CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS
ATLANTA DRAGWAY, COMMERCE, GEORGIA
MAY 15, 2016
Chevrolet Wins Seventh Pro Stock Race in a Row
• Jason Line gives KB Racing another victory
• Defeats teammate Greg Anderson to secure fourth win of season
• Courtney Force advances to Funny Car semifinals, retains points lead
• More strong runs for Brittany Force in Top Fuel
COMMERCE, Ga. (May 15, 2016) – “Finally,” Jason Line said after defeating KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson in the final of the Pro Stock class in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Line continued Chevrolet’s Pro Stock domination in the early rounds of the National Hot Rod Association Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with his fourth victory. Line, who has been to the final in all seven events, had fallen to Anderson in three previous meetings in the finals.
“He’s gotten the best of me and he’s tough,” said Line, who won on a holeshot (6.61 seconds to 6.59) in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS. “If there’s somebody I don’t want to race in the final, it’s him. I want to race him because he’s my teammate, but he is tough to beat. We got it done at the Summit race.”
Line, the Pro Stock points leader, recorded the 41st Pro Stock win of his career, and second in a row at Atlanta. Anderson, a four-time winner at Atlanta, was the No. 1 qualifier for the fourth time this season and 84th of his career.
Anderson defeated Kenny Delco and Line beat Allen Johnson in the semifinals. Delco (JCM Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS) was making his first semifinal appearance since Sonoma in 1990.
Courtney Force entered Funny Car eliminations as the No. 3 qualifier, and advanced to the semifinals in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS. She fell to Matt Hagan, the No. 2 qualifier who went on to win the event, but remains the Funny Car points leader through seven events.
Force, who earned her eighth national Funny Car victory two weeks earlier at Houston, defeated John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight (Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the second round of eliminations with a solid 3.950-second/327.35 mph run. Hight defeated Cruz Pedregon and Force bested Jeff Diehl in Round 1.
John Force (Advance Auto PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS), who was the No. 9 qualifier and is a seven-time winner at Atlanta, lost in the first round to Ron Capps. It was the 81st meeting of the champions – the fifth-most head-to-head meetings between any two drivers in NHRA history.
In Top Fuel, Brittany Force fell in the second round of eliminations to eventual event runner-up J.R. Todd. The No. 6 qualifier defeated Clay Millican in the first round. Force, who is second in the standings, is a two-time winner this season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet Dragster.
“Congratulations to Jason Line on his fourth Pro Stock victory of the season in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS in the event named after KB Racing’s primary sponsor,” Chevrolet Racing NHRA program manager Roger Allen said. “Also, congratulations to his teammate, Greg Anderson, who was the No. 1 qualifier and advanced to the final for the fourth time this season. Courtney Force in Funny Car made some great passes this weekend and continued to impress following her victory at Houston two weeks earlier in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS. She advanced to the semifinals and retains the Funny Car points lead heading to Kansas.”
Chevrolet teams head to the 28th NHRA Kansas Nationals on May 20-22 at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas.
In Super Stock, Dan Fletcher fell in the third round of eliminations and Adam Badgett lost in the second round. In Stock Eliminator, Daren Poole-Adams was the No. 9 qualifier and advanced to the second round before falling.
An interview with Pro Stock winner JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
Q: The dream season continues.
JASON LINE: Yes, it does. If you would have asked me at the start of the year, especially (after) we whined and complained a little bit about the rules change, but I never would have thought that this would be the result of that.
Q: How special is it to win here for Summit? You guys always seem to rise to the occasion.
JASON LINE: Somehow we always seem to dig a little deeper at these races. (Greg Anderson and I) struggled at the starting line. We did not have our shiniest day for sure, but I managed to get it together in the semi and final. Fortunately for me, Greg struggled a little worse than I did today. Any day you win in front of your sponsor it’s a huge day. This is a very tricky racetrack. I haven’t been at an Atlanta track like this ever and we struggled with it. I’m a little bit in awe that I’ve been able to race in all the rounds this year. That’s pretty crazy.
Q: Finally beating Greg in the final. He had beaten you the previous three.
JASON LINE: Finally. He’s the only guy I’ve lost to this year. He’s had my number for sure. It’s fun to be on the other side of that.
Q: It seems the first thing you wanted to see out of the car was a time slip.
JASON LINE: I wanted to see how bad it really was; it was not a great run. We really struggled with the left lane here. Our car was not happy over there at all.
Q: You talk about having so many issues, yet you guys are 1-2-3 every time.
JASON LINE: I think everybody else had the same issues. I think we all struggled equally. It was just a tough racetrack.
Q: In terms of having issues, what kind of issues?
JASON LINE: Well, not a lot of grip out there. You were hanging on for dear life. In the final, I thought I was going to take out the cone at the end of the track. All good and bad things must come to an end, and this will, too. But it sure is good to enjoy the moment.
Q: Do those personal challenges make it tougher for you guys?
JASON LINE: Yes, especially for me. Those demons can get to you, but today was a day I managed to overcome them.