Greg Anderson will lead the K&N Horsepower Challenge field as the No. 1 seed for the fifth year in a row as the lucrative race-within-a-race bonus event takes center stage June 28 during the second annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.
A purse of $76,000 is available for the eight drivers competing in the 24th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge. The winner of the K&N Horsepower Challenge will earn $50,000. The runner-up will earn $10,000, the two semifinalists $3,000 each, and the four first-round finishers $2,500 apiece.
Anderson, from Charlotte, N.C., qualified No. 1 at six of the 24 NHRA POWERade Series events where drivers could earn K&N Horsepower Challenge points. It is Anderson's sixth career appearance in the special event.
The $148,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge showcases the eight best Pro Stock qualifiers during a 24-race span between the 2007 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, and 2008 Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. Besides the $76,000 available in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, bonuses of $72,000 were paid to quick Pro Stock qualifiers throughout the 24-race K&N Horsepower Challenge series.
Drivers accumulated points during qualifying at those events, and a $3,000 bonus was awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each race.
This year's K&N Horsepower Challenge field features five of the bonus event's 10 past winners. Top seed Anderson, who won the event in 2004 and ‘06, will face three-time Challenge qualifier Ron Krisher in the opening round. No. 2 qualifier Allen Johnson will make his fifth appearance in the race against three-time winner Warren Johnson. Defending winner Kurt Johnson, who also won the race three other times, will face ཁ winner Dave Connolly. Jason Line, a two-time runner-up in the bonus event, will face two-time winner Jeg Coughlin.
Other past winners of the K&N Horsepower Challenge include Larry Morgan, Bruce Allen, Bob Glidden, Darrell Alderman and Jim Yates.
K&N Horsepower Challenge rounds are scheduled for noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on June 28.
