Greg Anderson Wins in All-Summit Racing Final at Spring Nationals

The Summit Racing/KB Racing Pro Stock team continued its dominance at the 2016 NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. Greg Anderson won his third race of the year in an all-Summit Racing final round. This was the sixth victory for KB Racing this year.

Anderson’s victory was his third Spring Nationals win and his 81st career win, making him the winningest active Pro Stock Driver in the NHRA.

Anderson was the Number One qualifier for the third time this year with a 5.589 second E.T. at 210.41 MPH. Anderson received a bye-run in Round One of eliminations, then defeated Vincent Nobile and Allen Johnson to meet up with teammate Jason Line in the final. Anderson got a huge 0.43 second holeshot and took the victory with a 6.630/209.43 to Line’s 6.597/209.95. The teammates are now tied with three victories each.

“It was a tremendous day today. I was having a ball out there. I kept wondering when it was going to rain, and then kept saying please don’t, because I felt great,” said Anderson. “The car was just a dream to drive. Rob and the boys did a great job with the car and it was a blast to drive. When you can make it all the way to the finals with your teammate, then the gloves come off, you duke it out, you have fun, and you have bragging rights for two weeks. I felt a little bit bad for Jason—just a little bit, though.”

Anderson is currently second in the Pro Stock points standings.

Line Makes Sixth Straight Final Round Appearance
Jason Line made his sixth straight Pro Stock final round appearance of the 2016 season in Baytown. He qualified second with a 6.590/210.14 run, right behind teammate Greg Anderson. Line defeated V. Gaines in Round One, had a bye-run in Round Two, and defeated KB Racing teammate Bo Butner in the semifinals on his way to the final round matchup with Anderson.

“My car was super good and we made a heck of a nice run in the finals,” said Line. “That was our best run we made all day—all weekend really. All in all it was a great weekend for Summit and KB Racing. We are 6-0 now. It’s been a fantastic start to our season.”

Line is currently Number One in the Pro Stock points standings.

Tim Wilkerson Makes Final Round, Qualifies Number One
Fresh from his win in Charlotte last week, Tim Wilkerson made his third final round appearance of 2016 at the Spring Nationals. Wilkerson also qualified Number One and set the track E.T. record with a 3.899/327.59 pass on Friday night.

“I’m pretty happy with the new car as you can imagine. You tell it to slow down, it slows down. You tell it to go faster, it goes faster,” said Wilkerson. “It’s going to make a long season for the rest of the teams. If we can keep up our trend of paying attention to our parts, and making sure we’re diligent about taking it apart and putting it back together correctly, I think it’s going to be a good season.”

Wilkerson is currently tied with Courtney Force for first place in the Funny Car points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified second (3.743/324.36). He defeated Terry Haddock, Kevin Kinsley, and Leah Pritchett to meet and defeat Steve Torrence in the final. It was Kalitta’s 39th career win, and he is now tied with Kenny Bernstein and Antron Brown for fourth in all-time Top Fuel wins. Kalitta is currently second in the points standings.

J.R. Todd qualified 12th (3.889/300.53) but was defeated by Antron Brown in Round One. He is currently sixth in the points standings. 

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Del Worsham qualified fourth (3.923/325.92). He defeated Todd Simpson in Round One, but was defeated by Jack Beckman in the second round. Worsham is currently seventh in the points standings. 

Alexis DeJoria qualified second (3.910/324.90), which was also her career-best pass. She defeated John Hale in Round One, but lost to Tommy Johnson Jr. in the second round. DeJoria is currently eighth in the points standings. 

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Doug Kalitta (3.813/280.60) defeated Steve Torrence (3.810/306.81). 
Funny Car: Courtney Force (3.913/327.90) defeated Tim Wilkerson (3.943/323.81).
Pro Stock: Greg Anderson (6.630/209.43) defeated Jason Line (6.597/209.95).

Next Race
The next race in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals, May 13-15, 2016. Visit Drag Race Central for more results from the NHRA Spring Nationals.