PRO STOCK
Jason Line wanted to give spectators at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park something to remember in the hometown of KB Racing’s primary sponsor. He delivered what amounted to a personal thank you.
Line, driving the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, won the Pro Stock class of Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals to complete a Chevrolet first-half sweep of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with 12 victories.
Line defeated KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson in the final round for his class-leading seventh victory of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and 44th of his career.
In their 32nd head-to-head final, which includes the past four events, Line ran 6.678 seconds to Anderson’s 6.717. Anderson, competing in the finals for the 133rd time, is 18-14 in final-round matchups with Line.
“To win the Summit race in the Summit car at the Summit track is a huge deal. Greg and I have been very fortunate to be able to make that happen a lot of times throughout our racing careers so it’s fun and really exciting,” said Line, the Pro Stock points leader.
Anderson, who was the No. 1 qualifier for the fifth time this season and the 85th in his career, has won the other five races.
“He’s the person I want to race the most in the final, but he’s also the person I want to race the least in the finals,” Line added. “He’s got killer instinct and he’s a great driver.”
Proving that he has gained a lot of ground on the powerful KB Racing duo of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, who have gobbled up all 11 Pro Stock trophies this year, Shane Gray came within .0017-second of scoring the biggest upset of the season Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.
With a spot in the final round on the line, Gray earned an impressive .023-second starting-line advantage against Anderson, a five-time winner this season. The chase was on from there and Gray managed to keep his Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro ahead of Anderson's hot rod through every timer except the one the counts at the finish line, where Anderson stole away the win by six inches.
"We gave him a scare," Gray said. "I actually didn't see him at all for a good portion of the race. I felt like I had a great light and I was just so focused on getting through the gears as efficiently as possible. When I finally got into high gear, I allowed a little peek over and just saw a flash of the very front of his car.
"I was hoping for the finish line to get there. I promise you it would be impossible to push the gas pedal any harder than I did without breaking it off. It was obviously very close at the stripe and I had to look at the lights on the wall to see who won."
The scoreboards showed Anderson to be the winner, with his 6.675 at 208.04 mph just enough to edge Gray's 6.699 at 206.86 mph.