Greg Anderson Claims his 7th K&N Horsepower Challenge Victory In Las Vegas

15 Mar 2018

Greg Anderson defeated Bo Butner in the final round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge in Las Vegas on Saturday managing to hoist the trophy for the 3rd year in a row and 7th time in his career. Anderson recorded a 6.731-second elapsed time and a top speed of 205.47 mph against his teammate Butner who had a foul start costing him the race. That mistake not only cost Butner the race, but also the $50,000 check that found itself in the hands of Greg Anderson once again.

Greg Anderson lifts the trophy and celebrates at the K&N HPC

Greg Anderson celebrates his 7th win of the K&N Horsepower Challenge

Greg joked after the race, “There aren’t many people who can say they left Las Vegas with more money than they came with.”

Before facing off against Bo Butner, Greg Anderson edged out both Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin to reach the final round. He also found time during his eventful day to join the rest of the drivers as they signed autographs for fans at the K&N truck and trailer. The fans were definitely out in full force on Saturday with NHRA announcing they had sold out the event.

K&N drivers meet fans and sign autographs at the K&N display trailer

Heading into the weekend, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver Bo Butner led the K&N Horsepower Challenge standings. Butner ran his first full NHRA Pro Stock season in 2017 and certainly made the most of it as he took home the championship. He was looking to add to his already impressive drag racing career with a K&N Horsepower Challenge victory but may have been a little too amped up for the final race leading him to red light against Greg.

“It’s the most exciting race of the year for me.” said Butner before the event.

K&N Horsepower Challenge logo

Butner and Anderson have developed a friendly teammate rivalry that made for an intriguing story line leading up to the final round. Driving for the KB Racing team, Butner won five events and came from behind to beat Anderson in the final event of the season at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. “He’s definitely become a pain in my butt,” Anderson said about Butner. “He’s great. I love racing with him. He’s a fantastic dude. But holy smokes, I am having a hell of a time getting around him. He’s had my number lately. It’s been a head-scratcher for us. He’s come so far in the last year in his driving skills.”

Butner had a 115-point lead over Anderson heading into the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a six-race series that started in Las Vegas in October. The top-seven drivers in the K&N Horsepower Challenge earned spots in the final event at the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. Fans voted Vincent Nobile into the eighth spot after the Gatornationals in Florida on March 17.

the 8 pro stock drivers in the K&N Horsepower Challenge

The 8 drivers for the K&N Horsepower Challenge are introduced to the fans at LVMS

In addition to Anderson taking home $50,000, Butner received $10,000 for making it to the final round. Drew Skillman and Jeg Coughlin also managed to leave the track with $3,000 each for competing in the semi-finals. Immediately after his victory Anderson summed up the race by saying “K&N has been so wonderful to this class and this sport in general, and it’s an honor to race for this check. That’ll go a long way to racing these cars. It’s a big shot in the arm and a big confidence booster going into tomorrow.”