Anderson and Line Secure Spots in NHRA Championship Playoffs

Summit Racing Pro Stock drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line each clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship after this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Washington.

Line earned his spot after his first qualifying pass, and Anderson earned his during eliminations on Sunday. The six-race Countdown begins September 13 with the NHRA Nationals at Zmax Dragway.

After rain canceled qualifying on Friday, Anderson made good use of Saturday’s two qualifying sessions. His 6.563 second, 210.57 MPH pass earned him the number seven qualifying position and a first-round matchup with Rodger Brogdon. Brogdon got the jump with a .006 second reaction time, but Anderson had the horsepower to take the win, 6.571/210.50 to 6.618/210.24.

In Round Two, Anderson ran a 6.608/209.17 to defeat a tire-shaking Rickie Jones. Anderson’s day ended in the semi-finals against Vincent Nobile. Nobile left the line first and never looked back, clocking a 6.592/209.85 to Anderson’s 6.621/210.01.

“We did a little better this weekend than we have all season, but it’s not good enough yet,” said Anderson. “Inch by inch we are gaining, though, so we’ll keep digging in search of that big breakthrough.

“We made a good run in the first round, and we thought we would be in good shape the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Vincent just had a great car and outran us in the semifinals,” Anderson explained. “It will be good to get home and go to a test track so that we can get back to working on our program. We’re improving every weekend, and we believe we can get to Brainerd with an even better package than we have as we are leaving Seattle.”

Anderson is currently seventh in the Pro Stock points standings.

Line Makes Second Round in Seattle
Jason Line qualified eighth with a 6.566/210.67 pass. He defeated Larry Morgan in Round One of eliminations, 6.609/209.62 to 6.637/208.55. Line then gave Number One qualifier Mike Edwards a run for his money in Round Two. Line got the jump with a .024 second reaction time, but Edwards squeaked past for the win, 6.590/201.21 to 6.612/209.46.

“That was a good race,” said Line. "But it’s also a tough loss, to come so close to beating the Number One qualifier and the guy leading the points. You want the win a little bit more in a round like that. For now, we are going to pack up, head back to the KB Racing shop in Mooresville, and get right back to work. We’ll be looking for more horsepower before the next race.”

Line is currently sixth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Stock
Larry Morgan qualified ninth (6.578/209.65) but lost to Jason Line in Round One of eliminations. He is currently 12th in the points standings.
Rickie Jones qualified second (6.532/211.49). He defeated Matt Hartford in Round One, but lost to Greg Anderson in Round Two. Jones is currently 11th in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified seventh (4.083/302.35). He defeated Jeff Arend in Round One and Robert Hight in Round Two, but lost to Bob Tasca III in the semi-finals. Wilkerson is currently eighth in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Morgan Lucas defeated David Grubnic, 3.908/296.57 to 4.253/256.31.
Funny Car: Matt Hagan defeated Bob Tasca III, 4.171/294.75 to 5.324/164.81.
Pro Stock: Vincent Nobile defeated Jeg Coughlin, 6.586/210.54 to 6.615/210.60.

Next Race
The next event is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, August 15-18 in Brainerd, Minnesota. For more news and in-depth results from the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals, go to http://www.DragRaceCentral.com