It was a fine day for Greg Anderson at Brainerd International Raceway. Anderson, the driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro and a native of Minnesota, took to the dragstrip at Brainerd International Raceway with ferocity to earn his third Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win and set himself up well for Sunday eliminations.
The challenge is a unique bonus event that pits the semifinalists from the previous event against one another once more for bragging rights and bonus points that will come into play just in time for the Countdown to the Championship. With his third win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Anderson now has 12 bonus marks.
To earn the points, he first had to get past Aaron Stanfield, a driver with whom he has locked horns several times before. In their meeting, Anderson was first to leave the starting line with an on-point .018-second reaction time to his opponent’s .025. He wheeled his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to a crushing 6.631, 206.10 to defeat a 6.642, 205.01 and get a ticket to the final. There he would meet with KB Titan Racing teammate Cory Reed.
Reed, a former Pro Stock Motorcycle racer, joined the Pro Stock ranks in Seattle, then reached the final round at the very next race – Sonoma. His performance there allowed entry to the Mission Challenge.
Anderson, who was the provisional low qualifier on Friday, was first to launch against Reed, .023 to .028, and he clocked a 6.618, 204.79 to top a 6.640, 206.07.
“You’re just gritting your teeth and hoping nothing goes wrong,” said Anderson, of racing an opponent who is quickly showing his capabilities, particularly at the starting line. “You just have to buckle down, find a way to not look over in the other lane, drive your own racecar, drive your own lane, stare straight ahead – and either that win light is going to come on or it’s not. You have to find a way to win, and we did.
“It was a great race in the final with my new teammate, Cory Reed. He’s obviously going to be a special racer. I’m very proud of the boy, but I dodged a bullet. I held him off for one more day. We’ll see what the Good Lord brings tomorrow, but today was a great day. I’m very happy we get to race tomorrow. It should be another great day, and hopefully we can find a way to show off in front of the hometown fans.”
Anderson, who ultimately qualified in the No. 3 position, will race Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the first round of the main event. Eliminations for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals are set to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024.
This story was originally published on August 18, 2024. 
