Anderson and Line Make Final Rounds in Dallas

Greg Anderson came oh-so-close to sealing the deal on the 95th Pro Stock win of his career at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals, and Jason Line reached his third final round of the season on Saturday in the delayed NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Anderson had a tough customer in the first round of eliminations in Kyle Koretsky. The rookie Pro Stock driver was on his game and launched first with a .016-second reaction time, but Anderson came charging from behind, running a 6.566-second pass at 207.85 MPH to Koretsky’s 6.590/208.33.

Anderson's low ET in Round One gave him lane choice over Alex Laughlin in the second round. Anderson took the lead by half track and kept right on going, taking the win with a 6.590/207.88 to Laughlin’s 6.629, 206.23.

Anderson met up with Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the semifinals, and extended his 57-46 record against Couglin with a win, 6.612/207.40 to 6.627/206.07.

Matt Hartford knew he would have his hands full with Anderson in the final round. He launched first with a .018-second reaction time, parlaying the head start into triumph with a 6.625/206.39 pass to Anderson's 6.588/207.94.

"We didn't win today, but my guys did a great job, and they saved my bacon all day long," said Anderson. We had two KB Racing cars in the final this week, and that's good. You never know what can happen these next two races. It's so tight right now that you really can't pick who's going to win."

Line Reaches Final Round at Delayed St. Louis Event
Two weeks ago in St. Louis, Line was one of four drivers to have their second-round meeting put on pause due to challenging conditions with the weather and racing surface, so NHRA decided to finish elimination rounds during qualifying in Dallas.

Line deftly moved around Aaron Stanfield in their round two Midwest Nationals meeting, which also stood as the first round of FallNationals qualifying. Stanfield launched first with a .008-second reaction time to Line's .017, but the Summit Racing Camaro nosed ahead for a 6.458/ 210.80 mph over Stanfield’s 6.558/209.75. Line's pass also counted as the quickest qualifying run of the session, and he was awarded three bonus points.

In the final, Erica Enders took the win over Line, 6.572/209.49 to 6.588/208.81.

Line’s championship hopes were alive and well as he rolled into Sunday eliminations for the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals. While Line was eliminated in the second round, Matt Hartford's semifinals win over Erica Enders helped his championship hopes; the three-time Pro Stock champion is just 31 points out of the lead with two races remaining.

"It was a shorter day than we anticipated, but the good news is that we still have a reasonable shot at the championship," said Line, who will retire from Pro Stock driving at the conclusion of the year. "We've got two more races before the Finish Line Tour comes to an end for me, and I'd like to get another one of these trophies."

Wilkerson Back on the Horse in Texas
This weekend's AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals was a rebound from a slightly off kilter event two weeks ago for Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang nitro Funny Car team needed.

In qualifying, Wilkerson was a top-three car during qualifying with blistering 3.918- and 3.885-second passes down the Texas Motorplex dragstrip. He scored a bonus point as third-quickest in the first session, and two more as second-quickest in the final qualifier. He knew he had a horse for Sunday.

In Round One of eliminations, Wilkerson got the win light over Jack Wyatt, 3.939/324.05 to 4.257/229.31. In Round Two against Jack Beckman, tire haze just before half-track was the decider, and Beckman logged win with a 3.908/327.35, pass to Wilkerson’s 4.796, 164.43.

"It just lapped the tire hard leaving, and when it did that, it didn't wear any clutch," explained Wilkerson. "There was nothing I could do about it but cry. When we got back and looked at the graphs, the car was going to make a good run before that. It doesn't make any difference, but it lets us know that we were at least on the right track."