Smiley
Nitro Member
Mooresville, N.C., September 13, 2011 – Throughout the NHRA’s recently completed regular season, Summit Racing’s Jason Line was one of the top and most consistent performers in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock division. In 16 races, he scored four wins in five final round appearances, including a runner-up finish at the prestigious U.S. Nationals two weeks ago, as well as four No. 1 qualifying performances and ten starts in the top two positions. It was a remarkable performance that earned the Mooresville, NC driver the second seed for the upcoming championship playoffs.
However, as the six-race 2011 Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship fight gets set to start with this weekend’s O’Reilly Fall NHRA Nationals in Concord, NC, Line believes he will need to improve even further upon that stellar record in order to contend for his second title.
“As good as our Summit Racing team was during the regular season, I believe we’ll have to do a better job all the way around during the Countdown if we want to contend for the championship,” said Line. “This is an extremely competitive field, and to come out on top, you will have to be almost perfect over the next six races, which is obviously hard to do.
“In our case, I believe it means being better than we have been all season, which, looking at our record over the first 16 races, is a tough challenge. Fortunately, there isn’t a member of this crew who doesn’t believe we are capable of doing exactly that, and are ready to do whatever is necessary, starting this weekend at zMAX Dragway.”
Ironically, at the advent of the 2011 playoff season, it seems that Line’s greatest opposition may come from within his own team in the form of four-time and defending champion Greg Anderson, who has five victories to his credit and leads the standings coming into the Countdown. However, with the remainder of the ten-car field including former champions and multiple race winners, he is quick to acknowledge that this year’s title fight will go down to the wire, with numerous teams in contention.
“There are a lot of good drivers, cars and teams in the mix for this year’s championship, with my own teammate having a slight edge at the moment,” said Line. “He’s going into the Countdown with a lot of momentum and confidence, which is a hard combination to beat, but the good news is that the same people work on both cars, and, as we saw in Indy (when Line was the No. 1 qualifier and set low elapsed time of the race) my Summit Racing Pontiac is just as strong as his.
“Therefore, it will all come down to a matter of execution. The planning and preparing is the easy part – actually getting it done is what’s difficult. Over these next six races, you cannot afford to have a bad day, or even a bad run for that matter, because someone will be there to take advantage of every misstep. Our goal is to put ourselves in the position of being that person making the most of every opportunity.”
Located a short drive from the KB Racing team’s shop in Mooresville, zMAX Dragway has proven to be somewhat of an enigma for Line and his team. After posting quarterfinal finishes and a runner-up performance in his first three races on the Concord quarter-mile, in his last two events he has powered to the No. 1 qualifying position, only to see unusual circumstances end his day prematurely in final eliminations. However, armed with reams of tuning data and with the championship at stake, he is determined to kick off his championship chase by adding a North Carolina win to his list of 2011 successes.
“Although we’ve run well in qualifying at zMAX lately, we’ve somehow gotten tripped up on Sunday,” said Line. “Even so, I see no reason why we won’t be in contention for the win this weekend. Between my putting my Summit Racing Pontiac on the pole and Greg winning the last two races here, we believe we have a pretty good tune-up for that track, so it’s just a matter of avoiding the miscues that have cost us in the past.
“Of course, as a home race, I know I will have my family at the track with me during the weekend, which is always a plus. However, with so many friends stopping by to wish us well, we’ll have to keep any distractions to a minimum. This is a big race for us, and one I believe we can win, but it’s going to take a great performance to do it, from the race car and the team to the driver, so our top priority will be to maintain our focus at all times. This is the first of six steps to the championship, and we want to make sure and get off on the right foot.”
However, as the six-race 2011 Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship fight gets set to start with this weekend’s O’Reilly Fall NHRA Nationals in Concord, NC, Line believes he will need to improve even further upon that stellar record in order to contend for his second title.
“As good as our Summit Racing team was during the regular season, I believe we’ll have to do a better job all the way around during the Countdown if we want to contend for the championship,” said Line. “This is an extremely competitive field, and to come out on top, you will have to be almost perfect over the next six races, which is obviously hard to do.
“In our case, I believe it means being better than we have been all season, which, looking at our record over the first 16 races, is a tough challenge. Fortunately, there isn’t a member of this crew who doesn’t believe we are capable of doing exactly that, and are ready to do whatever is necessary, starting this weekend at zMAX Dragway.”
Ironically, at the advent of the 2011 playoff season, it seems that Line’s greatest opposition may come from within his own team in the form of four-time and defending champion Greg Anderson, who has five victories to his credit and leads the standings coming into the Countdown. However, with the remainder of the ten-car field including former champions and multiple race winners, he is quick to acknowledge that this year’s title fight will go down to the wire, with numerous teams in contention.
“There are a lot of good drivers, cars and teams in the mix for this year’s championship, with my own teammate having a slight edge at the moment,” said Line. “He’s going into the Countdown with a lot of momentum and confidence, which is a hard combination to beat, but the good news is that the same people work on both cars, and, as we saw in Indy (when Line was the No. 1 qualifier and set low elapsed time of the race) my Summit Racing Pontiac is just as strong as his.
“Therefore, it will all come down to a matter of execution. The planning and preparing is the easy part – actually getting it done is what’s difficult. Over these next six races, you cannot afford to have a bad day, or even a bad run for that matter, because someone will be there to take advantage of every misstep. Our goal is to put ourselves in the position of being that person making the most of every opportunity.”
Located a short drive from the KB Racing team’s shop in Mooresville, zMAX Dragway has proven to be somewhat of an enigma for Line and his team. After posting quarterfinal finishes and a runner-up performance in his first three races on the Concord quarter-mile, in his last two events he has powered to the No. 1 qualifying position, only to see unusual circumstances end his day prematurely in final eliminations. However, armed with reams of tuning data and with the championship at stake, he is determined to kick off his championship chase by adding a North Carolina win to his list of 2011 successes.
“Although we’ve run well in qualifying at zMAX lately, we’ve somehow gotten tripped up on Sunday,” said Line. “Even so, I see no reason why we won’t be in contention for the win this weekend. Between my putting my Summit Racing Pontiac on the pole and Greg winning the last two races here, we believe we have a pretty good tune-up for that track, so it’s just a matter of avoiding the miscues that have cost us in the past.
“Of course, as a home race, I know I will have my family at the track with me during the weekend, which is always a plus. However, with so many friends stopping by to wish us well, we’ll have to keep any distractions to a minimum. This is a big race for us, and one I believe we can win, but it’s going to take a great performance to do it, from the race car and the team to the driver, so our top priority will be to maintain our focus at all times. This is the first of six steps to the championship, and we want to make sure and get off on the right foot.”
