There’s no place like home for Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, and the first round of Friday qualifying at zMAX Dragway showed that both car and driver were well in their comfort zone. Anderson raced with great efficiency to the top spot in the early round of qualifying, and despite a snafu in the later session, the initial pass was so powerful that it kept the most winning driver in the history of Pro Stock in the top spot heading into Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.
Anderson, whose KB Titan Racing shop is located in nearby Mooresville, threw down a menacing 6.500-second pass at 210.90 mph to claim three bonus marks and the No. 1 qualifying position in the early evening session.
“It was a very nice run,” said Anderson. “When you get conditions like this where you don’t have sun beating on the racetrack and it’s cool, 65, 70 degrees out there, that’s what these Pro Stock cars love. You have to come prepared, you can’t be shy because the cars are all going to run fast. You have to run what you brung, and we did, we threw it all down and the racetrack held it fine. The track is great, the car was great, the driver didn’t screw up, and we went to the pole. Then, we fast forward to tonight, and it was a different story.”
After a round of rain pushed through the area, Pro Stock was called to the starting line for another bout of four-across qualifying, and through several quads of drivers, Anderson’s 6.500 stood strong. He eagerly awaited his turn, but as he readied to pull into the waterbox, his car was suddenly non responsive. He and his KB Titan Racing crew hustled to get it to fire, but it remained silent. Anderson had to forfeit the run.
“We’re not sure exactly why, but something happened with a computer program, and it lost spark,” Anderson explained. “The car started for me at first, then it shut off and never sparked again. We came back [to the pit], changed the ECU out and put a new program in, and it fired right up.
“I’m one of those guys that never really thought computers would catch on, to be honest with you. But they have, and they’re forcing me to use one every run, and it let me down. That’s why I’m not a big fan of computers, but we got it out of the way at an opportune time. Nobody was able to go around me tonight, which I was shocked about, but tomorrow is going to come with more great conditions. I figure we’re going to have to improve to hold on to No. 1, and I think we can. I’m just excited to race out here with our HendrickCars.com Chevy. It loves this place, I love racing here, and it’s home. I have a lot of good memories here, and it’s just a feel-good place for me.”
In addition to working to preserve the pole and improve his program ahead of raceday, Anderson will be racing in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, a special bonus event which pits the previous events semifinalists against one another in a two-round rematch. Anderson will square off with Erica Enders, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and David Cuadra, while Jerry Tucker, Brandon Foster, Dallas Glenn and Eric Latino will spar on the other side of the ladder.
“The Mission #2Fast2Tasty deal has been a great addition for us; we love it, absolutely love it,” said Anderson. “Yes, it’s a qualifying session, but you’re up there racing, man. You’re not worried about what the car runs – you’re trying to win the round, by hook or by crook. Tomorrow, it’s game on.”
Qualifying for the 14th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, as well as the highly anticipated Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge event, is scheduled to continue on Saturday, April 27, at noon and 2:15 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published on April 27, 2024. 
