Even though he grew up 1500 miles away from Gainesville Raceway, Summit Racing NHRA Pro Stock driver Jason Line has been a part of the Gatornationals from a very young age. His first experience came at the age of 15, when he accompanied his brother on a road trip to the legendary quarter-mile, taking in the sights as a most interested spectator.
Eight years later, he returned to the Florida track as a competitor, using the Gators as one of his points-claiming races en route to his national championship in the hotly contested Stock category. Finally, in 2004, he became a regular participant at the traditional East Coast season opener racing in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series’ Pro Stock division, culminating with wins in 2005 and 2009. As the drag racing world once again heads to Gainesville for this weekend’s Tire Kingdom Gatornationals, Line took time to reflect on his experience at this marquee event.
“The Gatornationals are one of our oldest and most important races, and is near the top of every drag racer’s wish list, including mine,” said Line. “The first time I attended the Gators was in 1985 when I went to the race with my brother Lance, and we had a huge time. It was a good way to get away from the winter weather in Minnesota and see the stars of our sport.
“After that, I went back with my Stocker in 1993, and made it to the fifth round during my championship season. As cool as that was, it was even better to go back there and win in 2005 and last year with my Summit Racing Pontiac. It was great to win there twice, it would be even better to back up last year’s performance with a third Gatornationals Wally.”
However, before the 2006 Pro Stock champion can entertain any thoughts of successfully defending his win from a year ago, both he and his Summit Racing team must first tackle a series of unusual challenges. First, they must learn how recent rule changes will affect their race car’s performance, as well as their ability to fine tune it. In addition, for Line and seven other racers qualifying will take on added meaning, as the sessions will double as elimination rounds from the recently postponed event in Arizona. Despite these potential complications, it will be business as usual for the KB Racing crew.
“Personally, having to complete the last three rounds of eliminations from Arizona during qualifying doesn’t really change my approach to the weekend,” said Line. “It’s still a matter of trying to make the best run you can, which in this case includes crossing the finish line first. At this point, I’m actually more concerned with adapting our Summit Racing Pontiac to the rules changes we’ve been given since the last race.
“We have some work to do, but fortunately, we’re going to test for a few days before the race, so by the time we get to Gainesville, we should be in pretty good shape. I’ll have some extra motivation as my family will be there with me, which is always fun. The bottom line, however, is that we haven’t gotten off to as good of a start as we’d like this year, and this weekend is the perfect chance for us to get back on track.”
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