Line Reaches Final Round at Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals

Summit Racing driver Jason Line drove his Chevrolet Camaro to the final round at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota. While he did not win the event, the Wright, Minnesota native is encouraged by the performance of his race car.

“My Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro is a good car,” said Line. “We made it better all weekend long. We made some good moves to make the car faster. It was a good day.”

Line qualified fifth with a 6.618 second, 208.55 MPH pass. He clocked a quick .027 second reaction time in Round One of eliminations to defeat V. Gaines, 6.581/210.34 to 6.594/209.43. In Round Two, Line defeated Allen Johnson with a 6.564/210.54 to Johnson’s troubled 13.812/84.41. Line continued his march to the final round with a semi-finals win over Shane Gray, 6.553/210.47 to 6.572/ 211.26.

The final round meeting with Erica Enders was Line’s first final since Atlanta and the 78th of his career. Line ran a quicker and faster 6.541/211.06, but Enders’ .029 second starting line advantage was enough to take the win with a 6.552/210.34.

“I made a big error in the final, and I had to pay for it,” said Line. “We had the car to beat, and we should have won, but that’s the way racing goes. We’re ready for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in just a couple of weeks, and you can bet we’ll be ready for the Countdown to the Championship after that.”

As he does every year in Brainerd, Line also competed in Stock Eliminator behind the wheel of a 1970 Buick Gran Sport in C/Stock Automatic. Line won his first national event in Stock Eliminator back in 1992. This season Line qualified eighth out of 84 entries. He defeated Nick Bredemus in Round One of eliminations, but lost to his father, Lawrence Line, in Round Two.

Line is currently fourth in the Pro Stock points standings.

Anderson Shifts Focus
Brainerd is also home for Greg Anderson, who grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. He wanted to make his home crowd proud, but the fortunes of racing dictated otherwise.

Anderson qualified eighth with a 6.624/208.14. He and opponent Jonathan Gray posted identical 6.578 second elapsed times in Round One of eliminations, but a .008 second starting line advantage gave Anderson the win. Jonathan’s big brother Shane Gray turned the tables on Anderson in Round Two, taking the win with a 6.561/211.39 to Anderson’s 6.581/209.98.

“We weren’t that far off, but in this class, a couple hundredths is everything,” said Anderson. “We have to get that couple hundredths back, and then the driver has to do a good job. We have to get the car back to its happy spot, and the driver has to get happy, too.”

“We’re going to go home and regroup, and then we’re going to go test,” Anderson continued. “We’ve got a big race at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indy, and it’s my favorite race of the year. I’m still confident and happy, and I’m still excited—we just have a few things to fix before Indy. The good news is that we have a little time to test.”

“I love coming up here to race in front of our friends and family in Brainerd. This year, I’m a little let down we didn’t do a great job, but the Summit Racing team got a car to the final round with Jason, and next race out, we can go and win. Things are good for Team Summit.”

Anderson is currently second in the Pro Stock points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified third (3.740/319.75). He defeated Wayne Newby in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Brittany Force in Round Two. Kalitta is currently fifth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified 10th (3.780/325.22) but lost to Antron Brown in Round One. He is currently eight in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified 10th (4.018/309.98). He defeated Chad Head and John Force in the first two rounds of eliminations, but lost to Robert Hight in the semifinals. Wilkerson is currently seventh in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified eighth (3.981/323.97) but lost to Matt Hagan in Round One. He is currently fifth in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified third (3.946/321.88) but lost to Brian Stewart in Round One. She is currently 10th in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Richie Crampton defeated Brittany Force, 3.695/325.30 to 3.771/293.79.
Funny Car: Robert Hight defeated Tommy Johnson Jr., 3.956/323.58 to 4.130/316.52.
Pro Stock: Erica Enders defeated Jason Line, 6.552/210.34 to 6.541/211.06.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Eddie Krawiec defeated Andrew Hines, 6.844/194.30 to 6.894/190.06.

Next Race
The next event is the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, September 4-7 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.