Line Battles to the Very End for the 2014 Pro Stock Championship

Jason Line and the Summit Racing team really, really wanted to win the 2014 NHRA Pro Stock championship. They showed that resolve all the way to the final round of the last race of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, California.

Countless hours of effort at the engine shop and on the race track resulted in a season that saw Line win four out of nine final rounds and hold the Countdown to the Championship points lead almost to the very end. Ultimately, the intense battle for the championship came down to the very last round of the season in truly stunning fashion.

Line began the Finals by qualifying Number One with a 6.517 second, 212.19 MPH pass. This earned him valuable bonus points and kept the distance between him and the big trophy to just a single round. On the opposite side of the ladder was Erica Enders-Stevens, Line’s rival for the championship.

Line took the win in Round One of elimination as opponent Jeff Isbell had a -.010 second foul start. In Round Two, Line cut an exceptional .008 second reaction time to Dave Connolly’s .022 RT. It was enough of an advantage for Line to take the win, 6.519/212.46 to Connolly’s 6.518/212.43.

In the semifinals, Line had lane choice over Jeg Coughlin. Coughlin jumped the gun and left the starting line .023 of a second too soon. Line never looked back, powering ahead with a 6.511/212.93 run.

That set up a final round match between Line and Erica Enders-Stevens for all the marbles. The championship came down to a battle of negative reaction times. Line illuminated the red light with a -.011 second start. Enders-Stevens also fouled, but by a lesser margin (-.002 of a second), giving her the win and the 2014 Pro Stock championship.

“I was calm,” said Line. “I just went up there and said, I have to be .00 (near perfect) when I leave the starting line. If you go out there and go .80 on the tree, you might as well go home—you aren’t going to beat anyone like that. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as we had planned.”

“Of course we’re disappointed,” Line continued. “But what a way to end the day—racing for the championship in the last round of the last race of the year. I’m proud to be part of that, for sure. We extend our congratulations to Erica and the whole Elite team—they had a great car all year long. Of course, I would have liked to win, but it’ll just make us work harder over the winter. That’s what keeps you going. It’s part of competition.”

Anderson Optimistic About 2015
Greg Anderson had one of the toughest seasons of his career in 2014, but the driver of the white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro worked his way back from missing the first five races while recovering from heart surgery. Anderson appeared in three final rounds and put together one of the best records in the class in terms of starting line performance.

Anderson qualified eighth at the NHRA Finals with a 6.547/211.89. He faced Dave Connolly in Round One of eliminations. Connolly got the starting line advantage with a .007 second RT and never looked back, taking the win with a 6.528/212.23 as Anderson shut off early with a 6.913/163.77 pass.

While it was a disappointing end to a tough season, Anderson has chosen to focus on 2015.

“We’ve got three months to work and get even better, and we’ll come back next year stronger,” said Anderson. “We certainly tried as hard as we could, but it just didn’t turn out how we wanted it to. We still have plenty to smile about. I’ve got my health and a future to look forward to, and that wasn’t a certainty at the beginning of this year.”

“We gave it all we had this year, everybody on the team tried tremendously hard,” Anderson continued. “We just have to study our weaknesses so that we can correct them. That’s the way Pro Stock is—the class gets better every year, and you have to progress. We’ve got our job cut out for us, but we’re happy to do it.”

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified fourth (3.745/328.30) but lost to Steve Torrence in Round One of eliminations. Kalitta finished the season fifth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified fifth (3.745/325.06). He defeated Bob Vandergriff in Round One and Steve Torrence in Round Two, but lost to Tony Schumacher in the semifinals. Todd finished the season second in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified 13th (4.102/313.73). He defeated Cruz Pedregon in Round One, but lost to John Force in Round Two. Wilkerson finished the season ninth in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified 10th (4.062/314.97). He defeated Jack Beckman in Round One, but lost to Tommy Johnson Jr. in Round Two. Worsham finished the season sixth in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified Number One (3.988/314.39). She defeated Gary Densham in Round One and Robert Hight in Round Two, but lost to John Force in the semifinals. DeJoria finished the season seventh in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Morgan Lucas defeated Tony Schumacher, 3.704/325.14 to 3.742/324.98.
Funny Car: Matt Hagan defeated John Force 4.076/310.77 to 4.086/276.58.
Pro Stock: Erica Enders-Stevens defeated Jason Line, 6.480/213.43 to 6.504/212.16.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Hector Arana Jr. defeated Eddie Krawiec, 6.832/195.08 to 6.977/176.37.

2014 Pro Class Champions
Top Fuel: Tony Schumacher
Funny Car: Matt Hagan
Pro Stock: Erica Enders-Stevens
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Andrew Hines

Next Event
The Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series begins the 2015 season with the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, February 5 -8, 2015 in Pomona, California. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the 50th Auto Club NHRA Finals.