For the third time this season and the 26th time in their respective careers, the KB Racing teammates had been the class of the field in qualifying, capturing the top two starting positions, which historically has been a good omen for race day, as they had combined to win 19 of the previous 25 races where they had started 1-2. However, the clouds that had covered the Kent quarter-mile were replaced by bright sunshine and warmer temperatures on Sunday, requiring a completely different set-up.

In the first round, Line ran unopposed as Ron Krisher suffered a mechanical malfunction during his burnout. Even so, the Minnesota native set the tone for the day, scorching the quarter-mile in 6.531-seconds with a top speed of 211.06 mph to reset the track elapsed time record.

It was a similar story in the second round against promising rookie Vincent Nobile. Once again, he was awarded the easy victory, as Nobile red-lit, but Line still recorded the low elapsed time of the round at 6.561-seconds to earn lane choice for his semifinal matchup with Rodger Brogdon. Although the two left the starting line at precisely the same moment, Line pulled away for the relatively easy win, with his 6.553-second, 210.24 mph lap outdistancing Brogdon's 6.586-second, 209.62 mph pass, sending Line into the 52nd final round of his career, fourth of the 2011 season and his 17th final-round meeting with teammate Anderson.

"We made a lot of changes to my Summit Racing Pontiac after last week, including putting in a different engine, and we obviously went in the right direction, because it was extremely happy here this weekend," said Line. "For example, it ran well in either lane while others had trouble in the right lane. In fact, I would say this was the best car I have ever had, and I'm very happy we were able to take advantage of it. I just want to thank Rob, Tommy, Jeff (co-crew chiefs Downing, Utt and Perley), as well as everyone else on this KB Racing team, for all their hard work. It's great to see it all start to pay off.”