The electrifying season of Pro Stock competition in NHRA’s Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has come to a full, rolling boil at this weekend’s In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, and five-time world champion Greg Anderson is in the thick of the battle in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. The most winning driver in the history of Pro Stock swept the bonus points in qualifying, pulling in a total of eight extra marks, and in doing so, he earned the 132nd No. 1 of his career. Anderson, a 105-time Pro Stock winner, is just two rounds back from the lead heading into the final Sunday of the season.
“We had a great qualifying effort, and we did everything, team-wise, that we needed to do in qualifying,” said Anderson, who claimed max bonus points as the quickest car in both sessions and saw teammate Dallas Glenn move to within one round of points leader Aaron Stanfield. “What we did in qualifying could be huge tomorrow, and it looks like we can control our own destiny – that’s all you can ask for. It’s a prayer answered, and the way the ladder is set up, it’s going to be hell on Sunday.”
Qualifying was cut down to just two sessions when rain washed Friday’s action clean away, but Anderson maximized his efforts under the bright glow of California sun on a crisp, cool Saturday, powering to a quick 6.505-second pass in the early session and following up with an identical effort in the final pull.
Starting from the top spot, he is scheduled to race fellow Pro Stock veteran Kenny Delco in round one. Anderson and Stanfield are on the same side of the ladder and could meet in the semifinals, while Glenn is on the other side with the potential for a winner-take-all final on Sunday.
“I don’t know if there have been three cars in Pro Stock within two rounds of one another at the World Finals before,” mused Anderson, who has seen a wide variety of scenarios play out in his 26 years of racing NHRA Pro Stock. “And I don’t have a clue how it’s going to turn out, but I know I’m going to give it every single thing I’ve got. If I can find a way to win the race, I’ll be the world champion – and if I can pull that off, it will probably be the most important one I’ve had. At my age (63), with all these young guns out there that are so deadly, it would mean the world to me.”
Eliminations at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals are set to begin at 11 a.m. PST on Sunday, Nov. 17.
This story was originally published on November 17, 2024. 
