Dallas: Greg Anderson Saturday summary

Anderson earns 11th No. 1 of 2006

ENNIS, Texas. (September 23, 2006) -- Greg Anderson drove his KB Racing LLC, Summit Racing Pontiac GTO to the top of the Pro Stock qualifying ladder at the 21st annual NHRA O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec being held this weekend at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, just outside Dallas.

On Saturday, after a short time out for rain that preceded a cool front, Anderson cruised to a pass of 6.716-second pass at 204.70 mph. He lowered that mark in the final qualifying session to 6.696 seconds to claim his 11th No. 1 of 2006.

It is the sixth time that Anderson and teammate Jason Line have qualified one-two this season. Anderson has four at No. 1 and Line has two No. 1s of the six. It is also the 15th time in 19 races that either Anderson (11) or Line (4) have been No. 1 this season.

Anderson is in a heated three-way battle for the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship with teammate Jason Line, who qualified No. 2 and currently leads the point standings, and third place Dave Connolly. Last night after qualifying, Anderson talked about the intensity of the chase, especially the battle with his teammate.

"It's been a different type of season for me," Anderson said. "It's been a grind. But we're still in the game and right now the cars are the best they've been all season. So are the drivers. I want a fourth championship really bad and I know Jason wants his first. They (the other drivers) have smelled the blood in the water and pushed their way past us. We need to answer back."

And Anderson, the 2004 Speed Channel Driver of the year, has answered back, feeling that he is at the peak of his game as he sets sight on his fourth consecutive championship.

This No. 1 is Anderson's 51st of his career. The Minnesota-born Anderson, who now lives in North Carolina, has done well at the Motorplex. Anderson has gone to two previous final rounds on the all-concrete track at the Motorplex, winning both. He won over Jeg Coughlin in 2003 and over his teammate Jason Line last year.

His quest for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals Pro Stock title begins tomorrow as Anderson goes after the 42nd win of his career and third of 2006. He starts at 11 a.m. (CT) by squaring off against Dave Northrop in the opening round. Northrop qualified No. 16 with a pass of 6.762 seconds at 204.17 mph.

-credit: kb racing