Line Relishes Opportunity to Shine Once Again at Raceway Park
Mooresville, N.C., May 29, 2013 – Jason Line is positively filled with enthusiasm at the prospect of returning to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown this weekend for the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals, the ninth of 24 events on NHRA’s 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. Last season, Line enjoyed a near-ideal showing as he wheeled his Summit Racing stead to a start from the No. 1 position and then advanced to the final round on raceday.
Last season, the only driver who could best Line was his Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who was piloting a brand new Chevrolet Camaro and got the win light in the final round. Collectively, the Mooresville, N.C.-based duo has racked up a remarkable eight wins in 10 finals at the North Eastern facility. From 2004, Line’s debut season as a Pro Stock driver, to 2006, he was unstoppable and collected three consecutive victories.
“Englishtown is a really cool track, and there is a lot of history there – and a lot of history for this Summit Racing team,” said Line, the current track-record holder at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park with a 6.508-second blast recorded in 2011. “It’s definitely one of the tracks I really enjoy, and the fans are just hardcore race fans. It makes it a lot of fun to race there, and I look forward to going there every year.
“This year is certainly no exception. It should be fun, and hopefully it will give us a chance to rebound from Topeka. We didn’t feel like we had a very good outing there, and we’re all eager to go out and get back to form with our Summit Racing Chevy Camaros.”
Last season, the title was up for grabs in the final round – but so was a milestone for the Ken Black-owned team: the 100th win for KB Racing. When Anderson got the nod, it was a crushing blow for Line.
“To be honest, I really like to win, but I’m a guy who likes to go fast more than anything,” said Line, a respected dyno operator whose heart is in engine building and digging up horsepower. “But that particular race was important to me. I wasn’t with KB Racing to give Ken Black his first win, but I had it set in my heart and my head that I was going to give him his 100th. It was a disappointing loss, and it was bittersweet, really. But a lot of things have changed since then, and I’d be happy to get my rear-end kicked by Greg Anderson in the final this weekend.”
The challenge this weekend will be to master the racing surface in what have been predicted as very warm conditions.
“When it gets hot, it’s going to get really greasy,” said Line. “It will be tough because you already have a track with a very high barometer, and that has a big effect on the Pro Stock cars and how much power the engines can make. Couple that with a lot of sunshine, and it’s definitely a challenge to get hold of the racetrack. The comfort in that is that it’s the same for everybody. We haven’t shined quite like we’re use to lately, and this will give us a good opportunity to work on that.”
