Line Prepared for Action-Packed Weekend in Vegas

Line Prepared for Action-Packed Weekend in Vegas
 
Mooresville, N.C., April 2, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line always enjoys the twice-yearly stop at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and last season, the two-time series champion made a strong start at the premier facility as the low qualifier at both the spring and fall events. Line will be looking to turn another strong qualifying performance into a solid raceday outing at this weekend’s SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, the fourth of 24 on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour, in order to score the second Las Vegas win of his career.
 
In addition to a pair of outstanding qualifying showings last season, Line collected No. 1 qualifier awards in Las Vegas in the fall in both 2004 – his first full season in the Pro Stock category – and 2006. The second-generation racer was victorious at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in 2008 and finished in the final round at the facility on three other occasions, including runner-up finishes to Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson in the fall of 2004 and 2010.
 
“The Summit Racing team has been really good in Las Vegas more than once, and we’ve certainly been working hard to improve our program lately so that we can build on the success that we’ve had in the past,” said Line. “We’ve been focused on gaining performance, and Team Summit has done quite a bit of testing since we left the last race in Gainesville. I can’t tell you that our Chevy Camaros will be the fastest cars at the racetrack, but we’re going to give it our best attempt. Hopefully, all of our hard work will show once we get to Las Vegas.”
 
Performing well in Las Vegas is always a high priority for the Mooresville, N.C.-based team as a return to The City That Never Sleeps marks a return to the home base for team owners Ken and Judy Black, and the spring event is one of the favored excursions on the circuit for the driven team as it is one of three backed by their greatest supporter, Summit Racing.
 
“Both of the races at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are extremely special to us because Ken and Judy are here, and this race is even more special because it’s a Summit Racing race,” said Line. “The truth is, it’s wildly important for us to do well at every race we go to, but we really want to do well here for the Summit Racing folks, who are so good to us. We’d like them to feel that they’re getting a bang for their buck, and we want to make them proud; the best way to do that is to perform well everywhere, and especially at the races that they sponsor.”
 
Expectations for this weekend’s event are heightened by the scheduled K&N Horsepower Challenge, a bonus event for the Pro Stock competitors that will be contested on Saturday with a $50,000 prize awarded to the winner in addition to a coveted, unique trophy. The bonus event pits eight of the top qualifying Pro Stock drivers against one another in a three-round shootout. Line has raced in the K&N Horsepower Challenge eight times, and three times he was a finalist but has yet to close the deal.
 
“Winning the K&N Horsepower Challenge is way up there on the list of things I want to accomplish in my career,” said Line. “We certainly appreciate the K&N folks, not only for the good product that they make, but also that they’re willing to put on that race for the Pro Stock cars. It’s a really cool race, and one that we always look forward to. Someone is going to win that title, and hopefully it will be a Summit Racing Camaro.”
 
Line and teammate Anderson are most assuredly in a position to make a play for each of the available trophies in their respective Summit Racing Chevy Camaros this weekend in Las Vegas, and a recent test session in prime conditions yielded inspiring numbers exceeding the current national record for e.t. to really whet the team’s shared appetite for success. Although the test session took place in conditions that may not be found at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Summit Racing group is armed for whatever the days ahead will bring.
 
“There are a lot of really exciting things happening in Las Vegas, and the KB Racing team has done everything we can to make sure that we are extremely prepared and everything is in place for a successful weekend,” said Line. “This is definitely a big one, and we want to do well.”