Line Provisional No. 1 Qualifier at NHRA Sonoma Nationals
SONOMA, Calif., July 25, 2014 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line came to Sonoma on the heels of a No. 1 qualifier award earned last week in Denver, and already he is heavy in the hunt for a repeat at Sonoma Raceway. Line, a 36-time No. 1 qualifier, clocked a best time of 6.550-second at 210.93 mph on the first day of the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, a race that Line has won twice, to end the first day of the event as the provisional low qualifier.
“The racetrack was very good. It’s always good here,” said Line. “Sonoma Raceway is a great place, and Team Summit loves racing here. We must because we’ve probably been as successful at this racetrack as we have at any of them.”
The day didn’t start out so bright, though, as Line pulled through the waterbox in the first qualifying session, did his burnout, and then lost power to his Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro. He could not make the run.
“It was a freak issue,” said Line. “The eyelet on the battery cable just snapped – that’s something new, and it’s never done that before. I’m almost glad I lost in the semifinals last week, because otherwise that would have happened in the final round.”
The weather in Sonoma was unusually hot on Friday, with temperatures soaring near 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the track temperature hovering near a scorching 135 degrees. The weather for Saturday is predicted to be cooler.
“This was a good starting point, and we’ll definitely be faster tomorrow,” said Line. “So will everybody else, so we’ll just have to do a better job to keep that No. 1 spot. Anytime it’s cooler for these naturally aspirated engines, that’s a big deal, and everybody gets a little more acclimated to the racetrack on the second day of the race. They’re chiseling on their tune-up and making it just a little bit better, so even if the weather is the same tomorrow, I still think that everyone will probably go a little bit faster. We had a pretty big headwind tonight, and based on past history here, tomorrow there will probably be a tailwind in the morning. I don’t know that this will hold, but hopefully a Summit Racing Camaro will still be at the top when the day is done.”