Dallas Glenn was quick to admit after his Pro Stock victory at the NHRA U.S. Nationals that he is a terrible basketball player, at least on offense.
But for one warm Monday afternoon in Indianapolis, Glenn put on his best Michael Jordan impersonation, if the NBA legend had been driving a Pro Stock Camaro instead of wearing No. 23.
Glenn needed nearly everything to fall his way to steal the regular-season championship from KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson. Then, when the opportunity arrived, Glenn finished the job himself, beating Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the final with a 6.599-second run at 207.56 mph.
The victory gave the reigning NHRA Pro Stock world champion his first U.S. Nationals title, fourth victory of the season and 25th of his career. It also delivered a second consecutive regular-season championship and the accompanying $55,000 payday.
Glenn entered Monday needing an early exit from Anderson and a long day of his own. Coughlin supplied the opening when he eliminated Anderson in the second round.
“I felt like that we had a shot to win, but honestly, I figured Greg would be semis or final round right there with me,” Glenn said. “So him losing early, I think, is the most improbable one that I had on my Monday. I got to remember it’s Monday, not Sunday. It always throws me for a loop.”
Glenn hadn’t arrived at Indianapolis consumed with championship calculations. Winning the biggest race on the NHRA schedule was enough to occupy his attention.
“It’s been very like a roller coaster because we’ve been kind of just fighting the car a little bit, picking away at it,” Glenn said. “We go out there and we make a really good run, and then we make kind of a mediocre run, and we make a good run, and it’s kind of been up or down. Greg’s been kind of having the same fight, so we’ve been scratching our heads and just trying to make sure everything is as good as we can.”
Coughlin’s victory over Anderson changed the equation. What had been a long-shot championship scenario suddenly rested with Glenn.
“And I was just coming in here just trying to win the race,” Glenn said. “I wasn’t thinking about points until Jeggy ran into Greg there second round, and I was like, ‘Okay, well now the pressure’s on. Ball’s in my court so it’s time for the Michael Jordan two second, last three point shot.’ And I got lucky enough where it actually bounced around the rim and went in.”
Glenn still had two rounds to navigate. He eliminated defending U.S. Nationals champion Erica Enders to reach the final, while Coughlin advanced after beating Chris Vang, Anderson and No. 1 qualifier Matt Hartford.
Coughlin was making his first final-round appearance of the season, but Glenn needed no reminder of the five-time Pro Stock champion’s ability. Coughlin had also eliminated him in the opening round at Brainerd.
Glenn’s task was keeping everything surrounding the final out of his head. Indy, the regular-season championship and $55,000 were waiting on the other side of one more win light.
“I just had to do everything I could to not think about points, not think about, ‘Hey, this is Indy,’” Glenn said. “Just think, ‘Okay, Jeggy took me out in Brainerd first round and I would really like to get you back. Let’s just not do what we did last year and get too light on the pedal. Just go up there, be as light as I can, hit the tree as good as I can, hit my shifts, and just cross my fingers.’”
There was another Indianapolis memory Glenn wanted gone. A few years earlier, he had reached the U.S. Nationals final against Anderson only to foul.
This time, Glenn stayed green and his Camaro did the rest.
“And thankfully, KB Titan and Dave Connolly, Rob Downing, gave me a good setup in the car, and KB Titan gave me good horsepower, and everything worked the way it was supposed to, and we made a pretty decent run in the final,” Glenn said.
The circumstances created an unusual situation inside the KB Titan camp.
Anderson had lost a regular-season championship he badly wanted, yet once he was eliminated, the support shifted directly toward Glenn.
“Almost the entire KB Titan crew were all up there giving me fist bumps, telling me good luck, and go get them, and a few other things that maybe we shouldn’t say,” Glenn said. “But everybody was very pumped up for me. They were all cheering me on.”
Anderson and his wife, Kim, were no exceptions.
“Even Greg and Kim were, ‘We’re not rooting for you to lose. We want you to go take all the money,’” Glenn said. “I think that’s amazing, because I know Greg really wanted to win this regular season championship, but at the same time, when he loses, he wants one of us to win. So we definitely want to make sure we bring the trophy back to North Carolina. We want to bring all the money back to North Carolina.”
There is some irony in Glenn beating Anderson for the regular-season championship. Glenn decided around age 13 or 14 that he wanted to become a professional racer, during an era when Anderson was dominating Pro Stock.
The kid watching Anderson pile up victories eventually became his teammate, world champion and championship rival.
“But if you would have told me back then that I would have had a US Nationals win, I don’t know if I would have believed you for one, especially in a class as tough as Pro Stock,” Glenn said. “Especially because, back then, I mean, that was in the Greg Anderson murderous days when he wins 15 races a year. So to be able to come in and say that, ‘Hey, in 20 years you’re going to win the US Nationals and beat Greg Anderson for a regular season championship.’ I would have been like, ‘Yeah, no, you’re lying to me.’”
The battle now moves into the Countdown to the Championship.
Anderson secured the Mission #2Fast2Tasty season championship, while Glenn answered by taking the regular-season title and the points lead into the playoffs.
“Because of Brainerd, I didn’t get into the #2Fast2Tasty challenge, so I didn’t get to try to stop Greg from taking that from me,” Glenn said. “So he got that one. I was able to get this one from him. So this Countdown’s going to be really, really fun and really interesting.”
Glenn leaves Indianapolis with one of the largest trophies missing from his résumé now accounted for. His approach heading into the championship fight, however, isn’t changing.
“I just want to just go out and be consistent, good, and let everything fall the way it is,” Glenn said. “And if I have to be a little bit better, then I need to be a little bit better. I just want to keep getting a little better every year.”
