Summit Racing Pontiac racer Jason Line entered Sunday’s final eliminations of the Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, PA as the hottest driver in the Pro Stock category, having advanced to five consecutive final rounds, winning twice. He continued this solid performance in the rain–abbreviated qualifying at Maple Grove Raceway, capturing the fou rth starting position, and did a masterful job of controlling his race car in the opening round, posting a quick 6.684-second time to defeat Steve Spiess despite having to lift off the throttle after running through some of the water that had seeped up on to the track, an issue which forced a three-hour delay as NHRA officials worked to repair the racing surface.
In the second round, Line was the beneficiary of Ron Krisher’s red light start, allowing him to advance to the semifinals for the twelfth time in this season’s seventeen races. The final obstacle between the 2004 Reading champion and his sixth consecutive final round appearance was rival Jeg Coughlin, whom he had defeated three times in the last four races. Although Line was able to post his quickest pass of the weekend at 6.677 seconds, it was not enough to gain the win, as his opponent used a 6.646-second time to advance.
Disappointed by the outcome, Line was nevertheless appreciative of his team’s accomplishments over the past two months, and was equally determined to start another streak at the next race.
“We had a nice string going, but all good things come to an end,” said Line. “The car was never happy all weekend, and for some reason we were never able to get a good handle on the racetrack. The bottom line is that we just had an off day, which happens to everyone. This Summit Racing team has been pretty good lately, but it’s hard to be perfect all the time. Besides, I am sure there are a lot of our competitors who would like to have had the day we had today.
“Of course we’re not happy, but there are still some positives that we can take away from here. We learned some things that we’ll be able to use in the future, which will help make us better. This is a good KB Racing team, and we will bounce back. We just have to get to work and start a new winning streak in Indy.”
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