ANDERSON GETS YEAR'S SIXTH POLE, EAGER FOR FIRST WIN AT TRACK AND OF SEASON
Greg Anderson has added another highlight to his racing career at Virginia Motorsports Park, and the four-time Mello Yello Pro Stock champion is ready for more memorable moments Sunday during championship eliminations of the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Dinwiddie, Virginia.
Anderson, the current points leader, was the quickest in three of four qualifying sessions to earn nine of a possible 12 bonus points with his time of 6.571 seconds at 210.67 mph on Friday holding up for his sixth pole in 10 events and 99th of his Pro Stock career.
“I need a special Sunday. This year I haven’t had one yet,” said Anderson, who is seeking his first Wally Trophy of the season to add to his collection of 90.
Other No. 1 qualifiers from Friday held on to to lead their categories: Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel, Courtney Force in Funny Car and Hector Arana Jr. in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Anderson can capture two “firsts” Sunday when he tries to win his first title of the 2018 season and first at the Virginia track.
None, however, might top what happened in 1997 when he was crew chief for legend Warren Johnson when “The Professor” became the first Pro Stocker to reach 200 mph.
It’s likely Anderson would have an event title from Virginia had its race not been dropped from the Mello Yello tour after the 2009 event.
When the legendary track in Englishtown, New Jersey, announced in January it would not continue on the Mello Yello schedule VMP owner Tommy Franklin stepped up to take the slot and immediately ripped out the old track and replaced it with an all-new concrete surface and guardwalls.
The considerable investment paid immediate dividends Saturday when NHRA and the track announced a sellout crowd for the day.
No one was more complimentary than Anderson.
“What a great job the owners here did on this racetrack," Anderson, who was runner-up there in 2009, said after Friday’s runs. "It's a brand-new racetrack, and they did a phenomenal job, a perfect job here. My hat is off to these guys here at Virginia Motorsports Park. It's a tough job bringing everyone back on such short notice, but they worked hard and it isn't just up to par, it's above par. I'm very, very happy.
"This thing is as smooth as glass. You learn right away what you've got underneath you, and it's a good feeling to be able to come back and feed more power to it."
He acknowledges that it has been one of the hottest – if not the hottest – tracks the series has raced on this year.
“Even though it was warm yesterday and a little hotter today this racetrack is absolutely wonderful and that won’t change (Sunday) so we won’t have to worry about the racetrack falling out from under us.”