Pacific Raceways hosted the second of two back-to-back Western-most races for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series this weekend, and Greg Anderson maximized his efforts to earn a 75th anniversary Diamond Wally at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort Northwest Nationals. The victory was the 115th of Anderson’s career in his 197th final round, and it put his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro in the Pro Stock points lead with only two events remaining before the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
The win was particularly sweet as it came on the heels of first-round losses in each of the most recent two events (Norwalk and Sonoma), a stunning occurrence that hasn’t happened since early exits in Norwalk and Seattle — this very same time of year — in 2024.
“This is a humbling sport, there’s no doubt about that,” said Anderson, who went on to win a sixth world championship after recovering from the double misstep that season. “It’s a tough sport and a hard class to win in – you just have to stay the course and keep digging. When you go a couple races like that, you start to feel like maybe you can’t quite cut it anymore. But this certainly snaps the streak and gives you a positive feeling going forward the rest of the season.”
Anderson qualified in the No. 2 spot and entered raceday 33 marks behind incoming points leader and reigning world champion Dallas Glenn. The Northwest Nationals mark a home race for Washington native Glenn, who is also powered by KB Titan Racing, and last season, he marked his territory with a dominating performance in which he won everything on the table and reset the track record. The order was tall, but Anderson made up ground on Glenn and earned his fourth Pacific Raceways victory in doing so.
“I could see, just as everybody could see, Dallas Glenn had the car to beat, and to win in his backyard is a heck of an upset, in my mind,” told Anderson. “The way he drives that racecar – a lot of people were penciling him in for a final round and a win. It was a tall order to get by Dallas and everybody else out here, but we did it. I did a decent job, and I have my team and my HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to thank for this.”
A strong 6.472-second pass at 210.05 mph got it done over Stephen Bell’s 6.514 in the opening round, and a clean 6.507, 209.98 rode past Matt Latino’s tire-rattling 17.091. Heading into the semifinals, Anderson and longtime rival Erica Enders were evenly matched, 31-31, but Anderson broke the tie with a 6.594, 209.95 win over her violently tire-shaking 12.870. That set up a final round with another longtime rival in Greg Stanfield.
“He’s on a roll and basically almost swept the Western Swing,” said Anderson. “I got a helluva break against Erica, and then I got a helluva break in the final – but you can’t win these things without some luck. You gotta have luck to win, and you have to take the wins any way you can get ‘em.”
Stanfield, who won Sonoma last week and picked up the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory on Saturday in Seattle, launched .008-second too soon next to Anderson. His red light automatically tripped the opposite win light, and the resulting win pushed Anderson ahead in the Pro Stock points. He now leads Glenn by eight marks as the series turns to Brainerd, Minn., and the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Minnesota native Anderson’s home track.
“We’re going to go home and work for three weeks, and then we’ll go to battle again in Brainerd,” said Anderson. “This is just a cool class right now, and the wins are fairly spread out. There are a lot of hungry people that haven’t won yet this year, ones that can win and probably will win. It’s going to be a heckuva year and a helluva dogfight, and I feel fortunate to be part of it. I’m still alive.”
The post Greg Anderson Claims Seattle Win to Close Out Western Swing as the Pro Stock Points Leader first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
