CHEVROLET RACING – NHRA AT TOPEKA
28TH NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS
HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA
TOPEKA, KANSAS
MAY 22, 2016
Chevrolet Driver Post-Race Quotes
An interview with Pro Stock winner Jason Line, KB Racing, Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS:
Q: What a weekend you’ve had.
JASON LINE: I haven’t had too many good days in Topeka, Kansas, before today. It was a great weekend and I thank all the fans for coming out. Nobody really knows what a big deal this is to me. I’ve waited 13 years, but finally got it right. It was an exciting day for our whole team.
Q: Between the semifinals and final round, there was a quick turnaround time. Take us through it.
JASON LINE: I had a Mello Yello while waiting. The guys worked on the car but didn’t touch the tune-up; we kind of let it be. It was hectic for them and not for me. To turn it around that fast kind of adds some excitement when you have to do it that fast.
Q: Every possible round of competition you’ve been in this year.
JASON LINE: Yeah, that’s kind of insane. My guys, they don’t like time off. They work very hard and the whole season has been exciting.
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPOMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “If you ain’t first you’re last like Ricky Bobby says. It was a great day for KB Racing but I am disappointed because I want to beat the guy. He is bad to the bone right now, just absolutely bad to the bone. Our Summit Chevys are fantastic and his has been just about unbeatable. He is a tough out, that is all I can say. It was a great drag race, great Summit side-by-side race at Heartland Park Topeka. I can’t be that disappointed but you are darn right I wanted that trophy. I am just going to have to find a way to earn it from him. He is a tough cat, and he doesn’t like to lose and I don’t like to lose. Obviously I hired one tough assassin when I hired him a few years ago. I knew it when I did and knew he had killer instincts and I expect no less from him. It’s painful when you lose to him but I sure wouldn’t want it any other way. I am proud of him.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; lost in Round 2): “We didn’t actually show it there on that last run but we improved on some staging and reaction times this week. That time there I just got antsy and my foot came off the pedal and I rolled forward. Bad deal for me and just no concentration, but I think we were going to run pretty good there. I am going to go run some Stock and Comp next week, have a good time, and get this out of my head. Then head to Epping and try to do better.”
DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN RACING, RAY SKILLMAN CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (lost in Round 1): “We are kind of stumped. We tried some really weird stuff and the car just does the same thing. We don’t understand and it’s like the car has a governor on it. We are trying to figure it out. It’s kind of mystery to us right now for a lack of a better description.”
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOEW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; lost in Round 1): “I guess we had some uncertainty. We did a last-second lane swap, which is no big deal. After that, I had decided when I let the clutch out we were done for because it wasn’t going anywhere. We wish we had more time (off) because we have some ideas (to improve). We are getting a little better, but we still need more.”
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “Setting that national record is pretty outstanding. We’re the first one to put a number on the board like that, and I don’t think a female has done that in about 23 years. So it’s pretty cool to hold a record like that and something that my team will always hang onto. We obviously would have liked to perform better. I struggled in the first round; had a terrible reaction time and should have just let it go. To go into the second round when you’re already beating yourself up and know you have to overcome and cut a killer light is definitely difficult. I wish I wouldn’t have done that (red light) and I think it would have played out a little differently. I was really pumped up and going after him (Antron Brown). Now we have a weekend off and I’ll just have to put it behind me and we’ll get back on it in Epping.”
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; lost in semifinals): “We had a great weekend out here at Heartland Park Topeka. My Traxxas team really had to hustle to get this car ready for the semifinal round. It was chaos in the pits. All of our teams came together to help us get there. We pulled up and Tim Wilkerson had crashed right ahead of us; kind of oiled the left lane a little bit, which was the lane Matt Hagan had picked. They got both the lanes cleaned up and ready to go and we had a last-minute lane swap so we had to move back over to the left lane. Unfortunately, our car went straight up into tire smoke, but I’m proud of my team. They worked their butts off this weekend and I had a good light in the semis so I’m excited to get to Epping in two weeks.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (lost in Round 2): “That was a close race and it just shows you how tough this class is. We fell off a little bit but I am encouraged by how this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro is running. We got down the track every run except one and we are getting good data. We will head back to the shop and get ready for four in a row in a couple weeks.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO ZONE PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (lost in Round 1): ““It has been a tough last couple of weeks. We got the new Chevrolet and then had the incident on Friday. We brought out a new chassis yesterday and had to start all over. I am really proud of my team and how well all these PEAK guys have pulled together. They led the charge and put this car back together after a tough Saturday of qualifying. The new Camaro body is already headed back to Indy. I am going to be in the shop tomorrow and our guys will have already started working on it today. We should have it back in paint in time to get it to Epping unless there is a major problem.”
