Line pleased with improvements, sees room for more on raceday in Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev., October 31, 2015 – Jason Line knew that the great racing surface at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a great foundation for some spectacular runs after the first day of the 15th annual NHRA Nationals, and he was right. On Saturday at the event, Line and his Summit Racing crew cranked it up a notch and were able to keep themselves positioned on the opposite side of the ladder from KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who is currently No. 2 in the Pro Stock points. Line, starting from the No. 4 position, is set-up for a first-round meeting with Kenny Delco.
After clocking a 6.603-second pass at 208.46 mph in the first session on Friday, Line followed up with 6.600, 209.07 in the later round to pick up a bonus qualifying point as the third-quickest car of the session. On Saturday, he started out with an improved 6.599, 209.14 and then concluded qualifying with the second quickest run of the round, a 6.593, 209.39.
“Right now, I feel much better going into raceday than I did this morning,” said Line. “We moved up that last session, and I feel good about the direction we’re going. We didn’t make a good run there, but it was still all right, and there is still something left so tomorrow should be a pretty good day. If I can do a decent job tomorrow, we can go some rounds.”
With a good car under him, Line knows that a good portion of responsibility is on his shoulders, and perhaps that fact is amplified as raceday will take place on Las Vegas-based team owner Ken and Judy Black’s home turf.
“It’s important to do well, but it’s more important than ever because we’re here with our great team owners and the folks from Summit Racing,” said Line, who is No. 7 in the Pro Stock points heading into Sunday at the second-to-last race of the 2015 season. “We want them all to be happy with the outcome of every race, especially this one. To win in Pro Stock, you have to be perfect, and that’s hard to do. But that’s part of the fun in this class. If you can get it done, it’s really satisfying. Hopefully, tomorrow we’re all satisfied at the end of the day.”