There is a definite sense of urgency with Pro Stock superstar Greg Anderson.
Anderson knows if he wants to win his sixth NHRA world championship he needs to make a move at the FallNationals in Dallas on Sunday.
Anderson, who arrived in Dallas in fourth place, 116 points behind points leader Dallas Glenn, put himself in position to make a jump in the standings by qualifying No. 1 at the Texas Motorplex.
Anderson clocked a 6.524-second elapsed time at 208.99 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro on Friday, and that lap held through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions to give him the No. 1 spot.
This was Anderson’s sixth No. 1 spot of the season and the 130th in his standout career. Anderson is scheduled to face Eric Latino in round one. However, since Latino crashed in Friday qualifying, Anderson will open the day with a single.
“So, we’ll just see how the cards play (Sunday), how they fall. But it’s an opportunity and I like that,” Anderson said.
“I told you guys last night that last night’s run afforded us a little bit of luxury (Saturday) to be able to go out there and do some things different with the car and try and get ready for (Sunday). We did that. We found a major problem with the car, with the engine (Saturday night), so that’s why I wasn’t able to run as fast as I should have run. But the car itself was happy, so I’m very happy about that, and we put that together and get the engine problems fixed (Sunday), we’re going to be fast tomorrow, so I am excited. I’m ready to race. I’m excited, and it could be a turning point of the season. We’ll see. It’s time to either get it done or go home.”
Anderson has had plenty of success in Dallas winning in 2003, 2005, 2009-10, 2019 and 2021.
“Obviously, I’m comfortable here. Obviously, I like racing here. I like coming to the Motorplex,” Anderson said. “It was the first supertrack we ever had. It was the Motorplex, that’s why it’s called that. And it was the coolest thing we’d ever seen years back. So, it’s always meant a lot to me, and it’s a feel-good place for me. It’s a place that you can run fast with your Pro Stock cars – we love that – and that’s why you get big classes here. That’s why you get a lot of people show up. A lot of people love to race here, and it’s great for Pro Stock cars. So, I guess that helps me out.”
During race day, Anderson is expecting the scorching temperatures – highs near 100 degrees – to play a part in the results.
“You’re definitely concentrating, and you’re scared every run you go with it. You might not make it off the starting line, but to be honest with you, as hot as it’s been, this racetrack has held up fantastic,” Anderson said. “There hasn’t been a lot of tire shake out there, so knock on wood, hopefully it continues through (Sunday). But my hats off to the folks here at the Motorplex, they’ve done a great job.
“Anytime you get a hot starting line, it’s hard to maintain traction. It’s hard for the cars to make good runs, and I think you see in all the classes, they’re all making good, quality runs. As hot as it is, cars are fast, and very few aborts – side by side again. So, my hats off to these guys. And it’s going to be tricky (Sunday), but it won’t be the worst conditions we’ve ever been on, because they’ve done a great job for having a racetrack.”
