INDIANAPOLIS — Greg Anderson picked up his 100th career win on Monday during the 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. National at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Anderson drove to the milestone win with a run of 6.587-seconds at 208.07 mph in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to defeat Dallas Glenn in the finals, becoming just the second driver in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series history to reach 100 career victories. He knocked off Fernando Cuadra Sr., Troy Coughlin Jr., and Fernando Cuadra Jr. to reach the final round, making the quickest run of each round of eliminations. Glenn went red in the finals, handing the five-time world champion his seventh Indy win and one of the best moments in his incredible career.
“I don’t know if I can explain how meaningful this is,” Anderson said. “It’s incredible and this (100th) win was meant to happen here. Indy means everything to me, and I’ve said that my whole career.
“Nothing compares to this place and to get my 100th win here, I couldn’t possibly ask for anything more. This just means everything to me. It’s been a while since I’ve won here and it’s hard to win here, so it really makes you appreciate it. It’s probably my most special win here because of that. It’s just unbelievable.”
Glenn reached the final for the second time this year by knocking off Kenny Delco, Kyle Koretsky, and Erica Enders, who will enter the playoffs as the points leader.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, defending world champ Matt Smith may be getting hot at the perfect time, rolling to the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals victory in impressive fashion. He went 6.872 at 195.99 on his Denso Auto Parts EBR in the final round, knocking off Karen Stoffer to claim his first Indy win since 2006. It’s also Smith’s third win this season and 35th in his standout career, as he knocked off Scotty Pollacheck, Hector Arana Jr., and Jerry Savoie to reach the final round. Smith was consistent throughout qualifying and eliminations, putting together an ideal weekend to win at the Big Go, moving into the points lead heading into the Countdown to the Championship.
“We started with the Suzuki on Friday, but I just wasn’t happy with it,” Smith said. “It ran well up to the eight-mile, but I was just frustrated with it. I decided to go with the (EBR) and we had a good bike the rest of the weekend. All in all, I felt it was a great weekend for the bike. I’ve been to the finals a lot of times here and I’m just blessed to have two (Indy) wins. They better watch out for me. We’ve got a good bike and we’re going to defend our championship.”
Stoffer reached her 30th career final round and third this season on the strength of round wins against Joey Gladstone, Ron Tornow, and Steve Johnson.
Keyword: Anderson Gets No. 100 In U.S. Nationals