Greg Anderson fought off Father Time at Pomona on Sunday.
For the sixth time in his illustrious NHRA Pro Stock career, Anderson stands at the top of the class. In Sunday’s NHRA Finals, Anderson beat KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn in a winner-take-all final round for the title. Anderson started the weekend third in the championship point standings.
“I definitely feel that way,” Anderson said of the sixth championship being the most meaningful because of how he had to go about winning it. “Our class is in great shape; that’s the good news. We’ve got so many young guns that can drive the wheels off these race cars and race for wins, race for championships, and yes, they’re trying to push me out the door but I’m dragging my feet. I’m not going.
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“I keep saying it when people ask me when I’m going to quit: ‘I’m going to quit as soon as I can’t win anywhere.’ Apparently, I can’t quit yet. So, we’ll see. It’s not going to be tomorrow. Maybe three days after that, but it’s not going to be tomorrow.”
The day unfolded in a script-like fashion. Anderson came into the final weekend knowing he needed to win the event to win the championship. He was the No. 1 qualifier, defeated Kenny Delco in the first round, and met Corey Reed in the second round.
All three title finalists made it to the semifinals. That’s where the drama began.
Glenn defeated Erica Enders, who would have helped her Elite Motorsports teammate Stanfield with a win light, to advance to the final. After Glenn moved on, it was the same for Anderson, who took down point leader Stanfield.
Anderson and Glenn were the final pair to go down the track in the 2024 season. The margin of victory for Anderson was 0.0022 seconds.
At 63 years old, Anderson is now tied with Enders with six championships. The two are tied for second-most in the class.
Anderson and Enders have been the veteran – and dominant – leaders in Pro Stock. But both have acknowledged the footsteps closing in from younger, talented drivers like Stanfield and Glenn. The two are not ready to hand things over and have openly shared that they joke about keeping the success among the two of them.
“How about that [expletive]?” Anderson said multiple times after leaving the stage. He did so with a beer in hand, tears in his eyes, sweat on his face, and champagne as an accessory.
“It was just all the above, and that’s the way it should be,” Anderson said. “It’s what we do it for. It’s why we do it. This is why we do this. It’s an incredible feeling, but it’s not Greg Anderson. It’s KB Titan. All those great people that work on my race team, and I can’t thank them enough. They should be up here right now speaking. I’m a lucky man.”
The victory was the 106th of Anderson’s career and his first since April. It was well-received. Anderson left the stage but was unable to make it to the press room without having to stop every few feet to sign autographs, take pictures, or get hugs from everyone in his path.
“It’s cool,” Anderson said. “It’s absolutely cool, and probably in their mind, it’s the last they were going to see the old fart. So, it’s really neat, and I can’t thank them enough. Without the fans, we’re nothing, and they mean everything to the sport. The sport is the greatest sport out here because we let the fans in like we do. Thank God for that, and thank God I picked this sport.”