The 114th victory of six-time world champion Greg Anderson’s historic career came this weekend at a facility where he had never won before. The celebration that ensued following Anderson’s triumph at Maryland International Raceway’s Inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals was also packed with appreciation for the most winning driver in the history of Pro Stock. After the event, Anderson recalled the words of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch after he won the final race of his career before passing away suddenly at the age of 41 just 10 days ago.
“When Kyle was asked why winning never got old for him, he said, ‘Because you never know when it’s going to be the last one,’ and it’s true,” said Anderson. “We don’t know what tomorrow brings. You’re not guaranteed anything, so you have to appreciate it, appreciate that you got into the record books, that you made great runs in your race car, that you got to race in front of a great crowd. You have to appreciate it, because you just never know.”
Anderson leaves Maryland International Raceway with not only the first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock trophy offered there, but also with the track record for elapsed time, which he set at 6.464-second in the quarterfinals. Driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for the now 216-time victorious KB Titan Racing team, Anderson was strong in qualifying (No. 4) but extraordinary on Sunday to claim his second NHRA 75th anniversary Diamond Wally of the season and pull within 11 points of the lead in the championship chase.
“This is great, and I don’t know how many other people in the class have history here, if any,” said Anderson, who made passes down the Maryland International Raceway dragstrip before it was an NHRA-sanctioned facility. “I’m the only one who can remember the last time I was here, and that was 25 years ago. I bet I have the most history here of anybody, and I think that helped me. It made me feel good about being here, like I understood the place and knew that I could do well here. It means a lot to me to be the first winner at the Potomac Nationals.”
Eliminations opened with the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet lighting the scoreboards with an astounding 6.476-second pass at 212.26 mph, his best of the weekend to that point and unchallenged by Brandon Miller’s 6.863. In the quarterfinals, Anderson was set to meet with Deric Kramer, a longtime KB Titan Racing customer with a bullet under the hood that had proved worthy. Kramer’s 6.489 in the first round was stout, but not enough for lane choice, and when Anderson rocketed to low elapsed time of the weekend (6.464, 212.79), his tire-rattling opponent was left watching from afar.
The semifinals put up a race to get a longtime Pro Stock fan’s heart pumping as Anderson launched just .004-second behind Greg Stanfield. In a rematch of many rounds in which the two have squared off over Anderson’s nearly three-decade long career as a driver, the door handle to door handle battle down the quarter mile ended in Anderson’s favor by just .009-second, elevating his lead over Stanfield in lifetime head-to-head elimination rounds to 31-17. Anderson’s 6.488, 212.53 topped a 6.501, 212.13.
But there was more in the bank, and the veteran driver made another great pass in the final, the 195th of his career, going 6.472 at 212.46 mph to defeat reigning world champion Dallas Glenn’s tire-rattling 14-second pass.
“The gods where looking on me today,” said Anderson, who has now won at 24 different dragstrips in his career. “It was my lucky day, but my HendrickCars.com Chevrolet was fantastic all day long. This is just a good-feeling racetrack for me, like New England Dragway, where we’re going next week. I love racing up and down the East Coast; fans really love Pro Stock up here, and that makes racing and winning even better. The weather conditions have been perfect for three days. The engines just come alive in these Pro Stock cars when it’s like that, and they’re fun to drive when they run that fast. It’s exciting as hell, and when you finish on top…. I just thank my lucky stars. This is too damn cool.”
The next event on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto at New England Dragway, June 5-7.
The post Greg Anderson Takes HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to 114th Win of His Career at NHRA Potomac Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
