Summit Racing–Line Challenged but Ready to Bounce Back on Sunday in Norwalk

Line Challenged but Ready to Bounce Back on Sunday in Norwalk
 
Event:  7th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Location: Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio
Day/Date: Saturday, July 6, 2013
 
Jason Line and the Summit Racing Pro Stock team are eager to take the lessons they learned during qualifying at Summit Motorsports Park and turn them into a trophy on raceday at their sponsor’s main event, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Starting as the No. 9 qualifier, Line will have his work cut out for him as he braces for a first-round match with his KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson for only the fifth time in their history of competiting together.
 
Line has had a top-half car all year but was uncharacteristically challenged during qualifying in Norwalk. Fresh out of the trailer, the two-time world champion wheeled the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a decent 6.645 at 208.52 mph that was seventh quickest of the session for the factory hot rods. However, in the second session, he began a journey down a tough road when a part gave way in the engine. Line mustered a troubled 8.51 and was prepared to come back hitting heavy on Saturday but was surprised by a racetrack that had morphed into a character quite different than the hospitable surface of the first day of the event.
 
“[The car] had too much wheel speed and spun the tire,” said Line. “It did the same thing on both runs today, just shook the tires. Yesterday we had a great racetrack and were too safe, we didn’t give it enough power, but today we tried to apply more power and the racetrack was not the same. A few people had problems with it, but that’s not an excuse for us. The Summit Racing crew is a great team with a lot of knowledge, we just missed it, but you can bet we will be doing everything we can to make sure we don’t miss it tomorrow.”
 
On Sunday, Line and Anderson will meet in the first round, and the winner is assured a quarterfinals meeting with Allen Johnson, the No. 1 qualifier who was afforded a bye run based on the 15-car field.
 
“Really, it doesn’t matter which of the Summit Racing Camaros advances to the second round,” said Line. “What matters is that we are able to figure out what it’s going to take to keep on going until we get one of our cars to the winner’s circle tomorrow. I don’t like having to race my teammate in the first round, but there is nothing we’d like better than to turn this into something positive. The Summit Racing team will be pulling together to do whatever it takes to get that trophy.”