KB Racing LLC: Greg Anderson wins eighth straight final round and fifth of 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KB RACING LLC NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES KB RACING LLC/SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT PRO STOCK PONTIAC GTO GREG ANDERSON -- DRIVER ROB DOWNING -- CREW CHIEF MEDIA CONTACT: MICKEY SCHULTZ PHONE: 920-733-2330 E-MAIL: PR4KBRacingLLC@earthlink.net 19th ANNUAL NHRA O'REILLY SUMMER NATIONALS HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA – TOPEKA, KANSAS JUNE 1-3, 2007 QUALIFYING: #1: 6.703 seconds at 205.91 mph ELIMINATIONS: Round 1: Anderson (6.694/207.15) def. Max Naylor (16.514/40.86) Round 2: Anderson (6.687*/206.76) def. Tom Hammonds (Red Light: 6.746/205.07) Round 3 (semifinals): Anderson (6.682*/207.24**) def. Jeg Coughlin (Red Light: 6.960/167.09) Round 4 (finals): Anderson (6.704/206.86) winner over Dave Connolly (Red Light: 6.747/204.66) *Track Elapsed Time Record /**Track Speed Record Greg Anderson wins eighth straight final round winning the NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals TOPEKA, Kan. (June 3, 2007) – Greg Anderson, driver of the KB Racing LLC Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac, advanced to the final round of the 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals, winning the 48th final of his career over Dave Connolly, who red lighted. Anderson, who has won the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Championship three-times (2003-2005), is seventh on the list for leaders in NHRA national event victories (professional categories) and third among Pro Stock drivers. The only Pro Stock drivers with more wins are Warren Johnson (96 wins) and Bob Glidden (85 wins). The most prolific Pro Stock driver since 2002, Anderson has won the last eight final rounds he’s been in extending back to last season. This was his fifth win of 2007 in the eight races contested thus far and the 14th time he’s turned back Connolly in 21 career races. In final rounds against Connolly, Anderson holds a 6-3 advantage. “Those are amazing numbers and I don’t know how we did it,” reflected Anderson. “As I’ve said before it all comes back to the KB Racing crew and the team that (team owner) Ken Black has assembled. We’ve got a great operation both in the shop in Mooresville (North Carolina) and on the race circuit. We’re all happy campers let me tell you. That car was an absolute rocket ship. I’m living life and having a great time doing it.” In reaching the final round, Anderson, from Mooresville, N.C., defeated Max Naylor in the opening round of eliminations, former NBA player, Tom Hammonds in the second round, and two-time Pro Stock champion, Jeg Coughlin. Against Coughlin, Anderson set both the Heartland Park Topeka (HPT) track elapsed time record (6.682 seconds) and the track speed record (207.24 mph). “That was a good day at the office,” Anderson said on the winner’s podium following the race. “ I so proud of (crew chief) Rod Downing, my crew, and everybody who has worked on this race car and built these engines. We showed them this weekend what we do during the week. We worked hard the last three weeks. We spent a lot of time on the test track. When you get a break you have to get at it or those guys and gals are going to get around you. “We had two cars that we had to run in the semifinals and finals that are putting a lot of heat on us (in the points). They’ve been running great. Everybody in this class can beat you at any given time but it’s extra pressure when you run up against the Jegs car and Connolly’s car. I can’t remember the last time the two of them have red lighted against me. That’s the results of my Summit Pontiac running like it did this weekend. It was an absolute monster. I’m a lucky man. I had a great race car and I didn’t screw it up.” In addition to winning today at HPT, Anderson has put his KB Racing-owned, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO in the HPT winners circle three previous times (2003-2005). In 2003 and 2004, the three-time POWERade Pro Stock champion took the win light over Kurt Johnson. While in 2005, Anderson got the best of Dave Connolly. Anderson continue to lead the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings with 798 points. He leads second place Dave Connolly by 222 points, third place Jeg Coughlin by 251 points, fourth place Jason Line, his teammate, by 297 points, and fifth place Kurt Johnson by 400 points. NEXT RACE: The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series moves from Topeka to the Chicago area next weekend for the 10th annual NHRA Torco Racing Fuel Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., June 7-10. TELEVISION: ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will televise a replay of the 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals elimination show early Wednesday morning, June 6, from 4-6 a.m. Television time is ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing. KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti, Mich. #### No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.6/828 - Release Date: 6/1/2007 11:22 AM