Anderson Makes Semis at NHRA Finals, Finishes 2015 Second in Points

For Greg Anderson, 2015 was a comeback year. And come back he did, finishing second in Pro Stock for the season after qualifying Number One and reaching the semifinal round at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, California.

“After the championship was decided, we had two goals coming into this race: to win and to finish Number Two for the year,” said Anderson. “We got half of that done. Still, we are satisfied with the improvements we’ve made with our Summit Racing Chevy Camaro, and it really was a good year.”

Anderson qualified Number One with a 6.490 second, 213.03 MPH pass, his 80th career low qualifier award. Anderson won his first round match with Matt Hartford with a 6.536/211.96 to his opponent’s 6.594/210.01. In Round Two against Chris McGaha, Anderson cut a stellar .008-second reaction time and took the win with a 6.515/212.53 to McGaha’s 6.517/211.99. Anderson’s pass was the quickest and fastest of eliminations.

Anderson met up with Vincent Nobile in the semifinals. This time, he cut a -.001 second red light; Nobile shoved in the clutch and coasted to a winning 8.523/98 to Anderson’s 6.520.212.33. That was the quickest and fastest run of the round.

“We have to look at the positives,” said Anderson. “We have a lot of confidence that our team can give us a great hot rod. We have a lot of changes to make to our engine program in the off-season to comply with the new rules for 2016, but we feel good about it. We’re excited to go home, work hard, and come back here in February with the most horsepower and hopefully dominate again.”

Line Eager for 2016
Jason Line ended the 2015 with a solid eighth place finish in the Pro Stock points standings. Line qualified eighth with a 6.520/212.39, and faced Chris McGaha in Round One of eliminations. It was a battle of reaction times as McGaha’s .014 second start gave him the edge to win with a 6.537/221.89 to Line’s .090 second reaction time and a quicker 6.527/211.89 pass.

“We won twice this year with my car, but we really wanted this year to be great,” said Line. “We just have to take this year, look at the positives, and put the rest behind us. The Summit Racing team has a lot of plans over the winter to get to work on what’s next with all of the rule changes, and we are all looking forward to an even better season in 2016.”

2015 NHRA Pro Class Champions
Congratulations to the 2015 season champions in the Professional classes:
• Antron Brown, Top Fuel
• Del Worsham, Funny Car
• Erica Enders, Pro Stock
• Andrew Hines, Pro Stock Motorcycle

Team Summit Results—Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified 10th (3.771/319.82). He defeated Tony Schumacher and Billy Torrence in the first two rounds of eliminations, but lost to Shawn Langdon in the semifinals. Kalitta finished the 2015 season fifth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified fourth (3.732/331.61). He defeated Troy Buff Round One of eliminations but lost to Richie Crampton in Round Two. Todd finished the 2015 season ninth in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon defeated Antron Brown, 3.715/332.43 to 3.732/321.73.
Funny Car: Del Worsham defeated Tommy Johnson Jr., 3.900/328.14 to 4.023/305.42.
Pro Stock: Allen Johnson defeated Vincent Nobile, 6.541/210.18 to 6.540/211.93.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Eddie Krawiec defeated Matt Smith, 6.846/192.58 to 6.888/194.21.

Next Race
The 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks off with the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, February 11-14 in Pomona, California. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the Auto Club NHRA Finals.