A Good Day in Bristol for Line and the One Year Old Blue Summit Racing Camaro
BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 16, 2013) – Pro Stock driver Jason Line came to Bristol Dragway to mark the one-year anniversary of the debut of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, and he hoped to celebrate with a win. Although a trophy wasn’t ultimately in the cards for Line at the 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, he saw another respectable outing with a top half qualifying effort and a trip to the semifinals on Father’s Day.
Line raced alongside the quickest cars in the category during the second round of qualifying at the event when his 6.661-second blast was third quickest of the session and good for a bonus qualifying point. His performance on the first day held his place in the qualifying order, and Line started fifth on raceday on the opposite side of the ladder from Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who was debuting a brand new Camaro of his own.
In the first round, Mooresville, N.C.-based Line won an impressively close and thrilling match with Vincent Nobile. Former Sportsman standout Line took a .001-second advantage at the starting line and then crossed the finish line first, 6.710 to 6.711, for a slim yet rewarding .002-second margin of victory.
Line was on task in the second round to knock out Shane Gray, the driver he beat in the Houston final round earlier this season. Line clocked a .027 reaction and moved ahead to win with a 6.719 that was unchallenged; Gray was too quick at the hit and left the starting line .006-second early with the red light glowing.
The day was heating up and teammate Anderson was working his way up on the other side of the ladder. Twice before the Summit Racing teammates had met in the final round, and both were eager for another all-Summit final at the beautiful facility nestled in the tree-lined mountains (Line won in 2006 and Anderson got the nod in 2004). It was not to be, however; Line’s Summit Racing Camaro shook hard off the starting line and veered fiercely to the centerline and he had no choice but to lift and give up on the run.
“It’s very aggravating,” admitted Line, who leaves Bristol holding onto the No. 5 position in the Mello Yello Series standings. “But Rodger Brogdon was the guy in the other lane, and he went on to win the race. It was his first win, and he’s a good guy. I have to say that it’s nice to see him win. You want to see everybody have a chance. I don’t ever want him to beat me again, but I’m happy for Rodger today.
“We had some luck today with my Summit Racing Camaro, and you absolutely need to have luck, so that was a good thing. We’ve certainly had worse days at the racetrack, and we can definitely see that we are gradually making the progress that we want to see. Greg and I both won a couple of rounds, and that was good for all of us. It was a nice Father’s Day, and my family was here so I got to spend it with them – all in all, it was a good day for the Summit Racing team.”
