Strong Qualifying Has Line Starting No. 2 at NHRA Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif., August 1, 2015 – Jason Line was a strong performer during qualifying for the 28th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals, and he narrowly missed putting his Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro on the pole. Starting from the No. 2 position, his best start since he was the low qualifier earlier this year in Atlanta, Line will race newcomer Aaron Strong in the first round on Sunday at one of Team Summit’s most successful racetracks on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.
The first day of qualifying was the strongest for Line, who put up two good runs and was afforded the opportunity on Saturday to try a few different combinations in preparation for Sunday in Sonoma.
On the first day of the event, Line clocked a very encouraging 6.519-second pass at 211.69 mph in his Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro, which was the second quickest pass of the round and only behind his Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who was on the pole after the first session. Friday’s second session was the breeding ground for another pair of good runs for Team Summit, and Line recorded a 6.507, 212.26 – again, second quickest of the session and good for two bonus points.
Line clocked a 6.539, 211.99 in the third session on Saturday and finished qualifying with a 6.541 at 211.76. The final two qualifying runs took place under warmer conditions that will likely be much closer to what is expected for raceday.
“We fell off a little bit on the last two runs, and they weren’t as good as we wanted them to be, but maybe I tried a couple too many things,” said Line. “All in all, it’s been a good weekend though. I am extremely proud that we have not just our two Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros in the top half, but also all four of the KB Racing-powered Chevrolet Camaros [including the Camaros driven by Bo Butner and Vincent Nobile]. That has been a challenge for us, and I’m proud that we did that here. It’s hard to do.”
Line, a three-time Sonoma winner in five final rounds, will be looking to defend the title he earned there last season.
“We should have a good day tomorrow. We wanted to have the No. 1 qualifier in our camp, but when it comes down to it, winning for our KB Racing team is what really matters,” said Line. “Our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros are really good racecars, and I’m not interested in sharing them with anyone else. We have a good shot tomorrow.”