ANDERSON, LINE 1-2 IN PRO STOCK QUALIFYING AT NHRA FINALS

Written by Larry Crum, photo by Burghardt Photos    Sun, 2020-11-01 16:55

 

With one race to decide a championship, things couldn’t have been scripted any better for the KB Racing Pro Stock team to take a stab at the title.

Sitting third and fourth in the championship standings, the duo of Jason Line and Greg Anderson entered this weekend’s NHRA season finale needing great races - and a little luck - to contend with their rivals. On Saturday, they got both as Anderson and Line paced the field, while the top two drivers in the standings struggled, nudging the door open just a bit at the Dodge NHRA Finals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It was a great day for both Summit Chevys,” said Greg Anderson, who qualified first ahead of his teammate. “The first run I made was probably the best run I’ve made this year. It was perfect. It was a screensaver - one you put up on the screen and say, ‘that’s what we want right there.’

“That was a great run and we were able to back it up with another good one. Jason’s been the number two car all day. We certainly set the table for a great day tomorrow.”

Anderson drove his way to his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 106th of his career in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro with his 6.601-second pass at 206.73 mph standing from round one on Saturday. His Summit Racing teammate Line crossed the stripe second with a 6.635 at 206.39 mph.

Kyle Koretsky qualified third after two passes in Vegas with a 6.637 at 206.32 mph, while Chris McGaha (6.641) and Alex Laughlin (6.642) rounded out the top five.

Championship leader Erica Enders finds herself 12th on the ladder entering the final elimination rounds of the year with a 6.652 at 205.35, while her Elite Motorsports teammate and second place man in the standings Jeg Coughlin finds himself ninth.

Enders’ struggles, her worst qualifying effort of the year, helps keep her rivals in the mix.

“We’ll see what we can do. We have a great hot rod and there’s a lot of great competition out there, but we have two (of the best cars) that are the top of the food chain,” Anderson said. “It’s as good as we could have asked for. We did all we could do in qualifying and got the small points, but bonus points to keep it within two rounds. That was important coming in, so mission accomplished. Now we’ll see how we stack up and see if we can get to the winner’s circle and find a way to take the championship back home to KB Racing.”

By way of being top qualifier, Anderson will match up with No. 16 qualifier Aaron Strong in round one on Sunday, while Line draws Cristian Cuadra.

Enders will face a much stiffer test in the opening round, facing top five qualifier Alex Laughlin, while Coughlin gets Aaron Stanfield in round one. If Coughlin advances, he will potentially get Anderson in round two.

Anderson said the tense competition gets him fired up on race day and he is looking forward to seeing how it all plays out on Sunday.

“I’m loving it. I’m having a ball,” Anderson said. “It makes you drive the car better. It makes you focus better. Everything is great and I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be an interesting day, but that’s the way it should be.

“The last day of the season, it should have the most drama and I guarantee you it will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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