Greg Anderson thrives in battle. That character trait is likely part of the secret to his success; the most winning driver in the history of NHRA Pro Stock didn’t simply stumble into six world championships. There is something inside of the Minnesota native that continues to drive him, year after year, race after race. This past weekend, at the 41st annual NHRA Texas FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, the driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro inched closer to the top with a robust qualifying performance and tight racing that sent him to the semifinals on Sunday.
Entering the event, Anderson was 109 points out of the top spot. Leaving Dallas, he had narrowed that gap to 78. With two races remaining and the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals counting for points and a half (the same format used for the U.S. Nationals), a seventh world title is most certainly still within reach.
Why qualifying matters
The higher you qualify, the more points you earn — and that pot is sweetened by bonus points for the three quickest cars in each session. In Las Vegas, the second-to-last race of the season, points will be awarded in the same manner that they have been at each race aside from the U.S. Nationals. All drivers making at least one qualifying attempt are dealt 10 bonus points, with position points as follows:
No. 1 qualifier +8
No. 2 qualifier +7
No. 3 qualifier +6
No. 4 qualifier +5
No. 5 and 6 qualifiers +4
No. 7 and 8 qualifiers +3
No. 9 through 12 qualifiers +2
No. 13 through 16 qualifiers +1
The quickest car in each session will receive +3 bonus points, second quickest gets +2, and third is awarded +1.
At Texas Motorplex, Anderson locked down five points as the No. 4 qualifier and was consistently quick in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to claim bonus points in each session for a total of seven, more than any other Pro Stock driver in Dallas:
Q4: 6.462, +3
Q3: 6.458, +2
Q2: 6.449, +1
Q1: 6.468, +1
Championship contenders Greg Stanfield (+5 total) and Dallas Glenn (+4) also earned bonus marks.
Where big moves can be made
Obviously, the biggest points party is on raceday. The winner of the event is awarded 100 points, runner-up receives 80, and semifinalists each earn 60. A trip to the quarterfinals gets a driver 40 points, and a first-round exit nets 20.
When incoming points leader Greg Stanfield lost in the first round at the FallNationals, the door swung welcomingly wide for KB Titan Racing. Dallas Glenn, who qualified No. 1 and won the event, and six-time Texas Motorplex winner Anderson, who reached the semifinals, both seized the opportunity. Glenn took the points lead with his performance, and Anderson continued to chip away with victories over Kenny Delco and Erica Enders. Anderson’s margin of victory in both rounds was.004-second, speaking to the incredible and ever-rising competition within the class that was exemplified in qualifying where, for the first time in history, the entire field was populated by 6.4-second passes. On Sunday, Anderson utilized a 6.473, 212.75 hit to defeat Delco’s 6.496, 210.86 and a 6.487, 212.22 to surge ahead of Enders’ 6.511, 212.30.
The Dallas semifinals brought together the two drivers who have battled relentlessly for the season title right down to the wire in recent years. In 2024, Anderson edged out Glenn for the championship in the final moments of the final race, and in 2025, Glenn returned the favor. Their semifinals meeting at the FallNationals marked the fifth time this season the two have met on raceday. Anderson defeated Glenn in the final round at both the Pomona Winternationals and the inaugural race at Maryland International Raceway, while Glenn was the winner in the semifinals in Epping and the quarterfinals in St. Louis. There in Dallas, Glenn’s 6.498 eclipsed Anderson’s 6.520.
What’s next
Las Vegas, a typically strong and productive race for Anderson, will be a crucial event, and with the season-closer in Pomona worth points and a half, there is still time to make up ground. Luck, skill, and tenacity will all have a say in these final hours of the 2026 season, and Anderson has a rich history of displaying them all.
The war wages on at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2026, with the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
This story was originally published on October 19, 2026. 
