Anderson Reaches Final Round in Maple Grove

Greg Anderson moved into the Number Two position with a final round appearance at the 33rd annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. The runner-up finish was Anderson’s third in a row.

Anderson was killer on the tree Sunday. He had a perfect .000 second reaction time to defeat Tanner Gray in Round Two of eliminations with a 7.469 second/153.84 MPH pass to Gray’s 14.206/78.366. Anderson clocked a .008 RT in the final round against Bo Butner, but Butner pulled ahead and took the win, 6.613/209.95 to Anderson’s 6.660/206.95.

“We had some adversity this weekend,” Anderson said. “I knew in the second round [of eliminations] against Tanner [Gray], I was going to have my hands full. I shook the tires, got back in it, and then I thought I blew the motor up, but it broke the rear end in half. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, except that the win light came on.”

Anderson faced teammate Jason Line in the semi-finals. In their 74th head-to-head meeting, Anderson extended his win record over Line with a 6.677/207.88 pass to Line’s tire-shaking 9.062/104.61.

“Jason had, arguably, the best car on the grounds here this weekend,” said Anderson. “He had some tire shake, and I was able to squeak by. I just kept asking myself, ‘how am I getting these win lights?’ I was winning ugly, but I was winning. That’s what the playoffs are all about—finding a way to win when you probably shouldn’t have.”

“I almost stole the win in the final round, but I feel great for Bo [Butner],” Anderson continued. He had a great car, he drove well, and he’s a deserving winner.”

Jason Line was the Number Two qualifier of the weekend. He faced off against Alan Prusiensky in Round One of eliminations, his 6.601/209.43 beating Prusiensky’s 6.679/206.86.

In Round Two, Line had the upper hand against Matthew Hartford 6.620/208.55 to 6.653/207.62. Line set the low ET and top speed of the round.

“My car shook the tires [in the semis], like it had been trying to every run,” said Line, after his match with Anderson. “We’ve struggled with that. It’s frustrating. Come St. Louis, we’ll hopefully have it under control.”

On Sunday, Tim Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car, faced J.R. Todd in Round One of eliminations. Todd has defeated Wilkerson in their previous five meetings this season, but, Wilkerson finally got past the Kalitta Motorsports driver.

Wilkerson was first to leave by .006-second, and he and Todd stayed glued together down the track. Wilkerson took the win light with a 3.953/326.56 to Todd’s 3.958, 326.71. The margin of victory was just .011 second.

“We have a good rivalry with J.R. Todd,” said Wilkerson. “I tried to do my best today and got around him, and that brings us closer to being out of ninth in the points.”

In Round Two, Wilkerson narrowly missed advancing when he lost to Matt Hagan in another close match, 3.955/324.36 to Wilk’s 3.995/322.65.

“I’m excited about how the car’s running,” said Wilkerson. “I feel like we made a good showing, and the guys are upbeat heading into St. Louis. I like that.”

Final Round Results
Top Fuel—Brittany Force (3.756/326.24) defeated Steve Torrence (3.857/258.76)

Funny Car—Ron Capps (3.968/326.48) defeated Courtney Force (3.993/311.70)

Pro Stock—Bo Butner (6.613/209.95) defeated Greg Anderson (6.660/206.95)

Pro Stock Motorcycle—Eddie Krawiec (6.852/196.70) defeated LE Tonglet (17.593/31.71)

What’s Next
The next race in the in the 2017 NHRA Countdown to the Championship, is the NHRA AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, September 29-October 1 at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, Missouri.

For more information and complete race results visit DragRaceCentral.com.