For two rounds on Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, things were going according to plan for Greg Anderson.  His Summit Racing GXP was the class of the field, posting a stellar 6.644-second time, moving him to the top of the Pro Stock leader board and eventually earning the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s final eliminations.  This was the 72nd No. 1 qualifying performance of his career, third of 2009, and the second time in three years the three-time champion had accomplished this feat at Summit Motorsports Park.
 
However, running in conjunction with the second day of qualifying was the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a Pro Stock specialty race pitting the top eight qualifiers for the last year aga inst each other in a three-round, single elimination event paying $50,000 to the winner.  Coming in as the No. 1 qualifier, Anderson advanced to the final for the second consecutive year and fifth time in seven career attempts, defeating Ron Krisher and teammate Jason Line with two of the quickest runs of the day.

For two rounds on Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, things were going according to plan for Greg

Anderson.  His Summit Racing GXP was the class of the field, posting a stellar 6.644-second time, moving him to the top of the Pro Stock leader board and eventually earning the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday’s final eliminations.  This was the 72nd No. 1 qualifying performance of his career, third of 2009, and the second time in three years the three-time champion had accomplished this feat at Summit Motorsports Park.
 
However, running in conjunction with the second day of qualifying was the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a Pro Stock specialty race pitting the top eight qualifiers for the last year aga inst each other in a three-round, single elimination event paying $50,000 to the winner.  Coming in as the No. 1 qualifier, Anderson advanced to the final for the second consecutive year and fifth time in seven career attempts, defeating Ron Krisher and teammate Jason Line with two of the quickest runs of the day.
 
Unfortunately, just as it seemed Anderson would claim his third win in this event, his race car shook the tires almost immediately after hitting the throttle, shooting him to the left and forcing to lift early, allowing his opponent to drive on for the win.
 
Despite the initial disappointment, Anderson was encouraged by his race car’s improved performance, and looked to use Saturday’s results as added motivation for race day.
 
“Today was definitely a learning experience, especially in the final round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge,” said Anderson.  “The track got hot and very slick today, and for the most part we did a good job as a team getting our Summit Racing GXP to work on that type of surface.
 
“Unfortunately, in the final, it got a little bit slicker after the Top Fuel cars ran, and we didn’t calm the car down enough.  As a result, it shook the tires right away.  That was a shame, especially with all that money on the line.
 
“But there are still a lot of positives for us t his weekend.  We had a really good test in Michigan to prepare for these types of conditions, and I now have a really good hot rod.  This is best we’ve run in a long time, and if we can knock out those mistakes, we’ll put this Summit Racing Pontiac back in the winner’s circle.  I love this racetrack, and I’ve had a lot of success here, so I can’t wait to come back tomorrow to take care of business.” 

 

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