Second round finish in Charlotte for Greg Anderson and HendrickCars.com
The Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway gave Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro team a healthy boost of optimism in a still-early season. The dedicated group qualified their HendrickCars.com Chevy in the No. 5 position in a 16-car field that had 23 cars vying for a spot. As one of the quickest on the property, Anderson scooped up valuable bonus points and confidence that his KB Titan Racing-powered Pro Stocker could get the job done.
"To see 23 cars on the property here this weekend, it was like it used to be – but it's even tougher now," said Anderson. "It's certainly exciting to have this many Pro Stock cars trying to get a spot to race on Sunday, and it shows how healthy the class is. There are so many cars that can win, so many great drivers. It's intense. It's a dog fight, and it's one you really want to win."
Qualifying results:
Q1: 6.598-second at 209.23 mph (No. 6)
Q2: 6.581, 208.36 (No. 7)
Q3: 6.559, 208.14 (No. 5)
Q4: 6.567, 207.72 (No. 5, +3 bonus points)
After tying his season-best qualifying position, the most winning driver in the history of the category came into Sunday prepared to go to battle. In the first round of eliminations and with his eye on the 102nd victory of his career, five-time world champion Anderson lined up in a quad with Aaron Stanfield, Chris McGaha, and Cristian Cuadra.
When the tree came down, Stanfield left first by a slim .005-second, with Anderson second off the starting line on a crisp .038. Cuadra was efficiently making up ground as he worked to recover from a .062 light, but his 6.598, 208.59 was overcome by Stanfield's quicker reaction time (.033) and 6.600, 207.85. Anderson raced past them both as they approached the final stripe, clocking a 6.589, 207.85 that was best of the quad and second-best of the entire first round. McGaha's .040 and 6.621, 207.11 was fourth-best in their pack.
Anderson and Stanfield were sent ahead to a second-round meeting with KB Titan Racing-powered No. 1 qualifier Matt Hartford and teammate Deric Kramer. Hartford launched first on a .022 reaction, followed by Kramer (.035), Stanfield (.049), and Anderson (.057). Although Anderson's 6.560 was quicker than both Hartford and Stanfield, it was narrowly edged when the start times were factored in, and he and Stanfield were both turned away empty-handed.
Race day results:
Round one
Greg Anderson wins, advances with runner-up Aaron Stanfield
Anderson: (.038-second reaction time) 6.589-second at 207.85 mph
Stanfield: (.033) 6.600, 207.85
Chris McGaha: (.040) 6.621, 207.11
Cristian Cuadra: (.062) 6.598, 208.59
Round two
Deric Kramer wins, advances with runner-up Matt Hartford
Kramer: (.035) 6.558, 208.23
Hartford: (.022) 6.594, 208.07
Anderson: (.057) 6.560, 208.78
Stanfield: (.049) 17.847, 48.51
"When you have a race where you are surrounded by so much support, there is nothing you want more than to get that trophy at the end of the race track and get to bring it back to everyone," said Anderson. "That didn't happen this weekend, but my HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro gave us something positive to talk about. The car performed well, not perfect, but it was good, and we know it can be even better.
"It was great to see another win for KB Titan Racing this weekend, this time with Deric Kramer, [crew chief] Michael Hiner, and those guys. We're five races into an exciting year, and the KB Titan team is seeing the fruit of their labor. We've all worked very hard, and we're seeing good things. A win for the HendrickCars.com Chevy is coming."
The next Pro Stock event on the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour will be the 23rd annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, May 19-21.
AdChoices