Much to the delight of the racers and the fans in attendance, Saturday’s forecasted rain for the Reading area held off long enough for the professional categories to complete all four qualifying sessions at the 27th annual Auto Parts NHRA Nationals with the cooler temperatures producing quicker times and higher speeds.
Among those picking up the pace were Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team, who bettered their Friday effort on their first attempt on Saturday, covering the quarter-mile in 6.533-seconds with a track-record top speed of 212.03, the only Pro Stock entry to break the 212 mph barrier. This proved to be his run of record, as his fourth and final attempt was cut short by severe tire shake, placing him fourth for Sunday’s final eliminations, where he will open against No. 13 qualifier Allen Johnson.
“We started off fairly well on Friday, but fought it a little today,” said Anderson. “We didn’t seem that far off on the first run this morning, and were pretty happy to have found the speed at the top end, but it shook the tires on our last run, which showed us we have some work to do before tomorrow.
“The good news is that we know this Summit Racing Pontiac is capable of running just as well as Jason’s (teammate Line, who qualified No. 1) and Ronnie’s (Summit/Genuine Hotrod Pontiac racer Humphrey, who starts second), and we have all the tuning notes from those two cars to draw from. Unfortunately, right now it’s just not reacting the same, which can be pretty frustrating. The answer is in there, and we just have to find it, and I know we’re not going to give up until we do.
“As good as the conditions are right now, they’re actually pretty tricky. You have plenty of horsepower, and a track with a lot of bite, so you have to walk that fine line between being aggressive enough and shaking the tires. To be honest, it’s supposed to warm up a little bit tomorrow, which may make it a little easier to get the car dialed in. It could be just what the doctor ordered.
“But the bottom line is that tomorrow is a big day, and we have to go deep into eliminations. We have everything we need at our disposal, and the right people working on it – all we need to do now is come up with a game plan and make it happen.”
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