GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Greg Anderson did everything last year at the National Hot Rod Association's Gatornationals but win the Pro Stock trophy.

He was No. 1 qualifier, and he set both ends of the track and national records with a 6.633-second elapsed time and 208.23-mph speed. But he lost to No. 9 qualifier Warren Johnson, his former boss and racing nemesis, in the quarterfinals and watched teammate Jason Line earn the victory.

That was another frustrating chapter in Anderson's march to a third straight Pro Stock series championship. He arrived in Gainesville in 10th place in 2004, having qualified seventh and ninth in the previous races. He didn't win until the seventh race of the season, at Atlanta, and didn't move to the top of the standings until after the 10th event, at Chicago.

But this year, the driver of the KB Racing/Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO has been authoritative. At both the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., and the Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals near Phoenix, Anderson has been top qualifier. He won the Winternationals and lost to Johnson in the final at Chandler, Arizona.

Anderson has proven himself capable of maintaining such a torrid pace.

"That is certainly our goal for this season," he said before the tour's 37th return March 16-19 to historic Gainesville Raceway. "We would like to have both cars in as many finals as possible."

Anderson said he thinks his E.T. and speed records might fall this weekend. "If it is near or below 70 degrees, the national record will be broken," he said. "It will be interesting to see which team sets a record first."

The Gainesville forecast calls for mid- to upper-70-degree temperatures throughout the weekend. Andrew Hines had similar luck at Gainesville last year in the traditional Pro Stock Motorcycle debut and the Powerade Drag Racing Series' first appearance of the season on the East Coast.

During qualifying there last year, he became the first biker to run in the 6-second range (6.991) and set the national speed record at 197.45 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod. But he disqualified himself with a red light in Round 2 against eventual winner Steve Johnson.

Although he was No. 1 qualifier at nine of the 15 motorcycle events on the schedule on his way to a second consecutive championship, Hines didn't take the points lead until after winning the Memphis race in August.

So certainly he would like to cash in on his performance earlier in the season this time. Whether he will have the clear performance advantage this year is another matter.

During the offseason, Suzuki riders got the break from the sanctioning body they had been looking for in an attempt to make them competitive with the Harleys and Buells of Hines and teammate GT Tonglet, the G-Squared tandem of Chip Ellis and Matt Smith, and three-time 2005 winner Ryan Schnitz. They were allowed to increase their engines from 92 cubic inches to 101 and given fuel injection, but they have had to add 25 pounds, as well.

So that gives an extra boost to Angelle Sampey, two-time Gatornationals winner and three-time series champion and her Schumacher Racing/U.S. Army Suzuki teammate, Antron Brown. It also is happy news to such competitors as Johnson and fellow veterans Craig Treble and Mike Berry.

Ellis and Smith showed they haven't lost any power during the offseason. Ellis defeated Smith to win the Pro Stock Bike title at the Eastern Spring Test Nationals Sunday at Valdosta, Ga.. They joined Allen Johnson (NHRA Pro Stock), Steve Spiess (IHRA Pro Stock), Mick Snyder (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Josh Hernandez (Pro Modified), and Pat Musi (Pro Street) in the winners circle at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel's Melanie Troxel is on a roll with her Richard Hogan-tuned Skull Gear/Torco Dragster. She won the Winternationals and was runner-up to Rod Fuller at Chandler, Ariz., missing the chance to share an historic winners circle with husband and Funny Car winner Tommy Johnson Jr.

She never has raced at Gainesville and that could be daunting enough. However, this time, Troxel must get a handle on the newly mandated Goodyear tire and avoid losing points and being fined for oiling down the track, like she did in her victory at Phoenix.

Her Don Schumacher Racing stablemate Ron Capps leads the Funny Car standings heading into the Gatornationals.

Capps called himself "Cinderella Man," because he has been series runner-up three times, including last year, when he lost the championship by a mere eight points to teammate Gary Scelzi. Then he came out at the season-opener and finished as runner-up to Robert Hight. But Scelzi will challenge Capps by bringing out the new Dodge Charger body at Gainesville, and their other teammate, Whit Bazemore, will try harder than ever to get his program on track and repeat his Gatornationals victory. Capps also has plenty of competiton from the three-car John Force operation and former Snake Racing teamate Tommy Johnson Jr. So Capps will be lucky not to be Cinderella Man or worse again when he leaves town.

Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled to start at 11:30 and 2:30 (Eastern Time) both Friday and Saturday. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday.