Jason Line Remains No. 1 as Qualifying Continues at U.S. Nationals
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., August 30, 2014 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line kept the ball rolling on the second day of qualifying at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and not only kept his possession of the top qualifying spot, but also earned a round win as the semifinals from the rain delayed Brainerd event were contested.
Line, powering the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, opened up the second day of qualifying with a 6.593 at 210.01 mph that bested his previous number by three-hundredths of a second. The session was the perfect warm-up for the last round of the day for the Pro Stock field which would also count as the semifinals for the Lucas Oil Nationals that were meant to conclude in Brainerd two weeks ago.
Squaring off with Dave River, Mooresville, N.C.-based Line raced to an even quicker 6.589 at 209.98 to defeat River’s 6.753 at 204.94. With the semifinals victory, Line was also able to keep hold of the top spot in the qualifying field at the most prestigious and anticipated race on NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. Each of his three runs made so far have been the best of the class, and for each effort he has been awarded three bonus qualifying points. As the incoming points leader, Line is padding his lead with two more rounds of qualifying remaining before the field is set.
“Both runs today were really nice: the first run I over-revved it a little bit in first and second gear, and I felt like there was a little left – but the second run was about as close to making a perfect run as you can get,” said an enthused Line. “I haven’t looked at [the data from the run] yet, but it felt really good. The Summit Racing Camaro is on a rail, and it’s definitely the best racecar that I’ve ever had. That’s a really good feeling, especially in today’s Pro Stock, and it’s taken us a long time to get there. It’s tough to have any kind of an advantage, and right now it appears like we actually have a little one. That’s pretty cool.”
Regarding his race with River, who reached the semifinals for the first time in his career after two monumental round wins over Erica Enders-Stevens and Dave Connolly, Line said, “I was actually glad I didn’t race him at Brainerd because that day was actually pretty good for him. But my car is really fast right now – and I wouldn’t trade it with anybody. Me and the Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, we’re in synch right now, and I’m probably as good as I get at the moment. I’m pretty excited about having such a great racecar to drive. It’s really cool that a Chevrolet Camaro is on the pole at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Hopefully, we can keep it that way.”
Qualifying will continue on Sunday with two more rounds before the field is set for the U.S. Nationals, and the earliest session will include the run-off of the Brainerd final round in which Line will have lane choice over Jeg Coughlin.