Anderson Retains Points Lead After Seattle

The Summit Racing Pro Stock team rounded out three consecutive races with forward momentum in terms of performance. Greg Anderson left the CatSpot NHRA Northwest Nationals leading in the Pro Stock points standings.

Anderson qualified second for the weekend and had low Elapsed Time (ET) on race day. In Round One of eliminations, Anderson’s 6.543 second/210.11 MPH pass defeated Steve Graham’s 6.637/208.84.

In Round Two, an unusual occurrence stopped Anderson short. The round was forfeited to KB Racing teammate Bo Butner 6.573/211.13 to 8.996/108.14.

“It was a 100% Greg Anderson error. During between-rounds-engine-maintenance, I somehow overlooked getting the rocker arm tightened down,” said Anderson. “I started the car and thought, ‘oh man, this doesn’t sound right.’ I did the burnout and thought it was okay. But one cylinder was dead and it cost me the round. I apologize to all the guys on the crew and to Summit Racing because it was a rookie mistake.”

Jason Line qualified fifth for the weekend, and had a good run in Round One of eliminations with a 6.548/210.31 pass defeating Matt Hartford’s 6.575/211.00.

Round Two saw Line’s day cut short as Tanner Gray crossed the finish line first by just .006 second, taking the win 6.570/210.60 to Line’s 6.573/210.37.

“I just made a mistake and it cost me,” said Line. “My car was good enough, but right now you have to be perfect to win.”

Line is ninth in the Pro Stock standings.

Tim Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car qualified fifth for the weekend and faced Richard Townsend in Round One of eliminations. Wilkerson took the win with a 4.001/313.15 pass to Townsend’s 6.373/106.37.

In Round Two, Wilk defeated J.R. Todd with a .065 Reaction Time and 4.037/316.52 pass to Todd’s 4.049/316.23.

Between rounds, Wilkerson and his crew decided an engine change was in order for the semifinals. Unfortunately for Wilkerson, during the burnout, oil began to escape from one of the valve covers and he was shut off by officials.

“The service went well before that round,” said Wilkerson. “We put in the new motor, but the valve cover nuts didn’t get tightened on one side. It was a rookie mistake and it cost us points. But, we’re going to go to Brainerd and do as well as we did here, if not better.”

Wilkerson is 11TH in the Funny Car points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel—Antron Brown (3.835/322.88) defeated Leah Pritchett (3.849/320.13)

Funny Car—Ron Capps (4.033/314.90) defeated Courtney Force (4.115/255.63)

Pro Stock—Tanner Gray (6.632/210.05) defeated Deric Kramer (Foul–Red Light)

Pro Stock Low ET—Jeg Coughlin 6.501 seconds
Pro Stock Top Speed—Erica Enders 212.66 MPH

What’s next
The next event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, August 16-19.

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