Greg Anderson has always been a drag racer. From helping his father Rod at the races as a young
boy in Minnesota to working as the crew chief on Warren Johnson's championship teams in the 90's,
his racing mindset never strayed from the quarter-mile. However, when it came time to establish a
Pro Stock team with owner Ken Black in 2002, he chose a location in North Carolina, the middle of
NASCAR country, for their base of operations.
Seven years later, Anderson and the KB Racing organization are firmly entrenched in the Mooresville
area. With three championships (four including teammate Jason Line's 2006 title) and 58 national
event wins (77 including Line's 19 tallies), the Summit Racing team leader is quick to credit the
multiple resources available in the Charlotte area for their continued success. As the Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to zMAX Dragway in Concord for this weekend's Carolinas NHRA
Nationals, Anderson's point is further enhanced by the numerous drag racing teams that have
followed his lead and moved to the Queen City.
"I know that many people in the motorsports community see Indianapolis as the race capital for the
country, but I consider Charlotte the place to be, which is why our Summit Racing team is based
here,0 said Anderson. "Even though every Sprint Cup team in the country is here, apparently many
see them just as good ol' boy round trackers. As far as I am concerned, racing is racing, and
they have proven in the last five years that there is no other motorsport in their league. We're
gaining on them in the NHRA, gathering recognition of our own, but they're still the king.
"Because of that, there are some serious engine and car builders in this area with a tremendous
talent pool to draw from. With all the money spent in developing their technology, there has been
quite a bit of information that has trickled down to our application. We've gotten a lot of great
ideas from them, just as they have from us. The smart people pay attention to what everyone else
is doing, whether it's drag racing, stock cars or Indy cars, because you can definitely learn
something from anyone who's involved in racing.
"In addition, most of the supporting industry is here, many of whom we use in our business. In so
far as what you can do, what you can get and the people you can bring in, it's all within a 20-mile
radius of the Charlotte area. If you want to race, this is where you need to be."
This weekend, Anderson and his Summit Racing crew will look to employ all the resources at their
disposal as they start the NHRA's championship playoff, the Countdown to One. Having secured the
fourth seed during the 18-race regular season, they will look to quickly gain ground on those ahead
of them. With six races in which to make up the 50 points (less than three rounds of competition)
separating him from the lead, the three-time champion knows he must take advantage of every
points-earning oppo rtunity, including the new bonus program during qualifying, which will make its
debut at the Tar Heel quarter-mile. To do so, they must solve the challenging racing surface at
one of the sport's best facilities, zMAX Dragway.
"In the first two years of the Countdown format, we missed something, which we are determined to
rectifying in 2009," said Anderson. "We haven't finalized our game plan yet, but we are going to
approach things differently than we have in the past. The last two years we went in as the lead
car and felt we could experiment in the races leading up to the playoffs, shooting right back in to
race mode when we got there, which backfired on us.
"This year, we are not changing the way we go into the race. We are trying to win every race we
enter. In addition, the Summit Racing Pontiacs are going in from the second and fourth positions.
A lot of things are different, and I am okay with that, because the old formula didn't work. The
championship was won from a guy who was in the position we're in right now, so we're confident of
getting the job done.
"There are a lot of factors we'll have to take into account, including the new points system for
qualifying. Although most of the racers, including myself, would have preferred to have some time
to prepare for it, it's here, so we're going to do whatever we can to use it to our advantage.
"We'll also have to find the right set-up for zMAX Dragway. The facility itself is amazing,
catering to the needs of the racers and fans, but as only our second national event there, we don't
ha ve a lot of tuning data for the racing surface, making it even more of a challenge. Whoever
is able to adapt to it the best will come out on top, and this Summit Racing crew is determined to
keep the Charlotte winner's trophy right here in North Carolina."
Fast Facts on Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Pontiac crew at the Carolinas NHRA
Nationals:
Anderson at zMAX: Greg is looking to make his second career start at zMAX Dragway. In last year's
inaugural event, he qualified 8th and advanced to the second round.
Anderson hopes to make it two and 21: zMAX Dragway at Concord is one of only three tra cks on the
NHRA's Full Throttle circuit where he has yet to record a win (the others are Route 66 Raceway in
Joliet, IL and Virginia Motorsports Park in Richmond, VA.) If he should win, zMAX will be the 21st
different track on which he will have won in Pro Stock.
Most recent win: Greg's most recent NHRA national event win coming into this weekend came last
month in Brainerd, MN, where he qualified #3 and defeated Larry Morgan, Jeg Coughlin, Allen Johnson
and his teammate Jason Line for his 58th career victory.
Event Schedule:
Friday, September 18: Two qualifying sessions at 2:30 & 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 19: Two qualifying sessions at 11:00 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 20: First round of final eliminations starts at 11:00 a.m.
Television Coverage (all coverage on ESPN2):
Qualifying: Saturday, September 19 - 11:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Eliminations: Sunday, September 20 - 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
RaceDay: Sunday, September 20 - 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
