Line Pleased with Progress Made During Semifinal Run in Bristol
Event: 15th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Location: Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tennessee
Day/Date: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Having only made eight test runs with their new Chevrolet Camaro prior to coming to Bristol Dragway, Jason Line and the Summit Racing Pro Stock team knew they would face a steep learning curve during this weekend’s Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee. As expected, the team responded to challenge, posting some of the quickest times throughout qualifying and securing the fourth starting position.
Line was equally solid on race day, using a 6.682-second, 205.69 mph pass to defeat Warren Johnson in the opening stanza. After eliminating V. Gaines in the second round, he then squared off against hometown favorite and No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson in the semifinals.
Although Line was able to make his best run of eliminations at 6.677 seconds with a top speed of 206.54 mph, it was not enough to hold off his opponent’s 6.659-second charge, putting a premature end to his day. Even so, the reigning Full Throttle champion was pleased with how quickly his team was able to adapt to their new ride.
“I am very pleased with the progress we made this weekend with this new car,” said Line. “I think this Summit Racing Camaro is a good piece and it’s only going to get better. I could have done a better job of tuning and driving it, and we’re only completely satisfied when we win, but all in all, I’m really happy with our performance, especially considering how few runs we have on it.
“As I have said repeatedly, nobody could have done a better job with this new Camaro than what our guys on this KB Racing team did this weekend. With as little track time as we had coming into this race, it ran quite well, and we were able to qualify fourth and make it all the way to the semis. I made notes of areas I wanted to address throughout the weekend, which we’ll do between now and the next race in Chicago, building on what we learned here. I’m really looking forward to what we can do with this car.”