Greg Anderson had a score to settle and taking out the revenge on others is nothing like extracting the payback on the one who dealt the bad fortunes on you. For two years, the three-time Pro Stock world champion has waited for the opportunity to pay back Allen Johnson for one of the most humiliating defeats in class history.

Johnson beat Anderson in the final round of the 2008 K&N Horsepower Challenge and after that event a once unbeatable Anderson appeared to have a developed a chink in his armor.

Saturday afternoon, Anderson beat defending series champion Mike Edwards in the finals of the 2010 K&N Horsepower event and while the victory, might have eased the sting of years gone by, it certainly wasn’t the same as it would have been if he’d beaten Johnson.

Sunday, during the NHRA Summit Nationals, with a thunderstorm looming on the horizon, Anderson did his best impersonation of a lightning bolt by beating Johnson at both ends of the track.

Greg Anderson had a score to settle and taking out the revenge on others is nothing like extracting the payback on the one who dealt the bad fortunes on you. For two years, the three-time Pro Stock world champion has waited for the opportunity to pay back Allen Johnson for one of the most humiliating defeats in class history.

Johnson beat Anderson in the final round of the 2008 K&N Horsepower Challenge and after that event a once unbeatable Anderson appeared to have a developed a chink in his armor.

Saturday afternoon, Anderson beat defending series champion Mike Edwards in the finals of the 2010 K&N Horsepower event and while the victory, might have eased the sting of years gone by, it certainly wasn’t the same as it would have been if he’d beaten Johnson.

Sunday, during the NHRA Summit Nationals, with a thunderstorm looming on the horizon, Anderson did his best impersonation of a lightning bolt by beating Johnson at both ends of the track.

If location is everything in business, pulling off the revenge, was perfect in Norwalk.

“We probably saved our jobs for a week or two,” joked Anderson, his mood suddenly turning serious. “We do probably beat ourselves up a little too much if we don’t perform well, and do act like our jobs are on the line. But, that’s how we operate. I think if the rest of America thought that way – we’d all be a whole lot further ahead. You have to live that way and dig every day. You try to do the best you can for those who support you.”

Anderson pocketed $75,000 for his clean sweep, winning $50,000 on Saturday and earning a double-up $25,000 bonus on Sunday.

“They way I feel today, I don’t know that I’ve ever been this excited,” Anderson said. “We’ve won races in the past, won championships and been on great rolls, when you go through a lull … a slump like we have, You start to wonder if you’re ever going to win again. You wonder if you’re done, if you are at the end of the road. When this happens you feel 18 again. This is probably the best victory I could have gotten.”

Anderson credits his gains to a test session following the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway last weekend and we felt we pulled within maybe .02 of Mike Edwards. Anderson leaves the event fourth in the points and a distant 680 behind Edwards, a first round loser on Sunday.

“This was beyond a dream weekend, I couldn’t have ever envisioned what happened here,” Anderson said. “I just hoped and prayed we could come into here, score a few round wins and go home with a good performance. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a performance like this. I have to go back two or three years to have a car that performed like this. When you get a hot rod that can run like this, and you get a few breaks here and there, your confidence factor only goes up. There’s no replacement for confidence. I’ve had a problem with that before, not this weekend.”

There was nothing Anderson was going to do which might send a ripple through the positive mojo he had going on during the weekend, even if it meant missing out on his $25,000 double up bonus by refusing to manipulate his semi-final match against teammate Jason Line.

“Someone reminded me of all we had on the line before the semis, and if we were going to throw the race,” Anderson said. “I said, ‘Hell no.’ I’ve never done that in my career and I can put my hand a Bible and swear to that. We’ve never done that and never will. I live by a simple rule that states if I were to do a stupid boneheaded move like that, I guarantee we would get run over by the karma train before the final round and we would have. You don’t get away when you do stuff like that.”

Anderson praised Tommy Utt, the team’s newest addition, for bringing a calming effect to an organization which had the tendency to get over center in their pursuit of the Pro Stock leader board.   

“You just can’t try too hard sometimes or you’ll screw up and we kept our heads,” Anderson admitted. “Tommy Utt has kept us in check. He’s kept me and Jason, crew chief Rob Downing from making too many moves and getting down on ourselves. He doesn’t let us get excited and he’s a great addition. He’s gelled with Rob Downing and they are making good calls.”

For Anderson, this weekend went a long way toward the health of team owner Ken Black, who suffered a stroke earlier this year. It didn’t hurt his team’s health either.

“Ken Black is out there and he’s rehabbing hard to get back out here … and he’s probably about four races from being out here. What happened this weekend will accelerate his healing process. Just like this drag racing stuff, a lot of the healing is in the mind. This should help the healing process. I thank the Lord every day for Ken Black and Summit Racing Equipment.”