Greg Anderson came to the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals as a seven-time Indy winner and the most winning driver in NHRA Pro Stock. He was also the defending event champion at Indianapolis Raceway Park after earning a milestone 100th Pro Stock win on the hallowed grounds last year, and all of this gave the five-time world champion a sense of optimism. After hammering out a few things there at the last race of the regular season, Anderson is eager to kick of the NHRA Countdown to the championship in two weeks at Maple Grove Raceway.
Anderson and the KB Titan Racing team debuted a brand-new Jerry Haas racecar at this year’s U.S. Nationals, and although it isn’t performing quite as Anderson believes it will, he picked up six bonus marks as one of the quickest drivers in two of the five qualifying sessions to prove the potential.
“Indy has been magical for me in the past, I was hoping for a little more magic – we didn’t get that, but we certainly learned a lot, and that’s important as we’re entering the Countdown,” said Anderson, a 101-time NHRA Pro Stock winner. “My new HendrickCars.com Chevy is a little off, but I’ve got a lot of faith in my guys, and hopefully we can get it right and do well in these next few races.”
Anderson qualified in the No. 11 position and squared off with KBT teammate Kyle Koretsky in round one of eliminations. Without lane choice, the fate of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was sealed before the round was even contested – NHRA worked extensively to clean a massive oil-down in the left lane from the first pair of Pro Stockers, but it simply wasn’t up to speed.
Stuck in the bad lane, Anderson did what he could. He left the starting line first by .007-second, then got very loose on the racing surface. He expertly worked to tame his car, but the run was shot. With so much time scrubbed, Anderson’s 6.857, 179.14 was no match for Koretsky’s 6.639, 206.32.
“To put it simply, that was terrible,” said Anderson. “It’s a shame to have that situation at the biggest race of the season, especially with points-and-a-half on the line before the countdown field is set. But you can’t go back, you can only go forward, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re in the Countdown to the Championship, and that means we have a chance. That’s all we need.”
The next Pro Stock event on the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour – and the first of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship – will be the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Penn., Sept. 14-17.
