Greg Anderson Captures First EFI Pro Stock Win For Team Chevy

Greg Anderson captured the historic first win of the electronic fuel injection (EFI) era of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock class in the 56th Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway to lead Chevrolet in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season opener.

The four-time class champion powered his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS to an exciting victory over KB Racing teammate Jason Line in the final for his 79th career victory. It was the 25th time that Anderson and Line, who won the season opener at Pomona in 2015 and ‘14, met in a Pro Stock final.

Anderson, the Pro Stock championship runner-up last year and the top qualifier for the season-opening event with a weekend-best run of 6.585 seconds, won on a holeshot. His margin of victory over the No. 2 qualifier was 0.0101 of a second.

“It feels awesome,” said Anderson, who recorded his sixth career victory at Auto Club Raceway. “It was a fantastic team effort. Things just went so well all weekend and I felt so confident all day until the final round. I felt like the underdog there in the final. Apparently, it was my day. The sun is shining on me today.”

It was an all-Chevrolet semifinal as second-year Pro Stock driver Drew Skillman, driving the Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS, advanced to face Anderson. Skillman was runner-up to Line in his Pro Stock debut at Pomona last February. Bo Butner, driving the Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS, advanced to face Line.

A day earlier, the Bowtie Brand claimed seven of the eight qualifying slots that make up the top half of the 16-car field.

“It was a tremendous start to the 2016 season for the Chevrolet Camaro SS teams in Pro Stock,” Chevrolet Racing NHRA Program Director Roger Allen said. “We are proud of the effort put forth by all of our teams, and it was exciting to see all three KB Racing-powered teams in the semifinals. We knew Jason and Greg would put on a great final, and they did. Now it is on to Phoenix.”

For the first time in the history of the class, Pro Stock cars went to the line with fuel injection under the hood and without the trademark hood scoop to give the cars a look much closer to that of the production Camaro SS.

“Everybody is on a steep learning curve right now and we got the jump on everybody, but I can guarantee that all the competitors in our class are not happy,” Anderson added. “They are going home and going to work hard, and it will be a new ballgame at Phoenix. We’re also going to have to buckle down and find something better again. That’s the beauty of a new challenge. There is room to grow.

“It’s kind of neat to see everybody trying to conquer it on their own, and that’s the beauty of all the engineers and ingenuity in this class.”

For the 11th consecutive year John Force Racing advanced at least one Funny Car to the semifinals of the Winternationals. This year, No. 3 qualifier Robert Hight (Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS) and 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force (PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS) advanced to the semifinals. Courtney Force (Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS), who fell to Hight in the second round, posted the top speed of the day and personal best at 329.34 mph.

Brittany Force (Monster Energy Chevrolet) had a run of 3.756/320.05 but fell in Round One of final eliminations.

Chevrolet’s dominance continued in Stock Eliminator as Dan Fletcher, driving the Peak/K&N Chevrolet COPO Camaro, won a Winternationals title for the fifth time. Fletcher defeated Don Little in the final for his 95th career victory.

Fletcher also advanced to the Competition Eliminator final, and was seeking to double up in two classes at a national event for the second time. He accomplished the feat in 2013 at Seattle. Fletcher fell to Doug Lambeck by 0.0174 of a second.

“This is outstanding to start the year off with a win. Thanks to Chevy for this great COPO car,” Fletcher said. “I’m very fortunate and blessed, but I am a bit greedy. I would have liked to win two.”