<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/J_Line.jpg" alt="J_Line" align="right"borders="0"/>
NORWALK, Ohio (July 1, 2007) – A start one thousandth of a second too soon in round two of eliminations, ended the day for Jason Line at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
In the first round of eliminations, Line, the reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion, evened his record against Justin Humphreys to one win, one loss when he turned back the rookie driver. Line left first with a reaction time of .007 seconds. Meanwhile, Humphreys broke shortly after he left the starting line.
In the second round, Line left too early with a reaction time of -.001 and Allen Johnson raced to the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park finish line in 6.671 seconds.
“Even though I came out on the wrong side of a perfect light, I felt good driving today,” said Line. “My goal is to continue improving my driving and put the Summit Racing Pontiac in the winner’s circle soon. Bristol Dragway is next up and that is one of my favorite tracks.”
After 11 events Line is unofficially fourth in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings, which also puts him in fourth in the first segment – Countdown to Eight – of the Countdown to the Championship. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
SPECIAL NOTE: Pontiac- GM C announced today that it will return in 2008 as Official Car and Official Truck of the NHRA . It will mark the 13th consecutive season that Pontiac has served as the Official Car of the series and the 19th year for GM C as Official Truck.
"The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues to be an outstanding forum to showcase the quality and performance of the automobile designed for action," said Jim Bunnell, divisional general manager, Buick-Pontiac- GM C. " Pontiac is proud to return as the Official Car of the NHRA , and we look forward to continuing our growing relationship with the nation's premier drag racing series and its fans for years to come.
" GM C's 19 year affiliation with NHRA is its longest-running promotional platform ever. For a celebrated brand known for Professional Grade trucks, and its association with the legendary Safety Safari, GM C is a perfect fit as the Official Truck of the National Hot Rod Association."
NEXT RACE: It’s on to the third race of six in a row as the POWERade Drag Racing Series now moves to Bristol , Tenn. , for the race that was postponed in May. The NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals unfolds July 6-8 at Bristol Dragway.
TELEVISION: ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will air same-day coverage of eliminations for the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals tonight, Sunday (July 1) from 8-11 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday morning, July 4, from 4-6 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season up into three distinct segments: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1.
After the 17 regular season races, all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, but only the top eight drivers continue to vie for the championship in the four-race second segment. The top four drivers after the four-race playoff then move to the third and final segment that will be run over the final two races – the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona . While all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, only one of the four can be crowned the 2007 champion.
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.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT: Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment (Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts | 800-230-3030), headquartered in Tallmadge , Ohio , has been the leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers from three warehouses in Tallmadge , Ohio , Sparks , Nev. , and McDonough , Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB Racing LLC , which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.
Line out in round 2 by one thousandths of a second
NORWALK, Ohio (July 1, 2007) – A start one thousandth of a second too soon in round two of eliminations, ended the day for Jason Line at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
In the first round of eliminations, Line, the reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion, evened his record against Justin Humphreys to one win, one loss when he turned back the rookie driver. Line left first with a reaction time of .007 seconds. Meanwhile, Humphreys broke shortly after he left the starting line.
In the second round, Line left too early with a reaction time of -.001 and Allen Johnson raced to the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park finish line in 6.671 seconds.
“Even though I came out on the wrong side of a perfect light, I felt good driving today,” said Line. “My goal is to continue improving my driving and put the Summit Racing Pontiac in the winner’s circle soon. Bristol Dragway is next up and that is one of my favorite tracks.”
After 11 events Line is unofficially fourth in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings, which also puts him in fourth in the first segment – Countdown to Eight – of the Countdown to the Championship. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
SPECIAL NOTE: Pontiac- GM C announced today that it will return in 2008 as Official Car and Official Truck of the NHRA . It will mark the 13th consecutive season that Pontiac has served as the Official Car of the series and the 19th year for GM C as Official Truck.
"The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues to be an outstanding forum to showcase the quality and performance of the automobile designed for action," said Jim Bunnell, divisional general manager, Buick-Pontiac- GM C. " Pontiac is proud to return as the Official Car of the NHRA , and we look forward to continuing our growing relationship with the nation's premier drag racing series and its fans for years to come.
" GM C's 19 year affiliation with NHRA is its longest-running promotional platform ever. For a celebrated brand known for Professional Grade trucks, and its association with the legendary Safety Safari, GM C is a perfect fit as the Official Truck of the National Hot Rod Association."
NEXT RACE: It’s on to the third race of six in a row as the POWERade Drag Racing Series now moves to Bristol , Tenn. , for the race that was postponed in May. The NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals unfolds July 6-8 at Bristol Dragway.
TELEVISION: ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will air same-day coverage of eliminations for the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals tonight, Sunday (July 1) from 8-11 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday morning, July 4, from 4-6 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season up into three distinct segments: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1.
After the 17 regular season races, all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, but only the top eight drivers continue to vie for the championship in the four-race second segment. The top four drivers after the four-race playoff then move to the third and final segment that will be run over the final two races – the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona . While all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, only one of the four can be crowned the 2007 champion.
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.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT: Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment (Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts | 800-230-3030), headquartered in Tallmadge , Ohio , has been the leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers from three warehouses in Tallmadge , Ohio , Sparks , Nev. , and McDonough , Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB Racing LLC , which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.
