Line Finishes Third for 2013 Season, Anderson Ready for 2014

Jason Line was tied for second place in the Pro Stock championship race going into the 49th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. For him to win a third world championship, Line had to win the event and hope that then-points leader Jeg Coughlin would bow out in the first round of eliminations. If Coughlin made it to the second round, Line would have to win the race and set a world elapsed time or top speed record. Daunting tasks, but well within the capabilities of the KB Racing team.

Line started the weekend strong, qualifying second with a 6.543 second, 212.16 mile per hour pass. He defeated Greg Stanfield in Round One, 6.560/211.76 to 6.583/210.28, but his season ended in Round Two against KB Racing teammate Buddy Perkinson. Line lost traction right off the starting line and had to get on and off the throttle to regain control. Perkinson took the win, 6.567/211.96 to Line’s 6.685/211.43.

“It was not the end result we had hoped for,” said Line. “But the one thing I can tell you is that the Summit Racing team will have a better season in 2014. I know I learned a lot of things—I think we all did here in the KB Racing camp—and what happened this year is not going to happen again. The work begins tonight. We have a lot of things in motion already, and we’re looking forward, not back.”

Line’s third-place ranking continues his stretch of finishing in the Top Five each year, and marks the seventh time he has finished third or better.

Anderson Ready to Build on Strong Pomona Run
Greg Anderson made an exceptionally strong run in the first round eliminations at the Auto Club NHRA Finals. After qualifying 11th (6.576/210.37), he clocked a stout .019-second reaction time and ran a 6.527/212.09 to defeat V. Gaines. That pass was the third quickest of the round, and one of the best Anderson has had all season. Unfortunately, he could not repeat the performance in the second round thanks to traction issues just off the starting line, handing the win to Rickie Jones.

“That was probably the best run I’ve made all year,” said Anderson of his first round performance. “It felt great to get that ET slip after that first run. Even though our success didn’t continue today, it was still a major breakthrough for the Summit Racing team. We are finally getting some performance out of my Summit Racing Chevy Camaro.”

“We’re going into the off-season on a positive note,” Anderson continued. “We have something under the hood and we plan to keep building on that. We’ve got a lot of work to do this winter, a lot of things to change, but we will definitely be better next year. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Anderson finishes the 2013 season in eighth place in the points standings.

Rickie Jones Wins First Pro Stock Final
Team Summit driver Rickie Jones took his first-ever final round in Pro Stock at Pomona. He qualified third (6.544/211.46) and defeated Matt Hartford, Greg Anderson, and Buddy Perkinson in the first three rounds of eliminations to meet Allen Johnson in the final round. Jones defeated Johnson on a holeshot to take the win, 6.584/210.28 to 6.581/211.03. Jones finished the 2013 season 11th place in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Pro Stock
Kurt Johnson qualified 16th (6.595/210.60). He defeated Mike Edwards in Round One of eliminations and Shane Gray in Round Two, but lost to Allen Johnson in the semi-final round. He finished 16th in the 2013 points standings.
Larry Morgan did not qualify for the event. He finished 12th in the 2013 points standings.
Warren Johnson did not qualify for the event. He finished 20th in the 2013 points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified ninth (4.071/314.31) but lost to Jeff Arend in the first round. Tim finished the season 10th in the 2013 points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon defeated Doug Kalitta, 3.784/323.58 to 3.808/323.04.
Funny Car: Matt Hagan defeated John Force, 4.018/320.66 to 4.057/317.94.
Pro Stock: Rickie Jones defeated Allen Johnson, 6.584/210.28 to 6.581/211.03.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Eddie Krawiec defeated Scotty Pollacheck, 6.918/192.41 to 6.963/193.57.

2013 NHRA Professional Class Champions
Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon
Funny Car: John Force
Pro Stock: Jeg Coughlin, Jr.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Matt Smith

First Race of 2014
The first event for the 2014 Mello Yello tour is the NHRA Winternationals, February 6-9, in Pomona, California. You can get the complete 2014 schedule at NHRA.com. For more news and in-depth results from the Auto Club NHRA Finals, go to http://www.DragRaceCentral.com.