Jason Line Makes Semifinal Round in Pomona

Jason Line made it to the semifinals at the Auto Club NHRA Finals, the last race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.

In Round One of eliminations, Line defeated Vincent Nobile with a 6.518 second/212.19 MPH pass to Nobile’s tire-shaking 9.984/92.09. In Round Two, Line again clocked a speed in excess of 212 MPH with his 6.537/212.03 victory over Alex Laughlin’s 6.560/210.87.

In the semifinals, Line faced Tanner Gray. Line was the first driver to defeat Gray when he entered the Pro Stock class. In the last race of the season, and what will be Gray’s last season in Pro Stock, Gray took the win against Line. Although Line had a perfect .000 second reaction time, he experienced tire shake, giving Gray the win, 6.535/211.63 to Line’s 13.224/65.77.

“I knew I needed to at least match Tanner [in reaction time], and I felt like we could have outrun him—but we smoked the tires,” said Line. “I was the first guy to ever beat Tanner, and I wanted to be the last. Congratulations to their team. Tanner did a phenomenal job driving.”

Line finished the season fifth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Greg Anderson, who had the top speed of the meet at 212.33 MPH, defeated Fernando  Cuadra in Round One of eliminations, 6.525/211.26 to 6.546/211.39. In Round Two, Drew Skillman took the win with a 6.535/210.77 pass to Anderson’s 6.548/212.33.

“We’ve got work to do in the off-season to up our game,” said Anderson. “We’re going to work very hard over the winter.”

Anderson finished seventh in Pro Stock points standings.

Tim Wilkerson, driver of the Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car, racked up his 11th consecutive season as a top 10 Nitro Funny Car driver, finishing fifth in the Funny Car points standings.

In Round One, Wilkerson’s day was cut short when John Force got the win with a 3.955/330.47 pass to Wilk’s 4.444/201.76.

“We had a good Countdown, and we got gutsy,” said Wilkerson. “I’m proud of my guys, they all worked so hard. We’ll have a good winter, come back and try again. The future looks pretty darn bright.”

Final Round Results
Top Fuel—Steve Torrence (3.702/330.07) defeated Tony Schumacher (3.700/331.61)

Funny Car— J.R. Todd (3.872/329.10) defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. (3.889/327.51)

Pro Stock—Tanner Gray (6.519/211.86) defeated Drew Skillman (Foul-Red Light)

Pro Stock Motorcycle—Matt Smith (6.765/201.22) defeated Eddie Krawiec (6.812/198.35)

Pro Stock Low ET—Jeg Coughlin, 6.510 seconds
Pro Stock Top Speed—Greg Anderson, 212.33 MPH

What’s Next
The 2019 NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will pick up in three months at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California. The season-opening NHRA Winternationals are slated to take place February 7-10.

For more information and complete race results visit DragRaceCentral.com.