NHRA TEAM REPORTS (DALLAS) - KB'S ANDERSON PRE-RACE ADVANCE

As far as championship battles go, Greg Anderson, driver of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment -backed Pontiac GTO, can say, “Been there; done that.”

As the three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Champion Anderson, from Mooresville, N.C, begins the third race – the 22nd annual NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals, at the Texas Motorplex – in the Countdown to 4 segment of the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Countdown to the Championship, he is currently in second among the eight drivers that are still in contention for this year’s championship.

“Yes, I can say, ‘Been there; done that,’” said Anderson, “but that doesn’t make it any easier, especially with the new Countdown this year. Every year is different and each comes with its own pressures.

“A lot of our pressures we create ourselves because we continue to try to out do the year before and stay ahead of the competition. This year there’s additional pressures due to the caliber of the competition and especially from the new format. You have to be at the top of your game all throughout the year. This segment (of the Countdown) is especially nerve racking and I can only imagine what the final two races are going to be like. One slip now and you may wave goodbye to that POWERade trophy.”

Entering the O’Reilly Fall Nationals, the Pro Stock point standings in the Countdown to 4 look like this: No. 1 – Dave Connolly (2291), No. 2 – Greg Anderson (2258), No. 3 – Jeg Coughlin (2156), No. 4 – Allen Johnson (2129), No. 5 – Kurt Johnson (2127/-2 points behind No. 4), No. 6 – Jason Line (2098/-31), No. 7 – Larry Morgan (2085/-44), and Warren Johnson (2071/-58).

The top four drivers in points at the end of the four-race playoff, of the eight pro Stock drivers listed above, will advance to the third and final segment (Countdown to 1) and the opportunity to be the 2007 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Similar exciting scenarios are also being played out in the three other professional categories – Top Fuel Funny Car, and Pro Stock Motorcycles. Pro Stock Motorcycles actually have a three-race playoff, instead of four, that ends at Dallas.

At the last race, Anderson said prior to his final-round appearance against Dave Connolly at Memphis: "Dave's (Connolly's) a tough character and he's obviously on a roll. He's doing a heck of a job and actually that whole team does a heck of a job. But I'm pretty proud of my guys too. I need a win - I need to put this Summit Racing Pontiac in the winner's circle. It seems like it's been a while. He's smokin' hot and I need to stop him.”

He finished runner-up at Memphis as the record shows, but Anderson added this for Dallas: “We are getting our consistency back and now need to stop Connolly’s momentum. On our side of the fence, it’s our intent to do just that at Dallas. Of course, Connolly’s intent is to keep that momentum going. The intensity will be great through these last four races, but I believe that our Summit Pontiac and everybody on this KB Racing team will be up for the battle. ”

While Anderson looks to eliminate the 33 point deficit between himself and Dave Connolly, the Summit Racing Pontiac driver has been on a roll of his own.

The third most prolific winner in Pro Stock history, Anderson will be going after his 51st career win at the 22nd annual NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals. Thus far in 2007, through 19 races, he has seven wins in ten final rounds and has advanced to the final round in four of the last five races, notching his 350th round win in the semifinal round at Memphis.

At the Texas Motorplex, the all-concrete quarter-mile in Ennis, Texas, near Dallas, he has won twice – in 2003 (over Jeg Coughlin) and 2005 (over teammate Jason Line).

*QUALIFYING:* The Pro Stock classes begin qualifying for the 22nd annual NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals on Friday, Sept. 21, with two sessions at 3:45 and 6:45 p.m. Qualifying then concludes on Saturday, Sept. 22, with two sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Pro Stock Motorcycles starts each session, followed by Pro Stock Cars.) Final eliminations for the O’Reilly Fall Nationals begin for all teams at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Dallas/Ennis time (CT) and subject to change.

*TELEVISION:* Qualifying highlights for the 22nd annual NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD late Saturday night/early Sunday morning (Sept. 22/Sept. 23) beginning at 12:30 a.m. and concluding at 2 a.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (Sept. 23) from 7-10 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Tuesday morning, Sept. 25, from 4-6 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 O’Reilly Fall Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (Sept. 23) 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 four races that comprise the second segment (Countdown to 4) of the Countdown to the Championship included the Labor Day weekend race in Indy and Memphis (Sept. 14-16), with this weekend’s event at Dallas (Sept. 20-23) and Richmond, Va. (Oct. 5-7) still remaining. The top four drivers in points (of the eight drivers that remain in contention for the Countdown to the Champion) at the end of those four races will advance to the third and final segment (Countdown to 1) of the Countdown at which time the points will be once again reset in 10-point increments, from 3,030 to 3,000. Those four drivers will compete for the championship over the final two races of the season, the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals (Oct.25-28) and the Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Calif.

*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.

*SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT: * Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment (http://www.summitracing.com/">www.summitracing.com), headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio, has been the leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers from three warehouses in Tallmadge, Ohio, Sparks, Nev., and McDonough, Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB Racing LLC, which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.