<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/j_line06.jpg" alt="j_line06" align="right"borders="0"/>
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (August 21, 2006) – Driving the KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment-backed Pro Stock Pontiac GTO Jason Line had to wait an extra day to advance to his sixth final round of 2006, as he finished runner-up to Kurt Johnson at the just completed 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals today.
After one round of eliminations was run yesterday, inclement weather postponed the remainder of eliminations to today. Temperatures were in the low to mid-seventies at race time today, compared to the oppressive heat and humidity of the previous three days when the thermometer was registering triple digits.
Yesterday before weather settled over Memphis Motorsports Park (MMP) in Memphis, Tenn., Line turned back Tommy Lee in the opening round. Today en route to the final round against Johnson, Will defeated V. Gaines in round two and Mike Edwards in the semifinals.
In the finals, Johnson grabbed an advantage at the green light when he recorded an unbelievable .013 second leave. Line reaction time was a respectable .043 of a second. Line had the power to run quicker than Johnson but couldn’t make up the difference he lost at the starting line. Line covered the MMP quarter-mile in 6.703 seconds at 205.38 mph in a losing effort, to 6.716 seconds at 204.42 mph for KJ. Johnson’s margin of victory was 15 hundredths of a second, approximately 5 feet.
"It would've been nice to win," said Line following the final round. "The car made a nice run, but I just didn't quite have enough on the starting line. But Kurt did a great job and he deserved the win. All in all it was a good weekend for us. Obviously (teammate) Greg (Anderson) and myself put some distance between us and (third place) David Connolly, so no real negatives other than not quite sealing the deal. The Summit Racing Pontiac was great and the guys are doing a fantastic job, and this should give us some momentum going to the next race in Indy."
Line continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings. He has 1,245 points and leads his teammate, second place Greg Anderson, by 121 points. Third place Dave Connolly, who was defeated in the opening round, lost ground to the leader and is now 171 points behind Line. Today’s winner, Kurt Johnson moved from fifth to fourth and is 277 behind No. 1. Jim Yates rounds out the top five and is 317 points back.
Line, who was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives in Terrell, N.C., now has an even split on the year in final rounds, winning three and runner-up in three. For his career, he has 11 wins in 21 final rounds.
In the second round of eliminations, Line recorded the low elapsed time of the event – a 6.694 seconds. He also had top speed at 205.38 mph, which he ran against Johnson in the final round. Both the E.T. and speed established new track records at MMP.
KB Racing LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson and the other by Jason Line in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Anderson has won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005). Line finished third in the 2005 POWERade point standings and was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award, presented to the most outstanding rookie in a professional category. This year KB Racing LLC also began fielding a Top Fuel Dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, with rookie Top Fuel driver Hillary Will handling the driving duties.
Line runner-up at Memphis
Continues to lead POWERade point standings
Continues to lead POWERade point standings
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (August 21, 2006) – Driving the KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment-backed Pro Stock Pontiac GTO Jason Line had to wait an extra day to advance to his sixth final round of 2006, as he finished runner-up to Kurt Johnson at the just completed 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals today.
After one round of eliminations was run yesterday, inclement weather postponed the remainder of eliminations to today. Temperatures were in the low to mid-seventies at race time today, compared to the oppressive heat and humidity of the previous three days when the thermometer was registering triple digits.
Yesterday before weather settled over Memphis Motorsports Park (MMP) in Memphis, Tenn., Line turned back Tommy Lee in the opening round. Today en route to the final round against Johnson, Will defeated V. Gaines in round two and Mike Edwards in the semifinals.
In the finals, Johnson grabbed an advantage at the green light when he recorded an unbelievable .013 second leave. Line reaction time was a respectable .043 of a second. Line had the power to run quicker than Johnson but couldn’t make up the difference he lost at the starting line. Line covered the MMP quarter-mile in 6.703 seconds at 205.38 mph in a losing effort, to 6.716 seconds at 204.42 mph for KJ. Johnson’s margin of victory was 15 hundredths of a second, approximately 5 feet.
"It would've been nice to win," said Line following the final round. "The car made a nice run, but I just didn't quite have enough on the starting line. But Kurt did a great job and he deserved the win. All in all it was a good weekend for us. Obviously (teammate) Greg (Anderson) and myself put some distance between us and (third place) David Connolly, so no real negatives other than not quite sealing the deal. The Summit Racing Pontiac was great and the guys are doing a fantastic job, and this should give us some momentum going to the next race in Indy."
Line continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings. He has 1,245 points and leads his teammate, second place Greg Anderson, by 121 points. Third place Dave Connolly, who was defeated in the opening round, lost ground to the leader and is now 171 points behind Line. Today’s winner, Kurt Johnson moved from fifth to fourth and is 277 behind No. 1. Jim Yates rounds out the top five and is 317 points back.
Line, who was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives in Terrell, N.C., now has an even split on the year in final rounds, winning three and runner-up in three. For his career, he has 11 wins in 21 final rounds.
In the second round of eliminations, Line recorded the low elapsed time of the event – a 6.694 seconds. He also had top speed at 205.38 mph, which he ran against Johnson in the final round. Both the E.T. and speed established new track records at MMP.
KB Racing LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson and the other by Jason Line in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Anderson has won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005). Line finished third in the 2005 POWERade point standings and was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award, presented to the most outstanding rookie in a professional category. This year KB Racing LLC also began fielding a Top Fuel Dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, with rookie Top Fuel driver Hillary Will handling the driving duties.
