The NHRA’s Pro Stock category made history on Friday at the 4-Wide Nationals in Concord, NC as for the first time in recent memory, the “factory hot rods” competed in a four-wide format. Although racers had to deal with a revamped timing system, which included an additional row of lights at the top of the starting line Christmas tree, the remainder of the runs were like any other on the circuit, providing some close competition among the 26 cars attempting to qualify.
Among those excelling on the day were Jason Line and his Summit Racing team, who recorded two runs in the 6.5-second range, with his 6.584-second, 210.50 mph pass in the evening session slotting him in the No. 1 position with two attempts remaining on Saturday.
“It feels really good to come out of the box as well as we did,” said Line. “We haven’t been running all that well lately, so to put one of our Summit Racing cars on the provisional pole here in Charlotte is a great thing, especially here in front of our families, friends and hometown fans.
“This four-wide format has certainly thrown us Pro Stock guys for a bit of a loop. It’s going to take a little time for us to get used to it, but we are definitely enjoying it so far. To stage a Pro Stock car with a clutch and a throttle is a little different from the other classes, and poses a bit of a challenge. Hopefully by Sunday, it will become second nature. The bottom line is that if the fans like it, it’s a good thing, and we’ll adapt to it as best as possible. I applaud Bruton (track owner Smith) and the NHRA for trying to do something different and grow our sport.
“Tomorrow, we’ll keep fine-tuning on our set-ups. We’ve been working to match the engine to the car, so obviously today was a good day. I’m getting a little more comfortable with this format, but look forward to having two more chances at it before heading into race day.”
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