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CHANDLER, Ariz. - With an impressive performance, Jason Line reset the Firebird International Raceway record book as qualifying ended today at the 23rd annual NHRA Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals.
Line drove his KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment-backed Pontiac GTO to a track record elapsed time 6.635 seconds and the No. 1 position, the 12th top spot of his short Pro Stock career. His 209.33 mph was only second-best though, as his teammate Greg Anderson set the track record for speed at 209.49 mph, a career best for the three-time champion.
"Awesome. Pretty darn cool," Line said after his track record run in the first session on Saturday. "It (the car) was great in low gear, but rough after that and in the middle, but the numbers don't lie. The numbers say it was a good run."
Line feels that the early performance this season is due to the KB Racing team making a decision to proceed with the development of the GM DRCE3 (General Motors Drag Racing Competition Engine, third generation) during the off-season (from November 2006 through February 2007).
"So far, so good with our DRCE3 engine," said Line. "We're obviously pretty optimistic about it with the first two times out (Pomona and Phoenix) here and we think it's running great. There's a lot of room for improvement in it yet, and we feel like it's got a lot of potential. We'll see. If we can just do the right things to it, and the development goes as planned over the course of the year, it could be really good. Time will tell. We said that about the "2" engine, too, and sometimes it just takes you longer to develop the engine than what you think it's going to, but that's normal. That's engine development."
Line will take on Max Naylor in the opening round tomorrow. Naylor is the No. 16 qualifier in the 16-car Pro Stock field. He recorded an elapsed time of 6.690 seconds at a speed of 206.13 mph.
"We're really struggling with the racetrack," said Line following qualifying. "Honestly, if we can make a nice run I think we'll really lay down a big number, but we're struggling in the first part of the track. All in all you can't complain - we're on the pole and that's about as good as it gets.
"We're very concerned for tomorrow. You're not going to be able to make runs like we made this afternoon and win the race, that's for sure. We're going to have to get our act together and do a better job. It's a tricky racetrack, and we just have to figure it out, that's all. Hopefully we can do that for tomorrow. Today's conditions are similar to what we're going to have tomorrow, so this is what we're going to have to get down and we're going to have to figure it out."
ELIMINATIONS: Final eliminations for all teams begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Time is local Phoenix time (MT) and subject to change.
KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Jason Line Notches 12th No. 1 of his Career at Firebird
CHANDLER, Ariz. - With an impressive performance, Jason Line reset the Firebird International Raceway record book as qualifying ended today at the 23rd annual NHRA Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals.
Line drove his KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment-backed Pontiac GTO to a track record elapsed time 6.635 seconds and the No. 1 position, the 12th top spot of his short Pro Stock career. His 209.33 mph was only second-best though, as his teammate Greg Anderson set the track record for speed at 209.49 mph, a career best for the three-time champion.
"Awesome. Pretty darn cool," Line said after his track record run in the first session on Saturday. "It (the car) was great in low gear, but rough after that and in the middle, but the numbers don't lie. The numbers say it was a good run."
Line feels that the early performance this season is due to the KB Racing team making a decision to proceed with the development of the GM DRCE3 (General Motors Drag Racing Competition Engine, third generation) during the off-season (from November 2006 through February 2007).
"So far, so good with our DRCE3 engine," said Line. "We're obviously pretty optimistic about it with the first two times out (Pomona and Phoenix) here and we think it's running great. There's a lot of room for improvement in it yet, and we feel like it's got a lot of potential. We'll see. If we can just do the right things to it, and the development goes as planned over the course of the year, it could be really good. Time will tell. We said that about the "2" engine, too, and sometimes it just takes you longer to develop the engine than what you think it's going to, but that's normal. That's engine development."
Line will take on Max Naylor in the opening round tomorrow. Naylor is the No. 16 qualifier in the 16-car Pro Stock field. He recorded an elapsed time of 6.690 seconds at a speed of 206.13 mph.
"We're really struggling with the racetrack," said Line following qualifying. "Honestly, if we can make a nice run I think we'll really lay down a big number, but we're struggling in the first part of the track. All in all you can't complain - we're on the pole and that's about as good as it gets.
"We're very concerned for tomorrow. You're not going to be able to make runs like we made this afternoon and win the race, that's for sure. We're going to have to get our act together and do a better job. It's a tricky racetrack, and we just have to figure it out, that's all. Hopefully we can do that for tomorrow. Today's conditions are similar to what we're going to have tomorrow, so this is what we're going to have to get down and we're going to have to figure it out."
ELIMINATIONS: Final eliminations for all teams begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Time is local Phoenix time (MT) and subject to change.
KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti, Mich.
