Line sees preparation begin to pay off on first day of Mile-High Nationals
DENVER, Colo., July 18, 2014 – Jason Line and his Summit Racing team opted not to test their Chevrolet Camaros ahead of the 35th annual Mile-High NHRA Nationals, and their decision to stay back at the race shop instead and work on their engine program proved to be a wise choice on the first day of the event. Line made two swift and impressive runs down the quarter-mile at Bandimere Speedway, clearly unaffected by the thin air of the high-altitude facility, and landed square in the No. 2 spot in the qualifying order.
“To be honest, it’s so difficult to make Pro Stock cars run fast up here that this is somewhat surprising – but it’s very satisfying,” admitted Line, who has qualified in the top half of the field at all but one event so far this season. “We’ve definitely made things better lately, but it hadn’t shown up yet. Now, it’s finally starting to.”
Beneath a clear blue sky and with temperatures hovering in the mid 80 degree range, Line vaulted off the starting line in the first session of qualifying and flew to a 6.967-second pass at 197.10 mph. Immediately, he was in the No. 2 position, while teammate Greg Anderson, driving the white Summit Racing Camaro, was in the No. 4 spot on a 6.986, 197.45 blast.
The duo proved that their steady start was no fluke as they came back in the second qualifying round with still more to show. Anderson improved to a 6.972, 197.68 while Line effectively protected the No. 2 position with an incredible 6.929 at 197.97. His pass trailed the low qualifier and track-record holder by just .001-second.
“This is the tip of the iceberg, and there is more to come,” said Line. “We have a long way to go, but right now, I’m thrilled. The fact that my Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro ran as fast as it did is just a little bit of a bonus – there is more left, and we can definitely go faster. I’m very excited because some of the things we’ve been working on are finally coming to fruition. I’m extremely optimistic.”