PRO STOCK

(Ron Lewis file photo)

Summit Racing driver Jason Line started his Full Throttle championship defense in impressive fashion, capturing the Pro Stock title at Sunday’s NHRA Nationals in Concord, N.C., the start of which were delayed by over five hours due to morning rain.  Starting from the second position, Line defeated Frank Gugliotta, Larry Morgan and Warren Johnson in the early rounds before squaring off against current points leader Allen Johnson in the final. 
Although Line was able to gain the upper hand at the start with a strong .013 reaction time, both drivers soon found themselves fighting to maintain control on the very tricky surface. Fortunately, Line was able to regain traction first, crossing the finish line in 7.518-seconds with a top speed of 200.20 mph to outdistance Johnson’s 11.800-second, 78.71 mph pass.  It was Line’s second win of the season, 29th of his career, first in his new Chevrolet Camaro and first at zMAX Dragway.

“This was a big win for the Summit Racing team, and we couldn’t have started the Countdown in better fashion,” said Line.  We haven’t had one for a while, so it feels pretty good.  It’s tough when you get conditions like this and although the track had been pretty good for most of the day, you had to make sure to stay in the groove or else you could be in trouble. However, it was a completely different story in the final. 

“We ran out of sequence because of the weather, and ended up following the fuel cars, which can be a tough situation and you have to deal with it the best you can.  Obviously it’s easy for me to say since things worked out well for us, but we made the best of a not-so-great situation.

“I shouldn’t say this but Allen (Johnson) hardly ever pedals when he shakes, so all I knew was that I was getting back in it as long as I didn’t see him, and I never did.  I may have destroyed the clutch in the process, but we won the race.  Best of all, I was able to get my first win here at zMAX Dragway, which is huge.” 

Erica Enders was well ahead of six-time Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson as the two roared to the finish line. But something was wrong with the track, and Enders' GK Motorsports Chevrolet began sashaying left and right.

Enders thought quickly and pulled the parachutes to regain control and slow her car down, which allowed Johnson to slip past for the victory.

"Unsafe racing surface," Enders said. "The worst surface I've been on in thousands of runs. I didn't have a choice. I hung on to it longer than I should've. At the end of the day, my job is to get the car back to this trailer safely. We've got a car in one piece to go on in the Countdown. That's the only good thing about that."