A Successful Family Affair for Line on First Day in Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn., August 21, 2015 – The first day of professional qualifying for Summit Racing driver Jason Line at the 34th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals was also the first day of eliminations for the diverse competitor as he knocked out round one in the Stock Eliminator category. He was not alone in advancing from the opening round; each member of his immediate family also moved ahead. In Pro Stock, Line put his KB Racing-powered Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro in the top half of the field for a solid ending to Friday.

Racing in the Stock Eliminator category this weekend in Brainerd are Line’s parents Lawrence and Maxine, as well as his brothers Lance and Ben, while sister Stephanie Diekema is competing in Super Stock. For Line, the weekend has already been memorable.

Regarding each of the family members winning their respective first-round matches at the racetrack where they have all raced for many years, the Wright, Minnesota-native said, “It’s really cool, and that hasn’t happened before. We’re all pretty happy tonight. It’s been many years since we’ve even had the chance to all race together like this, and we’re all getting older so you just don’t know if you’ll get to do it again. It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed it. I haven’t had a chance to really visit with everyone very much, but it’s been fun.”

In the Pro Stock category, Line took to the racetrack with his blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro and first clocked a quick 6.618-second pass at 208.55 mph that sent him to the No. 3 position. In the later round, he was 6.630, 208.68 at the finish line stripe and ended the day in the No. 4 spot.

“We didn’t make great runs today, but anymore unless you make a perfect run, you aren’t going to be a top three car,” said Line, the driver of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro. “But we can absolutely go faster. We just have to do a little better job tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”