After dealing with unseasonably warm temperatures throughout qualifying, racers arriving at Pacific
Raceways for Sunday's final eliminations of the NHRA Northwest Nationals were greeted by conditions
more typical to the Evergreen State, with the mercury only reaching the low to mid 70s. This sent
crew chiefs scrambling to adjust their set-ups to compensate for the im proved conditions, with the
performance of virtually every car in the sixteen-car field expected to improve.
Seeded in the third position coming into race day, Greg Anderson and the Summit Racing team had
hopes of scoring their third win at the Kent quarter-mile. However, facing a stiff opponent in the
opening round in veteran Kurt Johnson, the KB Racing crew knew they would need an error-free
performance in order to advance. Unfortunately, Anderson's 6.609-second, 210.64 mph effort, which
was the sixth quickest of the round, was not enough to overcome his rival's starting line advantage
and 6.622 second, 209.95 mph run, putting an end to a streak of ten consecutive races where the
three-time champion had won at least one round.
"Every now and then you will have one of those days, and today just happened to be our turn in the
barrel," said Anderson. "With Jason (teammate Line) running a 6.58 in the first round, we should
have been able to run as well, if not better than he did, but somehow we only managed a 6.60, and
we lost by a whisker. I know we had too much clutch in it, and it pulled a hellacious wheelstand
at the start, but the run didn't feel as bad as it turned out to be.
"However, the day was not a complete loss, because my teammate Jason Line keeps getting it done,
making it to another final. We're one big team at KB Racing, and I take just as much enjoyment from
his success as I do when I win, and seeing how good this team is keeps me motivated.
"We'll take a look at the data, compare it to the notes from Jason's runs and figure out what we
need to do to fix it. At the same time, I need to get myself back in the game, and back in the
winner's circle. The good news is that we only have a week before we have a chance to make things
right in Sonoma, and believe me, this Summit Racing team will be ready."
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
