The second race of the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series NHRA Countdown to the Championship was another outing marked by performance and power for five-time world champion Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. Anderson raced to the semifinals at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals and kept his position as No. 4 in the Pro Stock standings, while KB Titan Racing (KBT) teammate Dallas Glenn reclaimed the points lead with his final-round victory over the opposing team.
“It was a great day for KB Titan Racing, and we’re very proud to see Dallas get the points lead back for this team,” said Anderson, who is a touch more than a single round from the next spot up and 74 marks back from the lead with four playoff races remaining.
“This was a good weekend for us,” continued Anderson. “On Sunday, our KB Titan cars were the best, and we were able to capitalize on that and put one of them in the winner’s circle here at zMAX Dragway. I fully believe that we can carry that momentum on to St. Louis next week.”
Anderson opened eliminations with low elapsed time of raceday with his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, clocking a threatening 6.596-second pass at 207.69 mph in his defeat of Kenny Delco’s 6.692, and Glenn was right there with him as he raced to a matching 6.596 that was second-best based on mph (206.29). Theirs were the only two cars to go quicker than 6.60 all day.
Round two brought Anderson another low of the round run, a 6.603, 207.69 to top Cristian Cuadra’s 6.664, while Glenn defeated KBT teammate Matt Hartford’s 6.644 with another second-best of the round pass, a 6.609, 206.42. In the semis, the teammates were set up on opposite sides of the ladder and aiming at an all-KB Titan final, but Anderson’s 6.629 was barely nicked by incoming points leader Aaron Stanfield’s 6.622.
On the other side of the coin, Glenn’s advancement marked the 11th time this season that a KBT entry reached the trophy round, and when he won over Stanfield there in the Charlotte closing act, the points lead was back in the hands of the historic race team that is in the hunt for a 10th world title. Both Anderson and Glenn are in the conversation as the tour heads to the Midwest Nationals just outside of St. Louis in less than a week.
“This is the most exciting time of the year in NHRA drag racing, across the board, and it’s the most pressure-packed of all – just how we like it,” said Anderson, who has led the team for over two decades; he and then-owner Ken Black launched the group as KB Racing in 2002.
“Everyone in this camp works darn hard all year long, and every one of us are pulling the rope in the same direction,” said Anderson. “This team was built to win races and championships, and I absolutely believe I have a great shot this year. It feels good to be in the game with the HendrickCars.com Chevy, and I’m thrilled that we get to head right to St. Louis and keep working toward the goal.”
The next stop on the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, September 27-29.
This story was originally published on September 23, 2024.