Line Preparing to Make Headway on Raceday in Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn., June 20, 2015 – NHRA Pro Stock driver Jason Line was looking for a smooth weekend at the 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, but the driver of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro was faced with challenges during qualifying. On Sunday at Bristol Dragway, however, the two-time 2015 winner plans for all of the pieces to fall into place.
In the first round of qualifying Line was sent right into the No. 5 spot as his blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro clocked a respectable 6.689-second pass at 206.35 mph. The second session, however, proved to be more of a challenge, and he slowed to a 6.695 at 203.28 while others picked up. Line ended the first day of qualifying in the No. 12 position.
He and the KB Racing team’s spirits were somewhat brightened with a promising 6.674 at 206.29 in the opening round on Saturday that was very delayed following a group of rain showers that moved through the area.
Line moved up to the No. 8 spot, and in the final session his improved 6.659 at 205.26 was promising but did not bring about a higher perch in the qualifying order. He landed in the No. 9 spot – an unfortunate and surprising position that marks the first time the two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion has qualified in the bottom half of the field for the first time since the Epping race in 2014.
“We definitely didn’t make the right decisions today,” said Line, who was No. 3 in the standings entering the event. “It was a crazy day, though, and there was a lot of stuff going on. But we know what our Summit Racing team is capable of, and we’ll be better for tomorrow and ready for the first round.
Line’s first-round opponent will be Drew Skillman. Notably, Line was the first Pro Stock driver to whom the first-year professional competitor lost. The two squared off for the trophy at the first race of 2015, the NHRA Winternationals, where Line was victorious.
“It should be a good race,” said Line, the 2006 Bristol winner. “We have raced a few times since then, but hopefully tomorrow we’ll have the same outcome in the first round that we had in Pomona at the beginning of the year, and then we’ll take it from there. Tonight, we just have to go back and look at all of our notes, and really try to go back to square one. Our Summit Racing Chevy Camaro is a really good car, we just turned a couple knobs in the wrong direction. We’ll get it right tomorrow.”
Event Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sunday, June 21: Final eliminations starting with Top Fuel at 12 PM