One might think Greg Anderson wants to win the NHRA Midwest Nationals to secure his place in drag racing history as the winningest driver in the Pro Stock division. 
 
And one might be wrong. 
 
 “The good thing about it is, to beat the record, I have to win a race,” Anderson said. “To win a race, that means I get the most points for the event. So it all works together. So that’s the game plan. Trying to find a way to win the race and get as many points as I can, and that’ll go a long ways towards a championship.”

Anderson entered St. Louis with a 15 point lead over Erica Enders, and by running the quickest lap in Friday’s lone session, extended the lead to two points as Enders also gained one bonus point. His 6.536 second elapsed time was .002 quicker than No. 2 Kyle Koretsky, who is third in points.  

“Every point is going to be important,” Anderson said. “There’s no question that this deal’s gonna go down to Pomona. Every single point you can get on the way is going to be important. It always puts a smile on your face when they say you were low ET for the round. It doesn’t matter if it got the pole or not. If you get the three points, that’s what it’s all about. So we had as many points as we could get today, and we’ll have to go back and work on it a little tomorrow. The weather is going to be better tomorrow. So these cars are going to pick up again tomorrow. It’s going to be faster tomorrow.”

Anderson knows his provisional No.1 is precisely that. It’s a temporary top spot.
 
 “It’s not safe, and we’re going to have to come out and give it all we got tomorrow to get those three points and try and keep that pole,” Anderson said. “So it should be interesting. It’s wonderful out here. These are great race conditions. Going to be even better tomorrow. This is what we, as Pro Stock racers, love. It’s fun when it’s like this. So we’re having fun out there.”

Points and winning the race are first and foremost, but topping Warren Johnson’s all-time wins mark would be beyond nice for Anderson. Ironically, Johnson’s last race win was in St. Louis. 

“It would be cool if I could find a way,” Anderson said. “I remember Warren getting lucky like all day long. But doesn’t matter. He got the win here in St. Louis. If and when it happens, it’s going to be a special day no matter where it happens. Obviously, knowing that now, that’s even a little extra cherry on top of the game. So it’s fun out there right now and I know I’m supposed to be worried about trying to win a championship. But how can you not think about this record?”