Mon, 27 Feb 2017, 19:32 PM Summit Racing Driver Greg Anderson Earned the 87th Pro Stock Trophy of his Career

Courtesy of Kelly Topolinski Photo copyright 2017 Auto Imagery, Inc. At the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix.

CHANDLER, Ariz. - The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has only just begun, but Team Summit is wasting no time in establishing their intentions. On Sunday at the 33rd annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Greg Anderson and the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro made it two-for-two for Ken Black's KB Racing team as he raced to the 87th NHRA Pro Stock win of his career. The victory followed teammate Jason Line's win at the season-opener in Pomona two weeks ago.

Greg Anderson and crew celebrates 87th National event win.

Four-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Anderson and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park have not, historically, been the best of friends. The Mooresville, N.C.-based driver has multiple victories earned at racetracks across the country, but heading into this weekend's event, he had just one trophy on the mantle earned in Phoenix. This year, though, Anderson was all dialed in.

"It was a brutal day, but I knew it was going to be," said Anderson, who was a finalist for the third consecutive event, including the 2016 NHRA Finals and this season's Winternationals. "This class is awesome and as strong as it ever was. I think every race I had today was decided by less than a foot - you just can't get better racing out there. It's a battle royal every time you stage the car, and anybody can win."

Greg Anderson and Ken Black celebrate the win.

After defeating Kenny Delco in the first round, Anderson was victorious in one of the closest races of the day. Anderson had lane choice over Shane Gray in the second round and made the first move at the starting line, leaving ahead of his challenger by .007-second and parlaying the advantage into a holeshot win, 6.559, 210.97 to 6.556, 210.97. The numbers on the scoreboards were insanely close, and the margin of victory was a slim .004-second.

With barely time enough to catch his breath, Anderson returned to the starting line with his swift Summit Racing Chevy for a match with Gray's son, rookie-of-the-year contender Tanner Gray. The 17-year-old driver and Anderson had yet to meet on raceday, but it would appear that Gray knew he had to be on his game in order to beat the second-most winning driver in NHRA Pro Stock history. The youngster was off the starting line in .011-

second to Anderson's respectable .020 reaction time, but it wasn't enough, Anderson sent him home with the quickest pass of the round, a 6.564, 210.47 to Gray's 6.590, 210.64.

Greg Anderson defeated Drew Skillman

The Phoenix final round was the 140th of Anderson's career and the second time that Anderson had raced for the trophy with Drew Skillman in the other lane. Anderson won the 2015 Norwalk title at the expense of third-generation drag racer Skillman, and he repeated the deed with a powerful 6.547, 211.43 to drown out at 6.565, 210.50.

"The bottom line is that we had a very slim advantage today, and if we would have made even a small mistake, we would have gone home. We didn't make that small mistake, and Rob Downing, my crew chief, did a fantastic job with the racecars," said Anderson, who took over the Pro Stock points lead with the win. "We don't have the advantage like we had last year, we're just out-racing them with decisions on race day. It's a 100 percent team effort, and my hat's off to the entire Rob Downing-led crew, starting with Ken Black, who hand-picked all these people. He's got the best, and they do a great job. To some people, it looks easy. It's not easy. You're always scared you won't win again and that it might be your last one. There is nothing you can take for granted, and that's how I think about this deal. I try as hard as I can every week because you just never know when it's going to be your last."