Matt Hartford earned redemption on Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park, capturing his first victory in the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout by defeating reigning world champion Greg Anderson in the final round of the specialty event. The win, which took place as part of the 19th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, marked a significant milestone for Hartford, who had fallen to Anderson in last year’s Callout final.

In a wire-to-wire performance, Hartford posted a 6.609-second run at 207.88 mph, holding off Anderson from the starting line to the finish stripe and collecting the $40,000 winner’s prize. It was the first time the GETTRX Callout was contested at the Norwalk facility, making Hartford’s victory even more memorable.

“First of all, let’s just be clear, this is (Bill) Bader country here. He has the best track in the country, he has the best staff, the best people, everything about this facility is top notch, so to come here and be able to race is just a great feeling,” Hartford said. “To be able to win here is even better. We beat (Eric) Latino, Dallas Glenn, and Greg Anderson – three really tough competitors who all have the same power that we have.”

Hartford opened the Callout by selecting teammate Eric Latino in the first round, defeating him with a 6.615 at 206.89. Anderson advanced to the semifinals after a 6.587-second run to eliminate six-time world champion Erica Enders, then used his callout opportunity to challenge Jeg Coughlin Jr. Anderson beat Coughlin with a 6.611 at 206.80, while Hartford posted an even stronger 6.603 at 207.82 to knock off Glenn and set up the highly anticipated rematch with Anderson.

“The conditions were very difficult. It’s just when you have that big ball of fire in the sky shining down like it is, it makes it very tricky for everybody,” Hartford said. “We made some really good calls. We ran consistent, and I think that’s what it’s going to take for race day. We won this race two years ago, and we were consistent in qualifying. If we can go out and be consistent on a tree and make good laps, you know, we’re looking for a long day Sunday.”

Although he came up short in the Callout final, Anderson ended the day on a positive note by securing the number qualifier in Pro Stock with his 6.594 at 206.78 from Friday’s session. It was his fourth number one qualifier of the season as he continues to lead the class with four wins in 2025.

“Obviously, it’s a great thing to have a number one qualifier going into Sunday. The final round of the Callout didn’t go the way we wanted. I had a good run going, until I didn’t. It just didn’t get a hold of anything in low gear, and it went left real hard, got on the center line, and I was all over the racetrack trying to get it straight. I’m telling you, anybody in the class can beat anybody, and Matt slapped me around like he slapped me around pretty much every Saturday this year,” Anderson said.