Line Wins Southern Nationals in All-Summit Racing Final

Jason Line took his third win of the 2015 season in an all-Summit Racing matchup with Greg Anderson at the 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

It was the fourth all-Summit Racing Pro Stock final in Atlanta and the 24th time Line and Anderson have gone head-to-head for the title. It was also the second all-Team Summit final round of the year; Anderson beat Line earlier this season in Gainesville, scoring the 75th win of his career.

“Today was a great day for Summit Racing,” said Line. “It’s the way you picture it, the way you dream of it happening. It usually doesn’t end up that way, but today it did. It was a phenomenal day.”

Line qualified Number One with a 6.546 second, 211.23 MPH pass. He met up with Alan Prusiensky in Round One of eliminations. Line ran a 6.576/210.50 to take the win over a red-lighting Prusiensky. A .030 second starting line advantage helped Line defeat Larry Morgan in Round Two, 6.573/210.64 to 6.565/212.29.

Line moved to the final round after defeating Rodger Brogdon in the semifinals, 6.585/211.39 to 6.635/211.33. While teammate Anderson had lane choice and a .044 second starting line advantage, mechanical problems forced him to shut off mid-track. Line surged ahead for the win, running a 6.606/211.33 to Anderson’s 8.628/114.39.

“There have been plenty of times when I’ve done a really good job and had a great car but lost. Today was different—I got a little bit lucky," admitted Line. “Greg was really fast and had the car to beat, and he was driving better than anyone else out here. He should have won, but this time I was the lucky guy.”

Line is currently first in the Pro Stock points standings.

Anderson Fast En Route to Final
Greg Anderson drove the red Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro to the 119th final round of his career and the tenth at Atlanta Dragway. He qualified sixth with a 6.561/211.69, but his day almost ended in Round One of eliminations when Anderson’s throttle revved high on the burnout and would not settle down. A quick-thinking DJ Minter jumped in with a solution to the problem and Anderson went on to defeat Chris McGaha, 6.541/211.76 to 12.593/68.94. Anderson’s pass set low elapsed time of the race.

Anderson went on to defeat Drew Skillman in Round Two (6.560.211.73 to 6.573/ 211.30) and Erica Enders in the semifinals (6.562/211.59 to 6.582/210.83). He had lane choice and a huge starting line advantage in the final round matchup with Jason Line, but got out of the groove and had to shut down. Still, Anderson was incredibly pleased with the overall outcome of the weekend.

“My Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro was the best it’s been in years,” said Anderson. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not heartbroken. It was great to have an all-Summit Racing final at the Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals. I really don’t think we could have asked for more.”

Anderson and Line were not the only winning Summit Racing team in Atlanta. Kenny Lang won the Pro Mod title and Tim Wilkerson ended a long winless streak with a victory over Ron Capps.

“I’m proud of the Summit Racing team,” said Anderson. “What happened here today shows what kind of company Summit Racing is. They associate themselves with winners, and they make you a winner. We’re proud to be part of it.”

Anderson is currently third in the Pro Stock points standings.

Lang Ends Win Drought in Pro Mod
Summit Racing Pro Mod driver Kenny Lang ended an almost-two year winless streak with a final round victory over Troy Coughlin at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. Lang qualified 12th with a 5.966/242.67 pass. He defeated Rickie Smith, Eric Latino, and Don Walsh on his way to the final round, where Lang drove Summit Racing 1969 Camaro to victory over Coughlin, 6.061/ 244.07 to 7.392/142.94. The win was Lang’s second career NHRA Pro Mod victory, and moved him to eighth place in the points standings.

Wilkerson Wins in Funny Car
Summit Racing All-Star Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson dominated eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals, defeating fellow All-Star Del Worsham, Jack Beckman, and John Force to reach the final round against Ron Capps. Wilkerson got a .020 second starting line jump, and clinched the win when Capps went up in smoke at the 330 foot mark. Wilkerson is currently eighth in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Top Fuel
Doug Kalitta qualified eighth (3.863/319.60). He defeated Spencer Massey in Round One of eliminations, but lost to Antron Brown in Round Two. Kalitta is currently fourth in the points standings.
J.R. Todd qualified sixth (3.807/321.35). He defeated Morgan Lucas in Round One, but lost to Leah Pritchett in Round Two. Todd is currently 10th in the points standings.

Team Summit Results: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson qualified sixth (4.048/313.00). He defeated Del Worsham, Jack Beckman, and John Force to make the final round and take the win over Ron Capps. Wilkerson is currently eighth in the points standings.
Del Worsham qualified 11th (4.139/307.30) but lost to Tim Wilkerson in Round One. He is currently third in the points standings.
Alexis DeJoria qualified eight (4.064/284.81) but lost to Ron Capps in Round One. She is currently ninth in the points standings.

Final Round Results
Top Fuel: Antron Brown defeated Leah Pritchett, 3.877/310.48 to 4.202/260.41.
Funny Car: Tim Wilkerson defeated Ron Capps, 4.318/260.31 to 5.781/125.90.
Pro Stock: Jason Line defeated Greg Anderson, 6.606/211.33 to 8.628/114.39.
Pro Mod: Kenny Lang defeated Troy Coughlin, 6.061/244.07 to 7.392/142.94.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: Hector Arana defeated Eddie Krawiec, 7.236/162.47 to 10.107/85.28.

Next Race
The next event is the NHRA Kansas Nationals, May 22-24 in Topeka, Kansas. Visit Drag Race Central for more news and in-depth results from the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.