Greg Anderson has never raced Top Alcohol Funny Car icon Frank Manzo and likely never will. But, on Sunday, the reigning Pro Stock champion and winningest driver in the class beat him in a win-to-win competition.
Anderson moved into second place in drag racing’s winningest driver category, scoring victory No. 108, by stopping teammate Dallas Glenn in the final round. The win is Anderson’s second consecutive and makes his final round record this year 2-1.
“We set a [track] record in the final, and this is the way you want to do it,” Anderson said. “You want to go out and earn it every single run, and you want to save your best for the final round, and that’s what we did. These are proud days today, and just like three months ago, here in the final round, you want to give your best shot in the final round against the toughest competition.
“I love this place. Nine times out of 10, when we come here, you get friendly conditions like this, and I was able to drive better than I normally drive as far as reaction time goes. The slight cloud cover and the cool temperatures just feel good for a driver, and that just plays more into my hand. These are the conditions I need. I wish we could race here every weekend.”
An interesting stat: Anderson has been in the final round of every NHRA Pro Stock since last season’s NHRA Midwest Nationals outside of St. Louis last October.
Anderson and his KB Titan Racing crew qualified on the pole for the 134th time in his career with a time of 6.490 seconds. Throughout eliminations, his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro consistently delivered top performances, resetting the track record twice and clocking 6.4-second passes in every round.
“This is the way you want to do it; you want to go out and earn it every single run, and you want to save your best for the final round,” Anderson said. “These are proud days… We had a fantastic drag race.”
“It was my turn today, but we all know what Dallas Glenn can do,” Anderson said. “He’s a win waiting to happen every day.”
Anderson and Glenn are on pace for a bit of history they can share. They have now four consecutive finals, dating back to last year’s NHRA Finals in November 2024. The record for most consecutive final round races between two drivers goes back to 1980 when the late Lee Shepherd and Bob Glidden squared off in a championship battle that went down to the final race of the season.
“That is hard to believe because, I mean, we’re surrounded with talent in this class, and anybody can win,” Anderson explained. “That’s not a cliche; it’s the truth. Anybody that straps into one of these cars has the equipment underneath them and is capable of winning as a driver. So for that to happen for four races in a row, that’s pretty incredible.”
Anderson’s success in Pomona continues, with this win being his 16th at the venue. John Force holds the record for the most overall wins at Pomona, with 17.
With the points lead, Anderson will next compete at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas on April 11-13.
“We’re going to try to keep it going as long as we can,” Anderson said. “Every time this happens, you light a fire underneath the competition, so I don’t expect it to last forever.”
