Greg Anderson knows how to go rounds, and he’s been doing so steadily all season long. At the NHRA Midwest Nationals and for the third consecutive event, Anderson was one of the last four standing in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to maintain his position in the points and keep his championship intentions alive and well.
“We didn’t lose much ground in the championship chase with the top four cars remaining the same, but our goal certainly isn’t to come out and finish in the semifinals,” said Anderson, the most winning Pro Stock driver in history with 105 victories and five world championship titles. “We’re three races into the Countdown to the Championship, and we’re No. 4 in the points. We’ve got to make up ground on the drivers ahead of us, and thankfully, we’ve got a car that can do that.”
Anderson qualified his quick and reliable HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro in the No. 3 position with a 6.578-second pass at 207.91 mph, and on Sunday he laid down the second-best run of the opening round, a 6.567, 207.66, in his defeat of Cory Reed. In the second act, he was again second-quickest but with top speed of the round, 6.564, 208.46, to march past Jeg Coughlin Jr. and reach the semifinals where his race car wagged the tail as he worked to keep pace with KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn.
Experience and skill kept Anderson in the fight with his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and he was able to get back on track with a 6.613, 208.17, but it wasn’t quite enough. Glenn advanced on a 6.604 and went on to secure the 194th Pro Stock trophy for the historic team.
Glenn will leave with the points lead, 31 marks ahead of Aaron Stanfield. Anderson is fourth for now, 116 points back from the top spot. There are three races remaining on the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, including the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, where points will have one-and-a-half times their typical value.
“We’re certainly not out of it, we’re not throwing in the towel, we’re not done here,” said Anderson. “We have three races left to climb to the top, and you can bet that we’re going to scratch and claw and fight, give it all that we’ve got. The clock is ticking, but it’s not over.”
The fourth of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship events will take place in Ennis, just outside of Dallas, in two weeks. The Texas NHRA FallNationals, part of the Texas Motorplex Stampede of Speed week, are scheduled for Oct. 9-13, 2024.
This story was originally published on September 30, 2024. 
