Another final round for Line to protect the Pro Stock points lead
Madison, Ill., September 28, 2014 – Jason Line is doing a fine job of protecting the points lead in his chase for the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship, and in his quest for the ultimate title, he powered the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro to the 73rd final round of his career and eighth of the season at Gateway Motorsports Park and the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. Line has maintained his grip on the points lead in each of the first three races of the Countdown to the Championship and has been to two final rounds in the six-race playoffs.
On Sunday in St. Louis, Line started from the No. 3 position and began his pursuit of the title with a first-round victory over second-generation drag racer Aaron Stanfield. Line clocked a 6.556-second pass at 211.76 mph in an automatic win over his red-lighting opponent. Round two brought Line up against KB Racing teammate Vincent Nobile, who gets his power from the Mooresville, N.C.-based engine shop.
Nobile’s notoriety in the category as the top leaver (he holds the best starting line reaction time average) didn’t come into play this time around as Line left first, .016-second to .028. Nobile soon fell into trouble and rattled the tires and Line sailed ahead for a 6.567, 211.86 to 19.541 win.
Line, a finalist most recently in the first race of the Countdown (the Carolina Nationals) scored a semifinals meeting with Jeg Coughlin in St. Louis. The two had identical elapsed times in the quarterfinals but Line earned lane choice based on a quicker speed. From there, all the cards fell in his favor as he powered off the starting line first, .024 to .050, and earned the win on a holeshot, 6.595, 211.53 to 6.573, 212.13.
“That was a very important win for the Summit Racing team,” said Line, who most recently beat Coughlin in the Brainerd final round for the trophy. “Anytime we can put the yellow car on the trailer, we’re all happy.”
In the final round, Line and Connolly were worthy opponents as the No. 3 and No. 4 qualifiers, respectively. The two were just .003-second apart in qualifying and the same precise margin apart in elapsed time in the final round – but Connolly was on the quicker end, 6.562, 211.53 to 6.565, 211.66.
“We gained on everyone but one guy today, so I think it’s fair to say that we’ve had worse days,” said Line, who holds a 26 point lead in the standings over Connolly. “In the final, we made an okay run for the lane, but the starting line was tough. We just came up short. The good news is that we still have the points lead, and this is far from over. We’ve got three races left, and the Summit Racing team is going to keep at it.”