Six-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson catapulted into the 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals on a mission to defend the No. 1 he so proudly has displayed on the window of his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and it was mission accomplished on day one of the season. Anderson, the most winning driver in the history of the class, proved that he’s pointing his trusty KB Titan Racing-powered Pro Stocker at a seventh series title as a mind-boggling 6.443-second blast in qualifying rocketed him right to the top and reset the national record.
In all, there were six Pro Stock cars that raced into the 6.4-second zone, bumping right up against the previous record of 6.450, but it was Anderson who got the job done.
“This is beyond cool. I didn’t expect it, I honest to God did not expect it,” said Anderson, whose first national record for elapsed time was claimed in 2003 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, where his 6.670 at 207.18 reset both ends of the then-historic best. Since then, Anderson has reset the record for e.t. seven more times, including this Friday night in Gainesville.
“When I was getting buckled into my car and watched a couple of my team cars – Eric Latino and Deric Kramer – go out there and run 6.46, I was like, ‘Wow, is it really that fast out here? Can I do that? Can I run .46 or even .45?’ And somehow, we surpassed them both,” he expressed. “It feels good to run that fast. We live for conditions like this and fast ETs. That’s what Pro Stock drivers love, and I can’t think of a better place to do it. I have a lot of great memories here; this is the very first race I came to as a spectator with my dad at the age of 10 or 12, and here we are down the road a few years, making magic.”
In the first session of qualifying in Gainesville, Anderson clocked a respectable 6.508-second pass at 211.89 mph. That was good for the No. 5 position, but as delays during the nitro sessions pushed the later round of Pro Stock qualifying deeper into the evening, the conditions improved. The sun dipped down, the air cooled to near perfection for the Pro Stockers, and a receptive racing surface was ready to host powerful performances. Anderson and his KB Titan Racing team came back and made the most of killer conditions, throwing down that incredible 6.443 at a pleasing 212.06 mph.
“I’m pretty proud of this race team. It’s not just my HendrickCars.com Chevy that’s running fast — my entire fleet over there under the KB Titan banner is capable of going to the pole any run,” said Anderson. “I’m extremely proud of that. I have a bunch of happy rental customers racing with me right now, and they know they’re a win and a national record waiting to happen.
“It’s been a good winter of work, obviously the production has been great. You worry when you come to the first race of the year – how are we going to stack up? We know we think we’ve had a good winter, but what has the competition done? You never know until the first Friday, and now that day one is in the books, it looks like a successful off-season. I’m pretty damn happy.”
If it should hold, Anderson will secure the 133rd No. 1 of his career and claim the first GESi Pro Stock No. 1 Qualifier Award of the year – as well as the $2,000 bonus. Qualifying for the 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will continue on Saturday with sessions at 1:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. EST.
This story was originally published on March 8, 2025. 
