Gainesville, Fla., March 17, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line continued to reel in round wins as NHRA's Mello Yello Drag Racing Series made its annual stop at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville for the 44th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. For the second straight race, Line made his way to the semifinals with his powerful Summit Racing Chevy Camaro.
Line, who has collected four wins in five final rounds at the Gatornationals over the course of his professional career, picked up the win in the first round with the second-quickest time of the day and a slight starting-line advantage to send Rodger Brogdon away empty-handed. Line's lightning-quick 6.492-second journey down the quarter-mile at 212.59 mph eclipsed his opponent's 6.549, 211.10.
Round two brought more of the same, and the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver launched well ahead of V. Gaines to get the win light on a holeshot and score a semifinals meeting with Allen Johnson. This time though, it was his opponent taking the lead – and Johnson parlayed the advantage into the round win, despite Line's quicker 6.501 that was low e.t. of the round.
"I don't ever want our races to be decided on a holeshot, win or lose, because I want this Summit Racing team to outrun everybody, and I believe we have the ability to do that," said Line, a lifelong drag racer who spends the bulk of his time in the engine shop and dyno room in hot pursuit of horsepower. "Racing is about being faster than the next guy, and sometimes a driver is in a position that they have to [win on] a holeshot, but that's certainly not a goal of mine."
With such a solid history for the Summit Racing team in Gainesville – Line's four wins there are complemented by Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson's two victories in four finals – the expectations for the KB Racing crew are always lofty when they prepare for the Gatornationals. Though they did not achieve their goals at the Florida facility this year, Line appreciates that Team Summit is inching forward.
"When there were only four cars left, our Summit Racing Camaro was the best one," said Line. "But the KB Racing team should have won the race today, but we didn't – and that's disappointing. It's not all bad. We made a decent run in the semifinals, better than everybody else's, and you'd like to think that tells you you're on the right track.
"We definitely ironed out a few things this weekend, and we're continuing to learn with our Summit Racing Camaros. But unless we have the fastest cars out there and are winning every race, we just aren't satisfied, so to me, it feels like we're a long way from where we want to be. There were some positives this weekend, though. I do think we're making progress."
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Line, who has collected four wins in five final rounds at the Gatornationals over the course of his professional career, picked up the win in the first round with the second-quickest time of the day and a slight starting-line advantage to send Rodger Brogdon away empty-handed. Line's lightning-quick 6.492-second journey down the quarter-mile at 212.59 mph eclipsed his opponent's 6.549, 211.10.
Round two brought more of the same, and the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver launched well ahead of V. Gaines to get the win light on a holeshot and score a semifinals meeting with Allen Johnson. This time though, it was his opponent taking the lead – and Johnson parlayed the advantage into the round win, despite Line's quicker 6.501 that was low e.t. of the round.
"I don't ever want our races to be decided on a holeshot, win or lose, because I want this Summit Racing team to outrun everybody, and I believe we have the ability to do that," said Line, a lifelong drag racer who spends the bulk of his time in the engine shop and dyno room in hot pursuit of horsepower. "Racing is about being faster than the next guy, and sometimes a driver is in a position that they have to [win on] a holeshot, but that's certainly not a goal of mine."
With such a solid history for the Summit Racing team in Gainesville – Line's four wins there are complemented by Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson's two victories in four finals – the expectations for the KB Racing crew are always lofty when they prepare for the Gatornationals. Though they did not achieve their goals at the Florida facility this year, Line appreciates that Team Summit is inching forward.
"When there were only four cars left, our Summit Racing Camaro was the best one," said Line. "But the KB Racing team should have won the race today, but we didn't – and that's disappointing. It's not all bad. We made a decent run in the semifinals, better than everybody else's, and you'd like to think that tells you you're on the right track.
"We definitely ironed out a few things this weekend, and we're continuing to learn with our Summit Racing Camaros. But unless we have the fastest cars out there and are winning every race, we just aren't satisfied, so to me, it feels like we're a long way from where we want to be. There were some positives this weekend, though. I do think we're making progress."
More...
