Greg Anderson notched his 105th career Pro Stock win at his home track of zMax Dragway on Sunday. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
CONCORD, N.C. – To say the weekend at zMax Dragway was an up-and-down adventure for Greg Anderson would be an understatement. But the roller coaster ride ended on a high note with his fifth win at zMax Dragway and 105th career win overall.
Anderson earned the top qualifying time during Friday night qualifying for the NHRA 4-wide Nationals, but he had his run in Saturday’s second qualifying session disallowed due to a safety device infraction, which ended his chances in the Mission Foods 2 Fast 2 Tasty Challenge. All of that was forgotten on Sunday when Anderson drove his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to victory, his second win in the last three events.
After Saturday’s qualifying run was disallowed, Anderson had a smirk on his face when interviewed by FS1 and said he remained confident about Sunday. He backed up that confidence with a convincing win from the top of the Pro Stock ladder.
“I had the best race car on the grounds all weekend. If I would’ve dropped the ball today that would’ve been a heck of a disappointment to me,” he said. “I would’ve let the guys down. They gave me the greatest race horse I’ve had in a few years. We certainly didn’t back into it. We went out and took it, and it feels damn good to be out here at ZMax, my home track.”
ZMax win is special to Anderson and his sponsor
As excited as Anderson was to win at his home track, the win was twice as special since it is also the home track of his lead sponsor HendrickCars.com Chairman and CEO Rick Hendrick.
“I don’t know if I can properly explain what it means to me [to win with Hendrickcars.com on the car],” he said. “It’s such a huge honor to me to wear that badge.”
Anderson said he met Hendrick over 20 years ago through former NASCAR driver David Green, whose son attended pre-school with Anderson’s son. They remained friends and stayed in touch through the years.
“When I got in the situation where I needed a little help, I gave Mr. H a call and he basically did it for a favor because he loves drag racing,” Anderson said. “[Hendrick] started out in drag racing before he went to NASCAR. He loves it and he loves to surround himself with people he thinks can make him look good and win races, so he jumped on the side of my race car.”
Anderson said the relationship is special not only because of the sponsorship, but also because of the paint scheme.
“Everybody knows that the paint job for my car and Kyle Larson’s car and all the other cars [Hendrick] runs, that’s his late son Ricky’s last paint job he had on his truck,” Anderson said. “It’s a special paint scheme for him and his wife Linda, and they just love seeing it out there.”
Greg Anderson said winning at zMax Dragway, the home track for himself and lead sponsor HendrickCars.com, was a special moment. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
They saw it out there even more starting this weekend, as it was announced that Hendrickcars.com would also be sponsoring Brittany Force’s Top Fuel Dragster.
Anderson cherishes each win
After 105 career Pro Stock wins, Anderson could be forgiven if he took winning for granted. But he said after Sunday’s 4-wide victory that with wins getting harder to come by, each one is important.
“This feels fantastic,” said Anderson. “To win one of these races anymore is so tough. It’s so hard. There is so much talent in this class right now. I am so damn proud to be a part of this class right now. It’s become absolutely incredible. And anybody can win on any given Sunday.”
Anderson, who took over the points lead from Erica Enders with the win, said he isn’t done yet. With two wins in the past three races, he said the best is yet to come.
“I feel great about my race car,” Anderson said. “I feel very good about the way I’m driving the race car.”
Anderson takes challenging path to 105th win
Anderson’s first quad of the day featured Anderson’s KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn, young up-and-comer Sienna Wildgust and David Cuadra. His dominance from qualifying carried over to race day as he won the quad with a 6.512-second run. Glenn moved along with him to the next round.
The next quad Anderson had to navigate in his quest for the Wally included Glenn, Troy Coughlin Jr. and defending race winner Deric Kramer. Once again, Anderson prevailed with a 6.530-second run and once again brought his teammate Glenn along with him.
In his 178th final-round appearance, Anderson backed up his expectation of a big Sunday when he ripped off an incredible 6.502-second run, defeating Aaron Stanfield, Glenn and Cristian Cuadra to take home the Wally.
Greg Anderson powered to the win in the NHRA 4-wide Nationals over Dallas Glenn, Aaron Stanfield and Cristian Cuadra. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
