Anderson Reaches his 144th Final Round of his Career at the 11th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals

Greg Anderson, driver of the red Summit Racing Pro Stock Chevrolet Camaro was right where he has been seven times before—the final round at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Anderson has won the event more than any other Pro Stock driver on the NHRA tour. But this time, the weekend’s Number One qualifier was edged out by KB Racing-powered Bo Butner by just .001 of a second.

Anderson left the starting line with a .021-second reaction time, but Butner recorded a perfect .000 at the tree to win on the holeshot. The margin of victory was just a .001 second. Butner is now the only Pro Stock driver to have won three times so far this season.

“It wasn’t a perfect run, but I knew it was decent,” said Anderson, who was racing in the 144th final round of his career.  “I was confident going down the racetrack, but that light didn’t come on. When they told me Bo had a perfect light, I thought, ‘oh I must have gotten smoked.’ I didn’t know it was .001 until I got the sheet.

“All you can do is laugh. I can’t kick myself for having a .021 light. Bo just came out an inch ahead. It was a great race, and Bo is a tough competitor. He’s done a great job, and he’s going to be a handful the rest of the year,” continued Anderson.

Going into the final round, four-time Pro Stock champion Anderson was quicker than Butner every round. Anderson’s 6.570 second/211.16 MPH beat Mark Hogan in the first round of eliminations. Anderson won in round two with a 6.597/210.90 when Allen Johnson’s car broke and did not make a full pass.

In was a Team Summit semifinal as Greg Anderson and longtime teammate Jason Line raced for a spot in the final round. Anderson was handed an automatic win when Line launched .010-second too soon. Anderson’s winning time was 6.599/210.80 to Line’s 6.586/210.90.

The final-round meeting between Anderson and Butner marked the third time they would square off for the trophy. In both of their previous meetings, Anderson was victorious. But Butner’s perfect reaction time was the deciding factor as he raced to a 6.601/210.50 victory to Anderson’s quicker 6.581/210.87.

“It was a good weekend,” said Anderson, who earned the 88th pole of his career. He added, Thank the Lord for this place and for the support of everyone at Summit Racing. They’re great, and we’re glad we’ve been able to perform well in front of them. We feel good today.”

Anderson remains second in the Pro Stock points standings.

Butner’s win came in the 11th Pro Stock final of his career. An accomplished Sportsman racer, Butner had 15 wins in NHRA’s Lucas Oil Series before moving to Pro Stock in 2015.

Butner beat Val Smeland in round one of eliminations 6.579/210.70 to 6.759/198. Butner took the win in round two with a 6.615/210.73 pass over Vincent Nobile’s 6.687/209.95. Butner’s semifinals meeting with John Gaydosh resulted in a 6.606/210.34 win over Gaydosh’s 6.701/207.50.

Butner’s .000 RT in the final marked the first time in his career that he won with a perfect light.

“If you look at the history from Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday, Greg had the faster car and was making better runs,” said Butner. “I knew the only shot I had was to leave first. But Greg was just as happy for me to win as I would have been for him. This is a great team.”

Reigning Pro Stock world champion Jason Line drove his blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a first round win over Alan Prusiensky, 6.562/210.50 to a Prusiensky’s troubled 14.694 second pass.

In round two, Line faced Tanner Gray. Gray did not mince words when he told the media he was eager to defeat Line in the second round. But Line had the first perfect .000 reaction time of his career, defeating Gray.

“I think one run doesn’t make or break your season, but it’s fun to beat Tanner,” said Line. “He’s a young kid. He’s hungry. He’s tough to beat. I knew I had to be better than good to win.”

Line added, “It’s always tough to race four in a row, but it’s nice to end this stretch at such an important race. This weekend was great, and we have the folks at Summit Racing to thank for that.”

Line is fifth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Tim Wilkerson’s stellar 3.99-second pass in qualifying was the bright spot in Norwalk. He had an early exit in round one of eliminations losing to Bob Tasca III. Wilkerson’s Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Funny Car dropped a cylinder and Tasca got the win with a 3.944/ 326.56 pass to Wilkerson’s 4.875/160.73.

“The car got a little free-wheel speed when it left the line. When it did that it lost load and dropped a hole,” explained Wilkerson. “It’s not going to run like it’s supposed to on seven cylinders.”

“This is our spare car. We’re going to take this car back, check it out from front top to bottom, then pick up a new car from [chassis builder] Murf McKinney on Monday,” said Wilkerson. “We’ll debut that car in Chicago and hopefully be back on track.”

Wilkerson leaves Norwalk eighth in the Funny Car points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel—Steve Torrence (3.743/331.45) defeated Doug Kalitta (3.736/331.36)

Funny Car—Jack Beckman (4.073/311.85) defeated Robert Hight (6.581/210.87)

Pro Stock—Bo Butner (6.601/210.50) defeated Greg Anderson (6.581/210.87)

Pro Stock Motorcycle—LE Tonglet (6.824/195.76) defeated Matt Smith (6.882/195.31)

What’s Next
The next event on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour is the Fallen Patriots Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by K&N at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, July 6-9.

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