Line and Anderson Face Challenges at NHRA Kansas Nationals

Jason Line picked up a round win at Heartland Park Topeka’s NHRA Kansas Nationals, but a mechanical malfunction ended his quest for a final round victory.

Line qualified eighth with a 6.622 second, 208.81 MPH pass. He met up with Jonathan Gray in the first round of eliminations. Despite the high humidity and warm temperatures, Line kept his cool and took the win, 6.691/206.13 to Gray’s 6.736/206.80.

Line faced Vincent Nobile in Round Two. Nobile, who gets power from the KB Racing shop, headed downtrack while Line remained on the starting line with a misfiring engine. Once the misfire cleared, Line clocked a 6.674/207.56 pass, but it was too late—Nobile had already turned on the win light with a 6.660/207.27.

“I hit the gas and the car didn’t do anything—the engine died,” said Line. “I just went to put it on the two-step and the car misfired. That’s a new one. It was a fluke, something you don’t normally see and definitely something I’ve never done before.”

The outcome on race day only created a deeper motivation for Line to try harder. He will be burning the midnight oil in the KB Racing dyno room this week.

“Sometimes, things just don’t go your way,” said Line. “But we’re leaving here and going to Englishtown next week, a place where the Summit Racing team has had quite a bit of good fortune. We have a great team and great people behind us. We’ll get it turned back around.”

Line is currently third in the Pro Stock points standings.

Anderson Back in the White Summit Racing Camaro
In a last-minute decision, Greg Anderson brought the white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro back out to play at the NHRA Kansas Nationals. The Camaro made four solid appearances earlier this season with Vincent Nobile behind the wheel.

Anderson qualified 10th with a 6.630/207.69. He was defeated in Round One by V. Gaines, 6.681/207.34 to 6.727/204.88. Still, Anderson is optimistic about the white Camaro’s performance.

“We were having a little trouble with the red car, and the white car has a proven track record,” said Anderson. “We were planning to bring it out again after it was updated to a 2014 model—it took a few races to get that done. Now we have three cars that are the same and we just need to keep working on this one.”

“The car needs to be a little faster, but it’s certainly a good car that can make good runs,” Anderson continued. “It isn’t where it needs to be just yet, so we are going to get it running faster. I’m looking forward to bringing it to Englishtown after we get a few things ironed out in the dyno room.”

Anderson is currently 15th in the Pro Stock points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified sixth (3.778/327.03). He defeated Leah Pritchett in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Shawn Langdon in Round Two. Kalitta is currently first in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified second (3.747/322.65). He defeated Clay Millican in Round One, and Richie Crampton in Round Two, but lost to Shawn Langdon in the semis. Todd is currently ninth in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified sixth (4.066/314.75). He defeated Tony Pedregon in Round One, but lost to Cruz Pedregon in Round Two. Wilkerson is currently 10th in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified seventh (4.069/314.75) but lost to Ron Capps in Round One. He is currently seventh in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified fifth (4.065/314.46) but lost to Tommy Johnson Jr. in Round One. She is currently third in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Spencer Massey defeated Shawn Langdon, 3.871/314.02 to 4.278/233.68.
Funny Car Courtney Force defeated Cruz Pedregon, 4.148/306.46 to 4.225/250.60.
Pro Stock: Allen Johnson defeated Jeg Coughlin, 6.663/207.18 to 6.664/207.05.

Next Race
The next event is the Toyota NHRA Summernationals, May 29-June 1 in Englishtown, NJ. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the NHRA Kansas Nationals.