CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA, TOPEKA, KANSAS
MAY 22, 2016
Chevrolet Wins Eighth Pro Stock Race in a Row
• Pro Stock points leader Jason Line earns fifth victory of season
• Defeats teammate Greg Anderson for second time in final round
• Courtney Force advances to Funny Car semifinals for third event in row
• Brittany Force sets national record for elapsed time in Top Fuel
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 22, 2016) – The 13th time was a charm for Jason Line. Line, who had not reached the final round or qualified No. 1 at the National Hot Rod Association Kansas Nationals in his 12 previous starts, defeated KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson to win the Pro Stock class at Heartland Park Topeka.
Line, the No. 1 qualifier in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, recorded his fifth victory in eight Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events this season. He has reached the final round in every race.
“Nobody really knows what a big deal this is to me. I’ve waited 13 years, but finally got it right. It was an exciting day for our whole team,” said Line, the Pro Stock points leader who earned his 42nd career win.
Anderson, who has won the other three races and twice been the runner-up, had a slight starting line advantage. But Line’s blue Camaro SS scored a .009-second decision (6.664 to 6.687).
“It was a great day for KB Racing but I am disappointed because I want to beat the guy,” said Anderson, who has four victories at Topeka. “He is bad to the bone right now, just absolutely bad to the bone. Our Summit Chevys are fantastic and his has been just about unbeatable.”
In the semifinals, Line beat Shane Gray and Anderson defeated Allen Johnson.
Gray, who had been 1-6 in round wins this season in the Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeated Jeg Coughlin in the first round and Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the second round.
“The car is running great,” said Gray, who was the No. 4 qualifier for the second consecutive race. “I need to sharpen up my driving. I’m not pleased with that, but I just need to do it and not talk about it.”
No. 2 qualifier Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS) fell in the second round. Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS), No. 6 qualifier Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Aaron Strong (Strong Trucking/FigSpeed Chevrolet Camaro SS) were eliminated in the first round.
Courtney Force, the No. 4 qualifier in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, advanced to the semifinals for the third consecutive race. Force’s holeshot-aided 3.961-second pass in Round 2 against Alexis DeJoria sent her into the semis against top qualifier and eventual class winner Matt Hagan. Force has qualified in the top four in seven consecutive races.
John Force (Advance Auto PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS), who is a six-time winner at Topeka, lost on a holeshot in the first round to Del Worsham. It was the 79th meeting between the drivers – the sixth-most head-to-head matchups of any pro drivers.
John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight, who was the No. 9 qualifier in the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the second round of eliminations.
In Top Fuel, Brittany Force triggered the red light in the second round of eliminations to eventual event runner-up Antron Brown. Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet Dragster, set the national elapsed time record of 3.676 seconds in qualifications Friday and earned the fifth No. 1 qualifier honor of her Top Fuel career. The top qualifier has won three times in the past 20 years at Topeka.
Chevrolet teams have a weekend off before a string of four consecutive events starting June 3-5 with the NHRA New England Nationals at Epping, New Hampshire.
“Congratulations to Jason Line for the win in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS and the entire KB Racing team, which continues its domination of the Pro Stock class,” Chevrolet Racing NHRA program manager Roger Allen said. “Also, congratulations are extended to Brittany Force for her scintillating run in the Monster Energy Chevrolet Dragster on Friday in setting the Top Fuel elapsed time national record. Her 3.676-second pass still had the fans buzzing on Sunday.
“And Courtney Force continues to make strong runs in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS by advancing to the semifinals for the third race in a row. After a well-deserved weekend off, it will be back to racing in New Hampshire. Chevrolet teams and drivers will be prepared to continue their success.”
In Stock Eliminator, the top three qualifiers drove Chevrolets. Ryan Montford of Wichita, Kansas, and Jeff Lopez – the Nos. 1 and 2 qualifiers, respectively, in a Chevrolet COPO Camaro – advanced to the fourth round of eliminations. In Super Stock, Todd Patterson reached the third round of eliminations in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
An interview with Pro Stock winner JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
THIS WAS YOUR FIFTH WIN OF THE YEAR AND 42ND OF YOUR CAREER. WAS A PERFECT WEEKEND FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU GOT EVERY POINT THAT YOU COULD. TELL US ABOUT IT
“It was. You just described it. It was the perfect weekend. I was just joking and I said that Topeka was my new favorite place because I have never done anything good here. Now I have done two good things here. So it was an exciting weekend for me and the fact that we didn’t mess it up and actually put our Summit Chevrolet Camaro in the winner circle is really big deal to me. I know I talk about it all the time, but it’s nice to win at someplace that you never have before. It feels really good and I can’t stop smiling.”
CAN YOU PUT A FINGER ON WHY YOU HAVE HAD SUCH BAD LUCK HERE AT TOPEKA?
“I don’t think it was back luck, I just did a bad job (laughs). So I don’t think that luck had anything to do with it. There were times when I had good cars here, I just didn’t drive well. Today I did just enough to make sure my win lights came on. So it was just a great day and great weekend.”
HOW DID IT FEEL TO KEEP THE RUN GOING WITH GREG ANOTHER WEEK?
“It felt better when my light came on. When I left I didn’t think I nailed it and I didn’t. I wasn’t late by any means because normally for me a 33 is pretty good but I didn’t think I got it as good as I should have. I thought to myself, ‘Oh boy, here it goes again. Going to have to take heat again for losing on another holeshot.’ But when my light came on I was pretty excited. He is tough to beat. He has more wins than anyone else so you don’t want to look forward to racing him in the final round. Especially because I know he has good equipment, he has good stuff. It’s not like he lucked his way to the finals. So it was just a great weekend for us.”
YOU SAID LAST WEEK THAT YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BEAT GREG ON A HOLESHOT, SO IS THIS BETTER?
“Yes, this was a lot better.”
DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE MORE COMPETITION NOW?
“Absolutely. They have been working and it shows. I hate it but I am happy for them because you don’t want to keep getting beat up all the time. That’s what breeds good competition. So they did what they needed to do. They worked hard and have absolutely made gains. Unfortunately, we are going to have to go back and work harder yet. But that is the great think about NHRA drag racing. It breeds good competition and they are not quitters, they are not going anywhere, and neither are we.”
WITH SOME OF THE OTHER FINALS BEING SO WILD, WERE YOU THANKFUL THAT YOURS WAS SORT OF NORMAL?
“Yeah, mine was relatively calm compared to those two. However, in the semifinals I got down there and put it in fourth gear and it really started to do a power slide. So I had to revert back to my Minnesota driving on snow days. The track was very, very slippery out there. So we managed to get to the finish line without hitting anything. I was grateful for that because these cars don’t drive when they are in yaw. So yes, our finals was a little more calm to drive. Again, just thankful my win light came on.”