top.

“I had said a million times before that Erica was going to win a race, and that I just didn’t want it to be against me.  However, you certainly can’t take today’s performance away from her – she earned it.  She went out there and took it, with both she and her team doing a better job, and they won the race, and I congratulate them.  It’s one for the history books.”

Anderson’s road to the final showed the resilience and determination of both he and his KB Racing crew.  After opening with a relatively easy win against Ron Krisher, the four-time champion was paired against No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson, who had been the dominant car throughout the weekend.  However, using a lightning-quick .016 reaction time and a 6.634-second, 208.46 mph pass, Anderson was able to upset his higher-ranked opponent on a hole shot, with Johnson posting a 6.612-second time and 209.04 mph speed in the losing effort. 

Finally, Anderson’s 6.637-second, 207.91 mph run in the semifinals was enough to defeat rival Mike Edwards, sending him to the 111th final round of his career and the encounter with Enders. 

“We obviously need a couple more races with these new Summit Racing Camaros to get them fully up to speed,” said Anderson.  “They drive really well, and race well – we just need a little more speed out of them, and we’ll keep pecking at them until we do.

“It’s obviously disappointing any time you lose a race, but the good news is that we knocked out a couple cars that are running at the top of their game right now when we aren’t, which is a good feeling.  We know we’re going to get there - the bottom line is that we need to go home and work to make our horses faster.”

Anderson Aims to Stay on Good Terms with Route 66 Raceway

For most of his career, Greg Anderson was not really a fan of Route 66 Raceway, site of this weekend’s Route 66 NHRA Nationals.  His displeasure had nothing to do with the actual facility, which is considered one of the nicest on the Full Throttle Drag Racing circuit.  Instead, it was the fact that it was the only track on tour where the four-time champion had yet to reach the winner’s circle which fueled his concern.

However, that all changed one year ago, when the Summit Racing Camaro driver powered from the No.1 position and broke his Route 66 drought, defeating Erica Enders on a hole shot in the final.  Returning to Joliet this weekend for the first time as the defending event champion, he looks forward to staying on good terms with the Illinois quarter-mile.

“For so many years I went to Route 66 Raceway thinking there had to be something in the water that just wouldn’t allow me to win,” said Anderson.  “It’s a race track with a very good surface and typically good air, so the cars run fast, which normally plays into the Summit Racing team’s hand.  I liked the track and the city and ran well there, but just couldn’t seem to win a race.  It was almost as if we had a love/hate relationship.

“Fortunately, that all changed last year, and I was finally able to add it to the list of tracks where I had won, so I’m going back this weekend with a positive attitude, our heads held high as the defending champions.  Now that we’ve finally broken through, there’s no reason we can’t keep digging and make it multiple wins.”

Ironically, Anderson’s biggest challenge this weekend will most likely come from matching his race car to the conditions and the track.  This will be only the third race for the KB Racing team with their new Camaro, and although admitting they are still coming to terms with the exact boundaries of their new mount’s performance envelope, he believes the progress they have made in recent weeks will allow them to contend for the win in Joliet.

“Although we are still early in the learning process with our Summit Racing Camaro, we did have the chance to get back on the racetrack after the last race in Bristol, spending a day last week testing,” said Anderson.  “Every pass we make gives us more information about what this car needs to run, and we feel we have learned quite a few things about it.  I believe we are going to have a better product than we did at the last race, which to us means we’re going to have a chance to win the event. 

“The forecast is calling for it to be hot this weekend, which will certainly be a challenge, but the conditions will be the same for everyone, so it will be up to us to execute better than our competition. Fortunately, that is something this KB Racing team is fully capable of doing, so we can successfully defend our Route 66 Nationals title.”

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Route 66 Raceway edition:

1 - Route 66 Raceway wins by Anderson, which happened one year ago.

4 – Final round appearances by Anderson in Joliet.

5 - No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Route 66 Raceway.

5.31 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 16 Joliet starts.

6.586 – Route 66 Raceway Pro Stock Elapsed Time Record, set by Anderson last year.

9 – Times Anderson has qualified in the top three positions in his previous 16 Route 66 starts.

24 – Elimination round wins by Greg in his previous 16 Joliet starts, versus 15 losses for a .615 win percentage.

Anderson Going Back to the Beginning in Bristol

Ten days after scoring his KB Racing team’s 100th NHRA national event win in Englishtown, N.J., Summit Racing Camaro pilot Greg Anderson will return to the site of another significant moment in his spectacular Pro Stock career, heading to Bristol Dragway for this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.  In 2001, the championship-winning crew chief turned aspiring race car driver came to the Volunteer State driving the back-up car for a team owned by Las Vegas businessmen George Marnell (who was the team’s established driver) and Ken Black. 

In only his 30th start he shocked both himself and his fellow competitors, starting from the ninth position and defeating established veterans Allen Johnson, V. Gaines and Mark Osborne in the early rounds before squaring off against two-time champion Jim Yates in the final.  Gaining the advantage at the starting line, the Minnesota native never looked back, using a 6.993-second, 196.85 mph pass to gain the hole shot victory over his much-heralded opponent and score his first national event win.

“Although I’m a little cloudy on the specifics of that particular day, I do remember I was not expected to win,” said Anderson.  “After all, I was driving an older Pontiac Firebird at a time when the top teams were running the smaller and more aerodynamic Chevrolet Cavaliers and Grand Ams and I was basically running to gather more data for George’s car. 

“Still, we were somehow able to pull off the win and I suddenly found myself in the winner’s circle with Fred Simmonds, who was the head of the drag racing program for General Motors at the time and the folks from Mac Tools, who were then the event sponsors.  I recall we were all looking at each other wondering exactly who everyone was, but it actually turned out to be the start of the program we have today with this Summit Racing team.  Mac Tools became one of my first sponsors, I established a relationship with a General Motors and Ken Black decided to start his own team.  The rest, as they say, is history.”

Eleven years later, Anderson returns to Thunder Valley as one of the top racers in the history of the “factory hot rods” with four championships and 74 national event wins to his credit, a total that includes two trips to the Bristol Dragway winner’s circle.  However, with his last Tennessee quarter-mile victory coming in 2004, he is more than ready to make a return appearance, a confidence bolstered by recent performances under similar tuning conditions.

“I will always love Bristol Dragway because it’s where I won my first national event,” stated Anderson.  “I am also extremely partial to Thunder Valley because of the facility and its tremendous history.  It’s a Bruton Smith-owned track that is very well run and promoted, making it a fun weekend for the racers and the fans.  However, for the last few years it has been the type of track that has been our Achilles’ heel, having a little bit of altitude where the cars don’t run that fast. 

“The good news is that I believe we’re finally turning the corner in that area based on our performance in Topeka where the atmospheric conditions are fairly similar to what we’ll see this weekend.  Based on that, I think our outlook for Bristol will be completely different this year.  I expect our Summit Racing Camaro is going to be fast with a good chance of winning the race.”

Finally, Anderson and his KB Racing crew are looking to build on the successful debut of their new Chevrolet Camaro. Despite reaching the winner’s circle in its inaugural race, the current Pro Stock championship points leader is quick to point out that they are still familiarizing themselves with their new mount.

“Although we certainly gave our Summit Racing Camaro a tremendous debut in Englishtown, I think we can make it run even better,” said Anderson.  “For example, we never set low elapsed time. It showed us that it wanted to run, and we kept working on it, making gains throughout the weekend, but never fully hit the nail on the head, so there’s still plenty of room left for improvement. 

“It’s a very nice car that seems to want to do everything right, but we’re still early in the learning process and even though it’s gone very well so far, we are just scratching the surface of its full potential.  Between ourselves, Chevrolet and (chassis builder) Rick Jones, I think we’ve built a good piece, and in Bristol we’ll have two with Jason bringing out his Camaro. Hopefully we can go there, get her closer to what she really wants and run even better than we did in our first race.  That’s our goal heading into the weekend.”

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Bristol Dragway edition:

1 - No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Bristol Dragway, which came in 2004.

2 – Bristol Dragway wins by Anderson coming into this weekend.

4 – Final round appearances by Anderson in Thunder Valley, most recently in 2009.

4.64 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 11 Bristol starts.

6 – Times Anderson has qualified in the top 5 positions in his previous 11 Thunder Valley starts.

207.94 – Bristol Dragway Pro Stock Top Speed Record, set by Anderson in 2009
.

TORRENCE, GRAY, ANDERSON AND KRAWIEC EARN VICTORIES AT TOYOTA NHRA SUPERNATIONALS IN ENGLISHTOWN

Steve Torrence raced to his second Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the Toyota NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Johnny Gray (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which was slightly delayed by a passing afternoon thunderstorm as teams prepared for their final rounds.

Torrence beat Tony Schumacher and Spencer Massey in earlier rounds with quicker reaction times and then used a horsepower advantage to edge Brandon Bernstein at the finish line in the final round.  In the final, Torrence’s Capco Contractors dragster finished in 3.800 seconds at 323.66 mph while Bernstein’s MAV TV/Lucas Oil machine trailed with a 3.807 at 321.04.

“It’s really a little surreal coming out and having success in a short time,” Torrence said. “I figured this team to be a competitive team and run with these guys, but I didn’t expect to do as well as we have. It’s really gratifying to be able to go out and do that well. Today, we had some really tough races. Two races, we won by a thou against both of the Schumacher cars. I don’t know but it’s more gratifying when you go out and you really have races that you’ve got to beat the guy beside you rather than them smoking the tires or whatever. I had my best light of the weekend against Brandon that round, and I was pretty pumped up because I knew he’d been on it. I may have cheated the car a little bit. I think it was going to go .79 instead of .80, but I stole from the starting line.”

Massey, who failed to certify his his category-best low E.T. of the event as a national record, maintained his series lead over second place Schumacher with the semifinal effort. Torrence, who also won at Atlanta in May, has surged to fifth in the points standings.

“The car that I’ve got right now is the best Top Fuel car that I’ve ever driven, so I do feel like we have a championship contender car if it stays the way that it’s running,” Torrence said. “We’ll just see. [Contending for the championship] is in the back of my mind, but we’re still going one round, one race at a time because consistency is the key. We’re trying to get some parts built up for the Countdown, and when that time comes, we’ll start looking in that direction. I don’t want to get the cart before the horse. I just want to go out here and keep racing and hopefully get some round-wins.”

In Funny Car, Gray claimed his first victory of the season and second of his career by beating teammate Ron Capps in the final round. Gray pulled away from Capps, who was making his fifth consecutive final round appearance, with a performance of 4.078 at 314.39 in his NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger. Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Charger, which posted the quickest run in NHRA history on Friday with a blast of 3.964 seconds, lost traction and finished in 5.358 at 160.71. Capps also failed to back-up his category-best performance during eliminations to certify it as a national record.

Gray faced tough competitors all day, as he beat Jim Head, John Force and Robert Hight in the opening rounds.

“There wasn’t anything easy about it,” Gray said. “Nothing is ever easy trying to outrun any of the fuel cars that are out there, but Rob [Wendland, crew chief], Rip [Reynolds, assistant crew chief], and all the guys just gave me a great race car all weekend. I think a .11 was our slowest pass of the weekend. What can you say? That car’s just awesome. It’s fun to drive. It goes good. It goes straight. You know what it’s going to do, so we’re really looking forward to going to the next race.”

With the semifinal finish Hight increased his series lead over Capps, who solidified his second place position with the runner-up effort. Gray, who failed to qualify for the Countdown playoffs last season, made a major move toward making the top 10 this season with this victory, climbing to fourth in the standings.

“We struggled a little bit and we lost it a little bit a few races back, but we made some changes along with the help of Rahn Tobler and Mike Green and just really all the guys over at the DSR brain trust,” Gray said. “They came over and kind of got us back on track and helped the guys kind of get the car lined up, and now she’s just a pooch. You just take her up there, and she goes right down the racetrack.”

Anderson raced to his fourth Pro Stock victory of the season and 74th of his career in a new car, a Chevy Camaro. Anderson defeated teammate Jason Line in the final round with a performance of 6.560 at 212.03 in his Summit Racing Equipment Camaro, while Line’s Summit Racing Pontiac GXP trailed with a 6.588 at 200.98.  It was also the 100th win for the KB Racing team, owned by Ken Black.

“We brought [the new Camaro] here with high hopes and surpassed those hopes,” Anderson said. “This is a fantastic weekend. Couple weekends ago I lost in the final to Allen Johnson. I thought I had the better car. I had a better light and we shook the tires. I lost and I told [team owner] Ken Black, that maybe you should be on hand for the 100th win for KB racing. For him to come across the country from Las Vegas, he must have had that feeling. He jetted all the way over here.”

Anderson, who qualified sixth, advanced to the final with early round wins over Ron Krisher, Mike Edwards and Allen Johnson.  It was his fifth career win at Raceway Park, which makes him the winningest Pro Stock driver in the track's history, moving past Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson.

Line pulled ahead of the final round race, but then slowed dramatically as the two cars charged toward the finish line.

“In the final, Jason would have won but he broke a valve spring and that cost him about two-hundredths,” Anderson said. “If this had been a 1,000-foot race he’d have won but this isn’t Top Fuel. We run a quarter-mile and that made the difference. It’s tough for Jason but the bottom line was we couldn’t lose in the final.”

Anderson, who increased his series lead with the victory, was thrilled to win with his new Camaro in its debut.

“It was a gutsy call to bring the Camaro here,” Anderson said. “It was a tough decision but I’m so excited about GM being back in Pro Stock, and the muscle car being back in Pro Stock. We knew that the sooner we got it out here the better off the class would be. Even if it wasn’t 100-percent, we were bringing it.”

Local favorite Krawiec, former Raceway Park general manager, claimed an emotional first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the historic track, taking the automatic victory when his final round opponent Hector Arana Sr. fouled at the start on his Lucas Oil Buell. Krawiec claimed his 14th career victory by finishing in 6.921 at 171.45 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“During my TV interview I actually started crying,” said Krawiec, an Englishtown, N.J. native who now calls Indianapolis home. “[Team owner] Terry Vance has said many times, that something that never comes out of Eddie’s mouth is ‘I have nothing to say.’ But I was speechless.”

Krawiec, who increased his series lead with the win, defeated Joe DeSantis and former world champs Matt Smith and LE Tonglet in the first three rounds to advance to the final. He knew he would need to be on his game for the final with Arana, who had posted some of the quickest runs of the day.

“I knew I had to hit the tree good and make a nice run to have a chance of winning,” Krawiec said. “I let Craig Treble whip me here in 2009 because I thought I had a better bike and I laid back on the starting line. He picked my pocket and still doesn’t let me forget it. I thought that was my one and only chance to win this race. Thankfully, it wasn’t.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues June 15-17 with the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.

Greg Anderson Scores KB Racing’s 100th win in Camaro’s Debut

Summit Racing driver Greg Anderson added yet another milestone win to his storied career on Sunday, capturing the KB Racing team’s 100th Pro Stock victory and returning the Chevrolet Camaro to a Full Throttle Drag Racing Series winner’s circle by taking home the title at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.  Starting from the sixth position, Anderson defeated Ron Krisher, Mike Edwards and Allen Johnson in the early rounds before squaring off against teammate Jason Line in the final.  

The Summit Racing duo has historically had some of the closest races in the category’s history, and Sunday’s encounter was shaping up to be yet another as the two left the starting line as if welded together.  Although Line seemed to be gaining an edge as the two rocketed down the quarter-mile, his progress was suddenly slowed by a rare mechanical malfunction, allowing Anderson to use a 6.560-second, 212.03 mph pass to gain the historic win, an occasion made even more special by the presence of team owners Ken and Judy Black.  It was the 74th win of Anderson’s career, fourth of 2012 and fifth at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, making him the most successful Pro Stock driver in that track’s storied history.

“Once we both won in the semifinals, we were assured of KB Racing’s 100^th win, so it was just a matter of which one of us would do it,” said Anderson. “It was something we both really wanted to accomplish, and to be honest, Jason was ahead of me by two hundredths when he broke a valve spring, or else he certainly would have won.  It was unfortunate for him, and it’s a sad deal any time we hurt a motor, but it was a great day for Ken and Judy Black and everyone on the team.  

“Winning an NHRA national event is not an easy task under any circumstance, so for a brand new car to come out and win in its very first race as we did today with our Summit Racing Camaro is a testament to the talent of the people on this KB Racing team.  They’re an incredible group of guys, and it’s a great feeling to share the winner’s circle and take pictures with Ken and the entire crew, especially those who have been here for all 100 wins.  It’s just a very special day for me.”

Although Anderson’s victory was not a certainty until he crossed the Raceway Park finish line on Sunday night, there was one very important person who had a premonition about today’s events almost two weeks ago.  In fact, team owner Ken Black made a special trip from his home in Las Vegas to join the team in Englishtown just to ensure he would be on hand to not only see their new race car in its first race, but to also hopefully witness the milestone win, which ironically came at the same track where Anderson had recorded the team’s first Pro Stock victory during their first year of existence in 2002. 

“A couple of weeks ago, I lost to Allen Johnson in the Topeka final,” recalled Anderson.  “I thought I had a better car than he had, and I somehow had a better light than he did in the final, but my car shook the tires and we ended up losing the race. 

"When I spoke to Ken later that night I told him that I thought it was a sign that he was supposed to be on hand for his team’s 100^th win, and he responded by telling me he was coming to Englishtown.  Traveling cross-country is a major effort for him, but he just had a feeling about this race, and fortunately, everything worked out perfectly.”

Further adding to Anderson’s accomplishment was the fact that he did it in a new and virtually untested race car.  Since taking delivery just over a month ago, the team had worked feverishly to get it ready for competition, completing it just over a week ago.  Following a brief two-day test session last week in North Carolina, they finished their pre-race preparation and headed north to the Garden State, where they would post the first Pro Stock win by a Chevrolet Camaro since the 2000 NHRA Finals in Pomona, Ca.

“We brought our new Summit Camaro to Englishtown with high hopes, but exceeded even those today,” said Anderson.  “After all, with everything we had on the line this weekend, it was a bit of a gutsy call to bring a new car out for the first time this weekend, especially as I had just gone to a final in my old car. 

“It was a tough decision, but we are so excited about General Motors’ getting back into Pro Stock with a true muscle car.  We also felt that the sooner we could get that car on the racetrack, the better off both KB Racing and the class would be.  We tested for a couple days last week, gained on it throughout qualifying, and then ran very well today. 

“The Pro Stock class is fantastic right now.  We have Mopars, Fords and General Motors cars, which were primarily Pontiacs up until now with the introduction of the Camaro, racing in arguably one of the most competitive classes in all of motorsports.  I feel very fortunate to have been in General Motors cars for my entire career, and the future looks even brighter.  If you think about GM and racing, it’s Chevrolet, and it feels great to get them their first win in their return to Pro Stock drag racing.”

Anderson was also quick to recognize those whose support had made today’s success possible. Finally, with another new car in the works for his teammate and the next race rapidly approaching, he admitted that any post-race celebrations would be kept to a minimum.

“Of course, we would not have been able to reach 100 wins without the support of several outstanding people and companies,” said Anderson. “Naturally, it all starts with Ken, Judy and Kenny Black, who started this team ten years ago.  They mean everything to us.  Also at the very top of the list is Summit Racing Equipment, who has been such a big part of our team for so many years.  In addition, we want to thank Chevrolet, Red Line Oil, Cometic Gaskets, Mac Tools, PAC Valve Springs, Wilson Manifolds, Diamond Pistons, K&N Filters, Speed Dawg Shift Knobs, Oakley and everyone else whose involvement with our race team makes days like today possible.  We are glad to share this win with all of them.

“This was certainly a storybook weekend, but with the next race only two weeks away, we won’t have a lot of time to enjoy it.  We have to finish and test Jason’s Camaro so we can bring it out in Bristol, fix anything we broke this weekend as well as doing our normal pre-race preparation.  It’s a full schedule, but today’s win will give us more than enough motivation.”

Anderson Looks For a Successful Camaro Debut in Englishtown

For the first time since the KB Racing team’s inaugural season in 2002, four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson took to the track last week in a Chevrolet-branded race car, shaking down his new Summit Racing Camaro at Rockingham Dragway in preparation for its debut at this weekend’s NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J..  Over the course of two days, Anderson and crew braved the 90-degree heat in the North Carolina Sandhills, making a total of fourteen runs, posting elapsed times in the 6.5-second range with speeds topping 209 mph.  Despite the limited experience, the current championship points leader is enthused by the prospect of once again competing as a member of the Bow Tie Brigade.

“We are excited to bring out our Summit Racing Camaro in Englishtown,” said Anderson.  “It’s a tremendous looking car that drives and feels great, with really good visibility.  After two days of testing we’ve learned that it definitely has different performance characteristics from the car we’ve been running, but the one thing we can see already is that it has a lot of potential. 

“It wants to run the big end of the race track as well as if not even better than our Pontiacs, and it’s just a matter of rubbing on it a little more to get the front half of the track right. We certainly expect a few bumps in the road as we sort out the chassis, but as far as this Camaro body goes they did a great job.  I’ve won a lot of races and championships in Pontiacs, but I can’t wait to run this first event in my new Chevrolet, doing what we can to put them back in the winner’s circle.”

As if giving Chevrolet’s legendary muscle car its first Pro Stock win since 2001 was not enough, Anderson will have several other reasons to do well this weekend.  Not only will his KB Racing team’s next victory be the 100th of its relatively brief ten year history, but beloved team owners Ken and Judy Black will also be in attendance for the first time since the Las Vegas event two months ago. 

“Ken continues to make remarkable progress, so he’s going to fly completely across the country to see us and witness the debut of the new Camaro,” said Anderson.  “So far, he’s only seen pictures of it, so he can’t wait to see it go down the track in person.  Besides, don’t forget that we also have the possibility of KB Racing’s 100th win. 

“We almost got it in Topeka two weeks ago, but maybe the racing gods decided they wanted Ken and Judy to be on hand for it to happen.  After all, there’s nothing we would rather have than to put our Summit Racing Camaro in the winner’s circle for our 100th win with Ken Black in attendance.  That would be a storybook weekend, and it’s the goal we have going in to Englishtown.”

In a somewhat ironic twist, should Anderson score the multiple milestone win in the Garden State, it will come at the same track where he captured his team’s first Wally in 2002 behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Cavalier.  It was the first of the KB Racing’s team seven successive victories at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, spanning a period from 2002-2008, with Anderson the winner on four occasions.  Naturally, he hopes history will repeat itself this weekend.

“Raceway Park is one of my favorite tracks,” said Anderson.  “I’ve had a lot of final round appearances and a lot of winner’s circle celebrations there, so it’s naturally an event I look forward to every year.  It’s a sea-level type track where we always seem to have good air and a big barometer, making it one where the Pro Stock guys lick their chops, because given the right conditions, you could see records set - in fact, I set both ends of the national record there in 2003.  When you can run fast and have fun, as a race car driver you naturally get excited going there.  I’ve had a good relationship with Englishtown over the years, and look to continue it in a big way this weekend.”

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Old Bridge Township Raceway Park edition:

4 – a) Wins by Anderson in Englishtown coming into this weekend, which is tied with Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson for the most in Pro Stock history in New Jersey.

        b) No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

5 – Final round appearances by Anderson in New Jersey, most recently in 2008.

5.57 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 14 Raceway Park starts.

8 – Times Anderson has qualified in the top four positions in his previous 14 Englishtown starts.

25 – Elimination round wins by Greg in his previous 14 Raceway Park starts, versus 10 losses for a .714 win percentage.