Line Gears up for Shootout by Scoring Provisional Pole in Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev., April 10, 2015 – Jason Line is heading into the highly anticipated K&N Horsepower Challenge on a hot streak. The driver of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro picked up maximum bonus points as the quickest hot rod in the Pro Stock category on day one of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, and with the special bonus event set to take place on Saturday, the 36-time NHRA Pro Stock winner is eager to continue his charge.
Line was strong in the first session of qualifying, flying to a 6.627-second pass at 208.52 mph that was tied with Erica Enders-Stevens in terms of elapsed time but was faster in speed by .03-second. As the quickest of the session, points-leader Line earned three bonus points, and in the second session, he was again quickest of them all for another three marks.
Surprisingly, although Line’s 6.606-second pass at 208.75 mph was the quickest of all the Pro Stockers for the day, it was not the smooth run that he had been seeking.
“I wasn’t happy when I got out at the top end of the track,” said Line. “Of course we want to come out here and do well in front of our team owners Ken and Judy Black because this is their home race, and we really want to do our best for Summit Racing at their main event. I felt like we blew it; it felt like a bad run. When I found out we ran a 6.606, I was excited – it will absolutely go faster than that, without question. We have a great racecar, and it’s going to get better.”
If it holds, the No. 1 qualifying performance will be the fifth by Line at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including both races held at the facility in 2012.
A three-time finalist in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, the Pro Stock bonus race that pits the seven best-qualifying cars over the course of a full year – plus one fan vote – against one another for a $50,000 payout, Line is determined to finally be the driver with the trophy at the end of the day. He will be racing in the shootout-style event for the 11th time.
“There will be small adjustments that we have to make for tomorrow, but the good news is that our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro responded to the changes we made [between the first and second sessions], and it is definitely going in the right direction,” said Line, who will race Jonathan Gray in the first round of the shootout race. “It’s going to go faster; we have a good racecar. I’m tired of watching everyone else win the K&N Horsepower Challenge, and I want to make it my turn tomorrow. That’s the plan, and we have a hot rod that can do it.”