An adage attributed to baseball's Yogi Berra says: "If you don't know where you're going, you might wind up somewhere else."
Well, Greg Anderson, driver of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment -backed Pontiac GTO, knows where he wants to go -- the Pro Stock Championship. He's been there three-times before, so he knows how to get there. But two races -- this weekend's Seventh annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals and the following weekend the 43rd annual NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Calif. -- and three drivers -- Dave Connolly, Jeg Coughlin, and Allen Johnson -- stand in his way.
"The trick to winning the Countdown to the Championship is getting by three drivers and doing it in two races," said Anderson, the three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Champion Anderson, from Mooresville, N.C. "It's like that John Force TV show; it's reality, baby. You can't live on what you have done in the past. It's the here and now -- the next two races.
"We tested at Vegas recently and hope we learned something while we were there. We had a pretty happy Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac hot rod there at least. We'll go there this weekend and see. Just when you think you have this deal figured out something else throws you for a loop. We've had a couple of hiccups lately, made a few mistakes, but we can overcome those things.
"Everybody's says (Dave) Connolly has this thing wrapped up and he certainly has been on a tear but if that be the case then we don't need to waste everybody's time running the rest of this Countdown. We're planning to show up and I'm almost positive that so are Jeggie (Coughlin) and Allen Johnson. I don't think anybody has thrown in the towel yet. I know we haven't.
"We know the road to the winner's circle at both Las Vegas and Pomona (Calif.) and if we execute the way I know we are capable then we have a chance to be in front at season's end."
At fall race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he has won twice -- in 2003 (over Kurt Johnson) and 2004 (over teammate Jason Line). He was runner-up to Kurt Johnson in the 2005 fall edition. He's also won three-times here at the spring race. Earlier this year he won the SummitRacing.com Nationals over Jeg Coughlin. In 2003 and 2004 he won over Kurt Johnson and in 2005 he was runner up to Dave Connolly. If you're counting, that's five wins in seven final rounds since 2003.
The third most prolific winner in Pro Stock history, Anderson will be going after his 51st career win at the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals. For the 2007 season in 21 races, Anderson has advanced to the final round 11 times and has come away with seven wins. Like a lot of our country that's dry, the native of Duluth, Minn., has had a winning drought. His last win came at Infineon Raceway at the end of July.
*QUALIFYING:* The Pro Stock classes begin qualifying for the Seventh annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals on Friday, Oct. 26, with two sessions at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Qualifying then concludes on Saturday, Oct. 27, with two sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Pro Stock Motorcycles starts each session, followed by Pro Stock Cars.) Final eliminations for the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals begin for all teams at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28. *All qualifying and eliminations times are local Las Vegas time (PT) and subject to change. *
*TELEVISION:* Qualifying highlights for the Seventh annual NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD late Saturday night (Oct. 27) beginning at 10 p.m. and concluding at 12 midnight. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (Oct. 28) from 7-10 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday morning, Oct. 31, from 2:30-4:30 a.m. Also, be sure to tune into NHRA Race Day, the show which provides the drag racing fan with the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (Oct. 28) on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD from 11-11:30 a.m. *Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.*
*COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: *The Countdown to the Championship is comprised of three segments called the Countdown to 8, the Countdown to 4, and the Countdown to 1.
*Countdown to 8 (COMPLETED):* A 17-race "regular season" in which the full-field of drivers in each pro category -- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycles -- was reduced to eight, who advanced to the Countdown to 4 segment and remained in contention for the championship in their respective category.
*Countdown to 4 (COMPLETED):* A 4-race "playoff" in which the eight drivers in each pro category -- Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycles -- that moved from the Countdown to 8 to the Countdown to 4 and was reduced to four, advanced to the Countdown to 1 segment and remain in contention for the championship in their respective category.
*Countdown to 1:* The four drivers with the most points in each professional category now advance to the Countdown to 1. Driver points will be once again reset in 10-point increments, from 3,030 (for first place) to 3,000 (for fourth place). Those four drivers in each pro category {Top Fuel: Larry Dixon (3,030 points), Rod Fuller (3,020), Tony Schumacher (3,010), and Brandon Bernstein (3,000); Funny Car: Tony Pedregon (3,030), Gary Scelzi (3,020), Robert Hight (3,010), and Ron Capps (3,000); Pro Stock: Dave Connolly (3,030), Greg Anderson (3,020), Jeg Coughlin (3,010), and Allen Johnson (3,000); Pro Stock Motorcycle): Andrew Hines (3,030), Matt Smith (3,020), Chip Ellis (3,010), and Peggy Llewellyn (3,000)} will compete for the championship in their respective categories over the final two races of the season, the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals (Oct.25-28) and the Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Calif. At the conclusion of the Auto Club Finals a champion will be crowned in each professional category.
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