Greg Anderson Extends Points Lead with NHRA Victory in Las Vegas

At the Toyota NHRA Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway—the second-to-last Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event of 2017—Greg Anderson scored the Pro Stock trophy and extended his lead over No. 2 man Bo Butner to 40 points with this win.

“You couldn’t win the championship here in Las Vegas because we [will earn] points and a half when we get to Pomona,” said Anderson, who now possesses a monumental 90 Pro Stock trophies and claimed the 92nd pole of his career in Vegas qualifying. “I did all I could do this weekend with my Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro. This KB Racing team is amazing.”

En route to the final, Anderson’s second-quickest pass of the round defeated Alan Prusiensky, 6.677 second/204.76 MPH to Prusiensky’s 6.775/203.65. In the quarterfinals, Anderson sent Chris McGaha packing with a.015-second reaction time, and a low-of-the-round 6.687/204.20 pass over McGaha’s 6.696/206.01.

The semifinals pitted Anderson against Summit Racing teammate Jason Line, currently No. 3 in the Pro Stock points. At launch, Anderson had the advantage by just .003 second. Anderson took the win light over Line 6.716/204.60 to 6.719/204.60.

“We always have good races; unfortunately, Greg tends to get the best of me,” said Line. “But it was a good race, and a good day for Summit Racing and KB Racing. I’m very proud of our folks. We have a lot of help from a lot of different people, and it’s really a fun thing to be part of. Right now, I’m super happy. It was a great day for all of us.”

The final round pitted Anderson and Bo Butner against one another for the fifth time, entering the round with two wins each in their previous final-round meetings. Butner launched first by just .004-second, but suffered tire shake. Anderson took the win with a 6.698/204.70 pass.

“Sure, I’m disappointed,” said Butner. “I’m here to win, don’t get me wrong. But we all sat down and had a little KB Racing meeting before the final and everybody was smiling. This is a good team.”  

“Today was huge, it was a great day.” said Anderson. “But nothing’s over yet. I think you’re going to have to go to Pomona and win to be the world champion. That’s the way it should be—you have to earn it.”            

Qualifying was not an easy path for Tim Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang but his best pass of the weekend came in the Round One of eliminations against Robert Hight. Wilkerson’s pass of 3.922/327.74 matched Hight’s 3.922/327.98 pass almost identically. But Hight’s reaction time of .062 to Wilk’s .085. gave him the the win.

“Our LRS Ford responded really, really well,” said Wilkerson. “I was just a little bit behind Robert leaving the starting line, that made a really good race out of it. I’m unhappy about losing, but happy with our performance, and looking forward to Pomona”  

Final Round Results
Top Fuel—Terry McMillen (3.870/253.99) defeated Brittany Force (Foul-Red Light)

Funny Car—Matt Hagan (3.942/329.42) defeated Courtney Force (4.020/320.05)

Pro Stock—Greg Anderson (6.698/204.70) defeated Bo Butner (15.506/36.72)

Pro Stock Motorcycle—Eddie Krawiec (6.924/193.16) defeated Hector Arana Jr. (6.949/192.91)

What’s Next
The next race on the 2017 NHRA Countdown to the Championship is the Auto Club NHRA Finals November 9-12, 2017 at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It’s the sixth and final race in the Countdown to the Championship.

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