Anderson Second in Points after NHRA Carolina Nationals

Greg Anderson very nearly grabbed the points lead at the first race of the 2015 Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He qualified Number One and had the dominant car during eliminations, but a second round loss ended the day for the four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion.

Anderson sat atop the Pro Stock field going into eliminations thanks to a 6.524 second, 212.26 MPH pass during qualifying. He defeated Wally Stroupe in Round One, 6.545/211.96 to 6.888/200.41. Anderson’s run earned him Low ET honors for eliminations.

Anderson had lane choice over Vincent Nobile on Round Two, but came up short at the starting line. He clocked a .071 second reaction time to Nobile’s .018, which was enough to give Nobile the win with a 6.611/210.05 to Anderson’s quicker and faster 6.587/211.63.

The NHRA Carolina Nationals is just the beginning of the Countdown to the Championship, and Anderson and his KB Racing team are more motivated than ever to get back up on top.

“My Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro is absolutely there, and I just have to do a better job of driving,” said Anderson. “I had the best race car on the property—it’s consistent run by run by run. This will be a tough loss for an hour or two. By the end of the day I’ll be over it and we'll have guns blazing in St. Louis next weekend.”

Line Out Early 
Jason Line had the second-fastest car of the first round on Sunday with a 6.564/211.03 pass, just behind teammate Greg Anderson. Unfortunately for Line, opponent Allen Johnson got a big .050 second starting line advantage and took the win with a 6.602/210.05.

“Today certainly didn’t go as planned,” Line said. “We have a great team and a good race car, and I have a lot of faith that we will get back to where we need to be. We won’t let this weekend set us back, it will just make us work harder.”

Line is currently seventh in the Countdown to the Championship points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified 10th (3.881/314.17). He defeated Dave Connolly in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Tony Schumacher in Round Two. Kalitta is currently sixth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified eighth (3.860/314.61). He defeated Shawn Langdon, Clay Millican, and Leah Pritchett in the first three rounds, but lost in the final to Antron Brown. Todd is currently fourth in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified fourth (4.003/318.32), but lost to Alexis DeJoria in Round One. He is currently ninth in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified second (3.993/318.32). He defeated Dave Richards, Matt Hagan, and John Force to reach the final round, where he defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. Worsham is currently first in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified 13th (4.208/293.54). She defeated Tim Wilkerson and Shane Westerfield in the first two rounds of eliminations, but lost to Tommy Johnson Jr. in the semifinals. DeJoria is currently seventh in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Mod
Kenny Lang did not qualify (6.058/236.46). He is currently 14th in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Antron Brown defeated J. R. Todd, 3.832/311.56 to 4.063/286.32.
Funny Car: Del Worsham defeated Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.086/307.16 to 4.119/300.93.
Pro Stock: Erica Enders defeated Vincent Nobile, 6.581/210.97 to 6.575/211.13.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Andrew Hines defeated Matt Smith, 6.880/195.11 to 6.910/192.49.
Pro Mod: Danny Rowe defeated Eric Latino, 5.941/245.09 to 5.950/244.92.

Next Race
The next event is the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, September 25-27 in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the NHRA Carolina Nationals.