Team Summit Goes Two for Two with Phoenix Win

Team Summit Racing is wasting no time in establishing its intention to win another championship. On Sunday at the 33rd annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Greg Anderson and the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro made it two for two for Ken Black's KB Racing team as he scored the 87th NHRA Pro Stock win of his career. The victory followed teammate Jason Line's win at the season-opener in Pomona two weeks ago. 

Four-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Anderson and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park have not been the best of friends. Heading into this weekend's event, Anderson had just one trophy on the mantle earned in Phoenix. This year, though, he was all dialed in.

"It was a brutal day, but I knew it was going to be," said Anderson. "This class is awesome and as strong as it ever was. I think every race I had today was decided by less than a foot—you just can't get better racing out there. It's a battle royal every time you stage the car, and anybody can win."

After defeating Kenny Delco in Round One of Elimination, Anderson was victorious in one of the closest races of the day. Anderson had lane choice over Shane Gray in the second round and made the first move at the starting line, leaving ahead of his challenger by .007-second and parlaying the advantage into a holeshot win, 6.559, 210.97 to 6.556, 210.97. The margin of victory was a slim .004-second.

Anderson returned to face off against  Gray's son, Tanner Gray, in the Semifinals. The 17-year-old driver and Anderson had yet to meet on race day, but Gray knew he had to be on his game to beat the second-most winning driver in NHRA Pro Stock history. The youngster was first off the starting line in .011-seconds to Anderson's respectable .020 reaction time, but it wasn't enough. Anderson sent him home with the quickest pass of the round, a 6.564, 210.47 to Gray's 6.590, 210.64.

The Phoenix final round was the 140th of Anderson's career and the second time that Anderson had raced for the trophy against Drew Skillman. Anderson won the 2015 Summit Racing Equipment event in Norwalk at the expense of third-generation drag racer Skillman, and he repeated the deed with a powerful 6.547,  211.43 to Skillman’s 6.565, 210.50.

"The bottom line is that we had a very slim advantage today, and if we would have made even a small mistake, we would have gone home. But we didn’t and Rob Downing, my crew chief, did a fantastic job with the race cars," said Anderson, who took over the Pro Stock points lead with the win. "We don't have the advantage like we had last year, we're just out-racing them with decisions on race day. It's a 100 percent team effort."

Jason Line and his blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro had a strong series of runs throughout qualifying, including a 6.509 second pass that was the quickest in the history of new-era Pro Stock with electronic fuel injection.

The reigning NHRA Pro Stock world champion knocked out Val Smeland in Round One with a 6.540-second pass at 210.87 MPH, the second-quickest of the round. Line had an advantage with lane choice over Drew Skillman in Round Two, Line had an advantage, but it evaporated when Skillman left the starting line first and used that edge to win on a holeshot, 6.578, 210.11 to Line’s 6.564, 210.67.

Although he lost the points lead to teammate Anderson, Line was realistic rather than disappointed.

 "It was still a good weekend," said the 46-time Pro Stock winner. "As long as one of the Team Summit Chevy Camaros wins, it's a good weekend. You can't win every time, and my car ran really well. Maybe not as good on race day, but if you're going to win in this class, you have to be perfect. We just weren't perfect today."
 
Tim Wilkerson said that if he could just get all eight cylinders to stay lit, he could break into the 3.84-second range in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Ford Mustang. On Sunday during final eliminations, that prediction proved to be true. In the opening round, Wilkerson rocketed to a 3.844 second pass at a booming 331.94 MPH to send John Force packing.

 "What a good weekend," said Wilkerson. "I think we accomplished something from Pomona. We're rebounding as a team. We're just going to keep working on our car and see if we can't keep making it go down the track."

Wilkerson has now reset his career best three times in the first two races of the 2017 season. Heading into the Phoenix event, he was fresh off a career best at the Winternationals, He was able to one-up himself with a 3.852, 329.42 on Friday evening in the desert to qualify in the Number 5 spot. On Sunday, the conditions had changed a bit from qualifying, but Wilkerson threw down the strong 3.844.

"What a good run," said Wilkerson, who defeated Force in Phoenix for the second season in a row. "I thought it would run a little bit better than that. We figured out why it didn't, so it's going to be okay. We have a good car, and I'm happy with that."

The day came to an end for Team LRS in the second round as Wilkerson lost a heartbreaker to Matt Hagan. Hagan launched first with a .071-second reaction time to Wilkerson's .087, and that was the difference in the outcome. Hagan got the win light on a holeshot, 3.883, 331.61 to Wilkerson's quicker 3.871, 332.59. 

"My hat's off to those guys; they've got a good car, and Matt's a good driver," said Wilkerson.

 

Final Round Results
Top Fuel— Top Fuel—Leah Pritchett, (3.705 seconds, 328.22 mph) defeated Brittany Force, (3.704, 330.39 mph).

Funny Car—Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, (3.878, 330.88) defeated Ron Capps, Charger, (3.88, 330.88).

Pro Stock— Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, (6.547, 211.43) defeated Drew Skillman, Camaro, (6.565, 210.50).

Next Race
The next race in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the 48th Annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, March 16-19, 2017. Visit DragRaceCentral.com for news and results.