Greg Anderson's son Cody is a huge fan of the New York Yankees baseball team. Therefore, it is
somewhat ironic that a quote by one of that franchise's legendary figures perfectly describes his
father's dilemma as he heads to Seattle for this weekend's NHRA Northwest Nationals. Although
sitting fourth in the 2009 points with three No. 1 qualifying performances and a runner-up finish
in Bristol would be more than acceptable to many of his fellow competitor, without a national event
victory it is not up to the lofty standards the three-time champion sets for himself and his Summit
Racing Equipment team.
Therefore, the team has been working non-stop on finding a solution. However, much as Hall of Fame
Yankee player and manager Yogi Berra once said "Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other
half is physical," Anderson admits the real key to success lies in his own approach to competition.
"We've been working hard trying to make our Summit Racing Pontiacs faster, and as far as the
driving aspect is concerned, we work out everyday on the reaction-time trainer," said Anderson.
"But neither one of those seems to be the real issue. The problem, quite frankly, is my brain.
I've obviously been thinking and worrying too much about not winning, concerning myself only with
the results. You have to have a clear mind when you go to the line, and so far this season, I've
struggled to do that.
"Things seemed to work fine in qualifying, but come race day, I seem to take a step back.
Obviously you try harder, thinking and worrying more, and it's more important to get a good
reaction time, which seems to work against me. I just need to treat Sunday like another qualifying
run, and things will go back to where they should be.
"I tried to do things a little differently in Denver, and I honestly think it worked out a lot
better on Sunday. I probably drove better than I had all year - I just ran into a red-hot Jason
Line (Anderson's KB Racing teammate) in the second round. Still, that seems to be the key -
getting my mind clear and keeping it that way, not trying so hard. You hate to tell yourself not
to try as hard as you can, but sometimes you need to back off a bit. I think I've pinpointed the
problem and know how to fix it. I've turned the corner, so I'm looking forward to getting back in
the game and having fun this weekend in Seattle."
One item that Anderson and the Summit crew will not have to concern themselves with in the
Evergreen State is a lack of horsepower. One week after dealing with the challenges of racing in
the altitude in Denver, the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to more typical conditions at
Pacific Raceways, much to the relief of the naturally-aspirated Pro Stock category, whose power
level suffered the most in the thin air. In addition, with two wins in his previous eight
appearances on the Kent quarter-mile, Anderson certainly knows the way to the winner's circle.
"Racing in Seattle is a major change from Denver, and more what we as Pro Stock racers love to race
in," stated Anderson. "It's good weather, with good barometric pressure. There are a lot of trees
surrounding the racetrack, so you have a lot of oxygen, which these Pro Stockers seem to gulp up.
We go back to running qui ck e.t.'s and big speeds, which makes us happy. It's one of the tracks
where we can really run well.
"It's also a challenge because of where we just came from in Denver, where everything on the car is
completely different. You have to get everything changed back to normal, fast conditions for that
first run, and sometimes you'll see people maybe not be on their game in the first run or two
because they're still stuck in Denver mode. You have to go over all your notes and make sure
everything is changed back to sea level conditions.
"We also love going to the Northwest because it's not going to be 90 degrees. It's going to be 70
to 80 degrees at the most, our Summit Racing Pontiacs will run fast, we'll breathe well, and we'll
be surrounded by beautiful scenery. It's a big challenge, but we welcome big challenges."
Fast Facts on Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing GXP crew at the Northwest Nationals:
Greg has been solid in Seattle: Greg has two wins at Pacific Raceways, which he scored in
consecutive years of 2003-2004.
Most recent win: Greg's most recent win came in 2004, and propelled him to the first Western Swing
sweep in Pro Stock history.
Track Record holder: Greg is the current Pacific Raceways Pro Stock track record holder in top
speed (207.5 0 mph) set two years ago.
Starting near the top: Greg has been the No. 1 qualifier once at Pacific Raceways (in 2003), and
has started in the Top Five in each of the last seven years.
Event Schedule:
Friday, July 17: & nbsp; Two qualifying sessions at 3:00 & 5:30
p.m.
Saturday, July 18: Two qualifying sessions at 12:00 noon & 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 19: Final eliminations starting at 11:00 a.m.
Television Coverage (all coverage on ESPN2):
Qualifying: Saturday, July 18 - 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, July 19 - 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 midnight
RaceDay: Sunday, July 19 - 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
(All times Eastern)
Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories
company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in
the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is
headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and
McDonough, Georgia. For more information, please visit http://www.summitracing.com.
