ANDERSON STILL ALIVE FOR WESTERN SWING SWEEP
Pro Stock veteran Greg Anderson is on an island of his own. Not only did Anderson score career victory No. 93, but has ensured going into this weekend’s NHRA Nationals in Seattle; he’s the only professional drag racer capable of sweeping the heralded Western Swing.
Don’t think for a moment, the driver who has virtually claimed every accolade in the factory hot rod division isn’t “having a moment” at the prospect of becoming the only Pro Stock driver who has swept the swing twice.
“I’ll go into Seattle with a smile on my face, eager to race, and see if the cards fall the right way again,” Anderson said. “I had a lot of luck today, don’t get me wrong, and it takes a lot of luck to win one of these events. I didn’t make the big mistake, and other people did. Someway, I found my way to the winner’s circle.”
The peculiar aspect of Anderson’s so-called luck, is the luckier he gets, the better he races. Sunday in Sonoma, Anderson, who ranks second in the championship point standings, took out No. 1 qualifier Alex Laughlin for the monumental victory.
Anderson’s Denver victory marked his first win in a calendar year. Even the most seasoned drivers can fall victim to doubt.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve won two races in a row,” Anderson explained. “It seems like forever when you have a gap like that for a year in between race wins. You start to doubt yourself. You start to wonder if you can still do this stuff. If you can still win. I’ve told everybody that’s ever asked the question, I’m certainly getting up there in age right now, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.
“My answer is to them; I’ll do it until I can’t win anymore. Then you start wondering when you can’t win, win for a year at a time, should I be doing this. Should I turn the steering wheel over to somebody else? It’s just like any major league sport. It’s more mind game than anything.”
Anderson understands those mind games can put a train back on the tracks.
“This is going to do a lot for me,” Anderson admitted. “Not only winning last week but winning two weeks in a row, like I said , it’s been a long time since I’ve done that and not only has it proved to me that I can still do it, but it tells you that you still want to do it and how much fun it is and why you do it.
“That confidence just goes a long, long ways. All the years that I’ve been out here, the glory years I’ve had, the big years I’ve had, you have things happen during the day where somehow you’ve gotten in people’s heads. I had that happen today. I had two people that would have been great races, and things went wrong. I got basically a gimme. That hasn’t happened since those glory years since we were able to dominate. Something different has happened since Denver, and we got confidence back, and people see that, and it helped me win today.”
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