Summit Racing Pro Stock standout Greg Anderson came into the start of the Countdown to the Championship as one of the hottest drivers in the sport, having won three of the final four regular season races (and been the runner-up to his teammate in the other), a performance that earned him the top seeding for the six-race playoff. However, after an uncharacteristically early exit at the first race in Charlotte one week ago, the defending Pro Stock champion comes into this weekend’s AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, TX determined to rebound with a strong performance and start the defense of his title in earnest.
“We are far from hitting the panic button, but after last weekend in Charlotte, I’ll admit this Summit Racing team has a little extra pressure to perform this weekend in Dallas,” said Anderson. “As I’ve often said, you can’t win the championship in the first race, but you can go a long ways towards losing it, and losing in the first round is often a death blow.
“Fortunately, several of my fellow competitors suffered similar fates, so the damage was not as bad as it could have been, but we still dug ourselves a little hole, so it’s very urgent that we go to the Motorplex and have a big weekend. Quite honestly I’m glad we’re racing on back-to-back weekends, so I don’t have to wait to redeem myself.”
One factor working in Anderson’s favor is the knowledge that both he and teammate Jason Line will be bringing the same fast race cars to the Texas Motorplex with which they had been so successful in recent weeks. Having captured the top two qualifying positions in each of the last four races and winning four of the last five has the four-time champion quietly confident about his chances of returning to the winner’s circle.
“We had great Summit Racing Pontiacs last weekend, but were bitten by mechanical and driver failure, two things we know we can rectify,” said Anderson. “We’re confident we’ll once again have fast hot rods in Dallas, which should also put us in a good position to win. That’s why this race can’t come too soon for me. I can’t wait to get there and out on the racetrack, so I can get back in the game and start our redemption plan.”
Anderson’s outlook is also buoyed by his long record of success at the Texas Motorplex, where his four wins are among the most by any professional competitor in the track’s 25-year history. As the two-time defending champion of this event, he hopes to add yet another entry on his list of accomplishments on the all-concrete quarter-mile.
“The Motorplex has been a good track for me, and one where I always have a good feeling rolling through the gates,” said Anderson. “Obviously I’ve won there the last two years, as well as a couple other times in the past, so it’s somewhere I certainly look forward to going to.
“Looking at the forecast, it’s going to be extremely warm, which are conditions completely unlike last week in Charlotte. However, looking back at how well we ran in the heat in Indianapolis, I think we proved we have great hot rods for any type of conditions, which gives us a lot of confidence going into the weekend. Basically, we’re going to put last weekend behind us, chalking it up to bad luck, and go to Dallas ready to get back to our winning ways.”
Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Pontiac crew
By the Numbers – Texas Motorplex edition:
4 – a) Wins by Anderson at the Texas Motorplex coming into this weekend, including the last two years.
b) No. 1 qualifiers by Greg in his previous 14 starts, most recently in 2007.
5 - Final round appearances by Greg at the Texas Motorplex.
6.07 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous starts at the ‘Plex.
22 – Elimination round wins by Greg in his previous 14 starts in Ennis, versus 10 losses for a 68.8 win percentage.
| 
|