Anderson Gets 75th Win in 23rd All-Summit Racing Final

Greg Anderson won the 75th national event of his career in an all-Summit Racing final round at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville.

Anderson decided to debut the “new” red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro in Gainesville, a car the team had purchased in the off-season from a fellow competitor. It proved to be a wise decision as Anderson drove it to win the race against teammate Jason Line. It was the 23rd all-Summit Racing final round in Pro Stock history.

Anderson had much to celebrate this weekend at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, including his 54th birthday on Saturday.

“It was a special day today, and a special weekend for me,” said Anderson. “This is the second time we’ve bought a car from another racer, completely refurbished it, and gone right to victory circle. A year ago, I was recovering from heart surgery and couldn’t even attend the race, let alone drive a race car. It took a while, but we finally got that job done today.”

Anderson qualified fifth with a 6.529 second, 212.73 MPH pass. Anderson halted Larry Morgan and Shane Gray in the first and second rounds of eliminations before meeting Number One qualifier Chris McGaha in the semifinals. Anderson clocked a 6.560/213.67 pass to defeat a tire-shaking McGaha and set up the final round showdown with Jason Line.

The final round was the first all-Team Summit final since the 2014 Northwest Nationals in Seattle and the 117th of Anderson’s career. Line launched first with a .005 second starting line advantage, but Anderson quickly made up the difference and tripped the win light first with a 6.538/213.43 to Line’s 6.554/ 212.96.

“I thought Jason would kick my butt,” said Anderson. “He had a faster race car all day. Anytime he does race me he’s going to have his best light—and he did, he left on me. But you just never know out there. Someday, somehow, things end up going right. You just have to keep that belief. It feels like my first win ever. It was a very special win for me. Hopefully there will be more to come, but this feels fantastic.”

Anderson is currently sixth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Line Gets Closer to Points Lead
Jason Line clocked Low ET in two of the four rounds on race day en-route to the all-Summit Racing final round. The matchup was Line’s sixth Gatornationals final and the 76th of his career.

Line qualified second with a 6.522/212.69. He defeated Pro Stock newcomer Alan Prusiensky in Round One of eliminations. In Round Two, Line put Jimmy Alund on the trailer 6.528/212.46 to 6.571/209.30. Line then defeated Rodger Brogdon in the semifinals, 6.535/213.40 to 6.540/213.47 to reach the final round against Anderson.

Even though Anderson is his teammate, Line doesn’t cut him any slack when they meet up.

“I wasn’t really thinking about Greg, to be honest with you,” admitted Line. “It’s hard to win these races. Out of all the finals I’ve lost, he’s been on the winning end of quite a few. He’s just tough to beat in the final. I wasn’t going to cut him any slack, but that just wasn’t enough today. Nonetheless, it was a great day for the Summit Racing team.”

Line moved up to second place in the Pro Stock points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Stock
Jimmy Alund qualified 10th (6.561/211.86). He defeated Erica Enders-Stevens in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Jason Line in Round Two. Alund is currently 11th in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Modified
Kenny Lang qualified 15th (5.989/240.00) but lost to Troy Coughlin Jr. in Round One. He is currently tied for 15th in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified third (3.796/323.58) but lost to J.R. Todd in Round One. He is currently fifth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified 14th (3.891/312.86). He defeated Doug Kalitta in Round One but lost to Antron Brown in Round Two. Todd is currently ninth in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified fourth (4.080/309.27). He defeated Tony Pedregon and Jack Beckman in the first two round of eliminations, but lost to Ron Capps in the semifinals. Wilkerson is currently 10th in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified second (4.057/312.57) but lost to Blake Alexander in Round One. He is currently third in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified 11th (4.116/308.14). She defeated Matt Hagan in Round One but lost to John Hale in Round Two. DeJoria is currently seventh in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Spencer Massey defeated Tony Schumacher, 3.882/320.74 to 3.873/313.29.
Funny Car: Ron Capps defeated John Hale 4.115/311.05 to 4.208/289.32.
Pro Stock: Greg Anderson defeated Jason Line, 6.538/213.43 to 6.554/212.96.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Karen Stoffer defeated Eddie Krawiec, 6.900/195.11 to 7.884/122.23.
Pro Modified: Bob Rahaim defeated Pete Farber, 5.957/243.99 to 8.965/107.26.

Next Race
The next event is the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, March 27-29 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the NHRA Gatornationals.