Line and Anderson Remain One and Two in Countdown to the Championship Points

Jason Line maintains the Pro Stock points lead in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship following the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri.

Line qualified sixth with a 6.611 second, 209.43 MPH pass. He defeated defending Pro Stock Champion Erica Enders-Stevens in Round One of eliminations (6.609/209.43 to 6.699/206.35) and Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson in Round Two Line (6.637/208.49 to 6.645/208.39).

Line faced KB Racing teammate Bo Butner in the semi-finals. Butner had the immediate advantage off the starting with an almost perfect reaction time (.003 second to Line’s .058) and took the win, 6.678/207.75 to 6.627/208.78.

“We did a very poor job of executing during qualifying and all our cars ended up facing each other early on,” Line said. “Now we have to get the car tuned up for Reading, which will have different track and weather conditions. It’s going to be a challenge.”

Greg Anderson qualified second with a 6.605/209.07 run. He defeated Alan Prusiensky in Round One of eliminations, 6.627/209.49 to 6.769/203.98.

Anderson faced teammate Jason Line in Round Two. Going into the race Anderson had the better record against Line (35 to 30), but it was Line that took the win here, 6.637/208.49 to 6.645/208.39.

“We did a poor job of qualifying. All three of us ended up on the same side of the ladder and unfortunately that was our demise I guess,” Anderson said. “The points battle is still wide open. Obviously nobody made any big moves. We’ll go to Reading and try to do a better job on Friday and Saturday and it will be a better day on race day.”

Anderson remains second in the Pro Stock points standings.

Tim Wilkerson qualified fourth with 3.912/325.61 run. He defeated Brian Stewart in Round One of eliminations (3.984/38.32 to 4.024/316.45) and Matt Hagan in Round Two (3.928/316.52 to 3.948/326.40).

Wilkerson faced Tommy Johnson Jr. in the semi-finals. Johnson had a slight starting line advantage and Wilkerson quickly took the lead, but engine problems slowed Wilkerson’s Mustang and Johnson too the win, 3.937/323.04 to 3.993/283.97.

“We had a blower pulley break in the third round there,” Wilkerson said. “The Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang is running good again, knock on wood. We were able to get a few bonus points in qualifying this weekend. I’m real proud of my guys. It was a good weekend.”

Wilkerson is currently ninth in the Funny Car points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Modified
Kenny Lang qualified twentieth with a 5.972/243.50. He was in the Pro Mod field until the last qualifying session when he was bumped out of the Top 16.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified fourth (3.721/327.11). He defeated Terry McMillen in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Shawn Langdon in the second round. Kalitta is currently second in the points standings.

“We were very solid in qualifying and gained some decent points today,” Kalitta said. “We are only 13 points out of the lead heading into Reading. Qualifying starts in five days and that’s where our focus needs to be.”

J.R. Todd qualified third (3.750/321.58). He defeated Kyle Wurtzel and Pat Dakin in the first two rounds of eliminations, but lost to Tony Schumacher in the semi-finals.  Todd is currently seventh in the points standings. 

We were hoping to rebound with a win today, but we did gain some ground on the top spot,” Todd said. “The guys are working hard and are focused. We will go home for a couple days and plan to run hard at Maple Grove.”

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Del Worsham qualified seventh (3.929/324.75), but lost to John Force in Round One. He is currently fourth in the points standings.

“We had a solid pass, but just got outrun, Worsham said. “We are down, but we know we still have a shot. Reading is always fast. We will head there and plan to rebound.” 

Alexis DeJoria qualified ninth (3.945/323.19) but was defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. in Round One. She is currently 10th in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon  (3.798/323.66) defeated Tony Schumacher (3.783/317.49)
Funny Car: Jack Beckman (3.928/324.51) defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.185/ 231.40)
Pro Stock: Alex Laughlin (6.611/208.68) defeated Bo Butner (6.637/209.26) 
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Jerry Savoie (6.933/189.36) defeated Angelle Sampey (Foul /red light)

Next Race
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues with third Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship event, the Dodge NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania, September 29-October 2. Visit Drag Race Central for complete results from the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals.