Summit Racing–Line Elevated by Overall Performance at Mile-High Nationals

Line Elevated by Overall Performance at Mile-High Nationals

DENVER, Colo., July 20, 2014 – The 35th annual Mile-High NHRA Nationals moved to the top of favored races this weekend for Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line. The Mooresville, N.C.-based driver was in command of a very powerful car as he put his Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro on the pole and then blasted through eliminations en route to a semifinals finish. The ending to the weekend was a bit earlier than he had hoped, but Line could hardly hang his head over the powerful performance at one of the most challenging racetracks on NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

Line had a fearsome car in qualifying and dropped a bomb in the final session as he unseated Allen Johnson to take over the No. 1 qualifying position with a deafening 6.924-second run at 198.70 mph. The feat was particularly notable as Line was competing in territory that is a huge curveball for the naturally aspirated hot rods – the thin air at high altitude robs horsepower, and horsepower is the key to the Pro Stock game.

On Sunday, Line met with Nebraskan part-time racer Steve Kalkowski and made the quickest pass of the round in a decisive defeat of his challenger. His 6.931 at 198.61 was good for lane choice over Vincent Nobile, whose power is supplied by the KB Racing engine shop. Nobile grabbed an immediate yet slight edge over Line as the pair launched down the racetrack – the latter’s .012-second reaction time was .017-second quicker than that of Line – but the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro quickly overcame the disadvantage to score a 6.932, 198.32 win over Nobile’s 6.979, 197.48.

Again, Line recorded low elapsed time of the round and secured lane choice over his next opponent – this time it would be Jeg Coughlin in the opposite lane. Line was loaded for bear and out of the gate in a remarkable .017-second, and when he crossed the finish line it was with the quickest run of eliminations, a 6.924 at 198.64 mph. Unfortunately, his opponent had a near-psychic reaction time and his .002 made the difference at the top end.

“Right now, I can’t say it’s bittersweet, it’s just a little bitter, really,” said Line, who remained No. 4 in the Pro Stock standings. “At the same time, we did run very well this weekend with our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros, and it’s a tight field. I don’t know what more you could ask for than to come out here and be No. 1 qualifier and run low e.t. of eliminations with a .017 light.

“We did everything but win this weekend, and the KB Racing guys did a really good job. Sometimes you’ll have days like this – and it’s a little frustrating, but at the same time it’s also encouraging. We came to a place where we don’t normally run well, and we made five runs in a row that were low e.t. I’m excited to get to the next race, that’s for sure. All in all, a good weekend for Team Summit.”