JASON LINE WINS SUMMIT RACING NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS
COMMERCE, Ga., May 17, 2015 – It was a great day for Summit Racing and an excellent day for Pro Stock driver Jason Line on Sunday at the 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. In a final-round battle between teammates, Line came out on top and scored the 37th Pro Stock title of his career with a defeat of Greg Anderson. It was the fourth all-Summit Pro Stock final in Atlanta and the 24th time Line and Anderson have gone head-to-head for the title.
In addition to the Summit Racing Pro Stock final, Summit Racing-sponsored drivers Kenny Lang (Pro Mod) and Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) won coveted trophies.
“Today was a great day for Summit Racing, and it was also a great day for KB Racing,” said Line, who now has two wins in the Peach State in six Atlanta final rounds. “It’s the way you picture it, the way you dream of it happening. It usually doesn’t end up that way, but today it did. It was a phenomenal day.”
Line, the No. 1 qualifier, began eliminations with a winning 6.576-second pass at 210.50 mph as first-round opponent Alan Prusiensky fouled out. With lane choice, Line held an advantage over long-time Pro Stock runner Larry Morgan – but just to drive it home, the pilot of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro launched with a .034-second reaction time and left Morgan and his .064 start at a decided disadvantage. Line extended his lead as the two raced down the quarter-mile dragstrip and advanced with a 6.573, 210.64 to 6.565, 212.29.
In the semifinals, the two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion squared off with Rodger Brogdon, the same driver he raced in the semis in Gainesville on his way to the most recent previous all-Summit Racing money round. A 6.585, 211.39 got the job done and shut out Brogdon’s 6.635, 211.33. From there, it was on to the final, where Line would forfeit lane choice to KB Racing teammate Anderson.
Although Anderson had the car to beat all day long, recording low e.t. through each round of eliminations, it was Line with the upper hand this time around. Anderson left first, .013 to .057, but a minor mechanical issue shockingly slowed his red Summit Racing Camaro. Line surged ahead for a 6.606, 211.33 victory over Anderson’s 8.628, 114.39.
“There have been plenty of times when I’ve done a really good job and had a great car but lost, and today was different – I got a little bit lucky,” admitted Line, who earned his third consecutive No. 1 for the season in Atlanta and the 41st low qualifier award of his career. “I was fast in qualifying, but today I wasn’t fast. Today I had some good fortune. Greg was really fast and had the car to beat, and he was driving better than anyone else out here. He should have won, but this time I was the lucky guy.
“Greg wants to win more than anybody I’ve ever met, that’s for sure, but that’s what makes him the best. I’m excited for Greg right now; his car is coming around, and with as good as he’s driving, he’s going to hurt a lot of people. The Summit Racing team is definitely going in the right direction.”
The final outcome of the day was nearly disrupted in the first round when Anderson’s throttle revved high on the burnout and would not settle. A quick-thinking crew member jumped in with a solution to a problem that seemed, for the moment, insurmountable.
“DJ Minter saved our bacon today,” said Line, who took over the points lead with the victory. “Before we raced the final, I told Greg that no matter what happens today, we were giving the trophy to DJ. He’s a heck of a good worker, and a heck of a good guy. He had his thinking cap on and fixed the problem, otherwise we wouldn’t have had two Summit Racing Camaros in the final. I thank him for that, and I thank the whole Summit Racing team and everyone at Summit Racing Equipment for all they do for us. It feels awful good to win, and we’re really happy we were able to get the job done here today.”