Anderson Ends Western Swing Number One in Points

Greg Anderson had a strong car in the first round of eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, and he felt that he could take it all the way to the winner’s circle. Even though that didn’t happen, Anderson closed out the Western Swing with the points lead in hand and his position secured in this year’s Countdown to the Championship.

Anderson started from the Number 4 qualifying position with a 6.503 second run at 212.76 miles per hour. During Round One of eliminations, Anderson was .038 at the starting line to Gaines’ .005, but he quickly grabbed the upper hand as Gaines shook his tires. The winning time for Anderson on the scoreboard was a 6.502 at 212.29, the third quickest elapsed time of the round. Gaines ran 18.453/44.01.

Anderson advanced to a second round meeting with Shane Gray, and although they were just .004-second apart as they launched from the starting line, it quickly turned into a battle of who could tame a beast better as they both fell into tire shake. Gray was the first to get his car under control, and he moved ahead for a 6.739/210.93 win over Anderson’s 14.840/56.87.

“We just overestimated the racetrack the second round,” said Anderson. “This was the hottest the track got all weekend, and we just didn’t make big enough moves. Our car shook the tires and spun really hard—we missed it on that one—but I also could have done a better job driving. I could have got the thing shifted and saved the run. I didn’t catch it in time, so I wasn’t able to do that. We also learned some things on our Summit Racing Camaros this weekend. We were able to make them run better as the race went on, and that’s the positive. The negative is that we didn’t get the trophy on Sunday."

“The bottom line is that this was a learning weekend for Team Summit, and what we learned will help us down the road. We’ll get home as quick as we can so that we can do as much work as possible in the next week. Then we’ll go to Brainerd with our equipment freshened and with fresh minds. We plan to have a good weekend there. This is going to be a very, very busy week. We’re looking forward to it and can’t wait to work on our stuff. That’s what we love to do, and after three weeks on the road, it’s time to get home and go to work.”

Line Eager to Move Ahead
After a semifinals finish last weekend in Sonoma, Jason Line hoped to take it one round further and win in Seattle, where he has celebrated in the winner’s circle three times before. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Starting from the Number 8 qualifying position with a 6.509/212.33 pass, Line had lane choice on Sunday morning over Vincent Nobile—but it was not a factor. Nobile illuminated the win light 6.516/212.59 to Line’s slightly faster 6.514/212.13 thanks to a .009 second holeshot and the starting stripe.

“Today was not a great day,” said Line. “It could have been because our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros are getting better each weekend, but this track got the best of us this time. The good news is that we get to go home and work on a few things before the next race, and we’re confident that we’ll be ready by the time we get to Brainerd. We look forward to it.”

Line is currently fourth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified 12th with a 3.818/319.75. He lost to Larry Dixon in the opening round of eliminations. Kalitta is currently fifth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified sixth with a 3.770/326.48. He defeated Clay Millican, Terry McMillen, and Tony Schumacher to reach the finals at take the win against Shawn Langdon. Todd is currently sixth in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified seventh with a 4.017/312.42. He beat Cruz Pedregon in Round One but lost to Del Worsham in Round 2. Wilkerson is currently eighth in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified 11th with a 4.088/299.20. She beat Courtney Force in Round One but lost to John Force in Round Two. DeJoria is currently ninth in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified second with a 3.984/298.54. He beat John Hale, Tim Wilkerson, and John Force to reach the final round, but lost Tommy Johnson Jr. Worsham is currently fifth in the points standings.

Final Round Results:
Top Fuel: J.R. Todd defeated Shawn Langdon, 3.824/323.04 to 3.902/307.51.
Funny Car: Tommy Johnson Jr. defeated Del Worsham, 4.073/308.00 to 4.042/307.51.
Pro Stock: Chris McGaha defeated Jeg Coughlin, Jr., 6.507/212.59 to 6.532/212.63.

Next Race
The next event is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, August 21-23 in Brainerd, Minnesota. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the NHRA Northwest Nationals.