Line’s Chevrolet Camaro Among the Quickest on Raceday at U.S. Nationals
BROWNSBURG, Ind., September 2, 2013 – Pro Stock driver Jason Line exchanged his blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro for the silver car piloted by teammate Greg Anderson earlier this season just before the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis, and the trade-in proved effective as he had one of the quickest cars during eliminations at the most revered and historic race on NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.
Although somewhat disappointed by a disjointed group of qualifying sessions that included hot and sticky conditions as well as a thunderous downpour that washed away one round of the anticipated five, Line qualified his new ride in the No. 7 position with a best time of 6.645, 207.98 recorded in a session where he stood out as the only driver to improve.
Line maintained the position that he had the best car on the property at Lucas Oil Raceway, and he and teammate Greg Anderson had exceptionally well-matched cars on raceday, with each of the Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros crossing the finish line with a 6.624-second blast in their respective first round matches and the KB Racing duo tied for third-quickest of the opening act and second-quickest of the Chevrolets, an honor that would hold throughout eliminations. The only quicker Chevrolet on the property on raceday belonged to event winner Mike Edwards.
“There is some sense of pride in making gains over where we were earlier in the season, and we’re definitely better than we were even just a month ago,” said Line, who utilized his 6.624 at 208.68 mph to oust Pro Stock returner Curt Steinbach in the first round before he was felled by V. Gaines in the quarterfinals, 6.644 to 6.625.
“The truth is that we still have a lot of work to do if we want to make a good impression in the Countdown. Team Summit has made a lot of good decisions lately, and we plan to continue doing that and picking up as much as we can. We aren’t as fast as we want to be by any means, but we can and will get there. This is a great group of people who work very hard, and this week we are going to get right back to testing on the racetrack. The trucks have already left for home, and we’re on the way to a pretty important test session at zMAX Dragway before the first race of the Countdown.”
Line, a two-time series champion, will enter the Countdown to the Championship in the No. 6 position, one spot above Anderson. He says that the current plan is to continue driving the silver Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
“We felt like this car was a closer match to Greg’s white Summit Racing Camaro, and clearly, we were correct in our line of thinking,” said Line. “Now the goal is obviously to get them both faster. It’s always a race in this class to gain horsepower and speed, but now the pressure is on. We don’t plan on wasting any time.”
