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Jason Line Strides to Gain First NHRA Pro Stock Pole with New Chassis at St. Louis

26 Oct 2012

The NHRA Pro Stock Class is tight, as usual,with Jason Line currently sits 2nd in the points lead

After a very brief one-year hiatus from the NHRA schedule, teams and fans alike returned to Gateway Motorsports Park, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, for the Inaugural AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. With a decent weather forecast for the first part of qualifying, Pro Stock teams were eyeing a small possibility of setting a national record and grabbing the precious championship points that are awarded with it. There may not have been any national records to witness, but there was plenty of setting and resetting both ends of the track record in Pro Stock, and Jason Line, in his still new Summit Camaro, had a whole lot to do with the excitement.

With fairly decent air for the team's to tune for during session one of Friday, Erica Enders went right to the top of the heap with a clean 6.521 pass and a new track E.T. record. Vincent Nobile and Allen Johnson were right on her heels with a pair of identical 6.534 runs. Jason Line's ride gave him some extra spin off the line to contend with and slowed the all-important early numbers, but still managed a 6.553 and a new track MPH record of 212.76.

By the second session numbers really started to tighten up as Pro Stock teams were really starting to get a handle on what their cars and the track wanted. With a much more solid launch, Line jumped up to the top with a 6.514, resetting the track record. Enders and Johnson also gaining some ground with their respective 6.51 runs, but not quite enough to hold off Line, who would hold down the proverbial number one spot after the first day of qualifying was in the books.

"We were very happy with the car and the track did seem to get a little better as the day went on," Line stated. "As we went through the sessions, we pretty much always had the top speed and we contribute a lot of that to the K&N scoops we have on these cars. Obviously, we acclimated to the track a little better each time we went out. So just a combination of all those things, played a part in us improving throughout the sessions."

Jason Line matches up with Erica Enders at Gateway Motorsports Park

The first session out on Saturday would provide the last of the cooler air conditions and Pro Stock teams did their best to tuning to take full advantage. Line blazed down the quarter to make the fifth quickest pass in Pro Stock history and again lowering both ends of the track records to a 6.496 at 213.47.

"To be honest, we felt like we could have gone a forty-nine on Friday night. It really wasn't that much faster out there the next day," he pointed out of conditions. "It was probably a little slower even, on Saturday morning. I felt comfortable that the fifty-one from the day before was going to hold, but we were real happy with the forty-nine we laid down Saturday morning. Apparently the tune-up changes we were making between each run were the correct moves and we were going in the right direction."

The final qualifying attempt brought much warmer conditions and not the kind that would help teams make any huge gains from the passes before. Line was again the quickest of the session and not too far off his earlier numbers with a 6.509, which was also notably more than two-hundredths quicker than the second quickest of the round.

Line points out that while the importance of low E.T. is more often stressed than that of high MPH, the latter can still have some vital influence on the outcome of events. "Sure we talk about E.T. a lot, but not only for the guys that are tuning these cars, they are always looking for faster mile-per-hour and when we do get it like this weekend, it says a lot about their efforts," he explained. "But it can also play a huge role in qualifying. It is used as a tie-breaker when you have the same E.T. as another driver and can very easily mean the difference, in a class like ours that is so tight and competitive, in say getting the top spot for qualifying and the K&N bonus money or not getting it. Luckily for us, that wasn't going to be a factor for this event."

"This new car is getting better all the time," he continued. "Right now, I can't say anything bad about it, it's a very good car. It's always great to get my picture taken with a K&N hat on and be able to take advantage of the awesome program that they have in place for our Pro Stock class."

The number one spot and the K&N Low-Qualifier bonus awards was the first for Line since making the switch to wheeling the team's latest addition of a new Camaro ride. Added to his early season success, the feat made for his sixth pole of the 2012 season and a career milestone of thirty times starting race day from the top.

With just over a handful of events left to gain points, currently Line sits fairly solid in the top half of the field for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge. The run for the $50,000 race-within-a-race championship will take place early next spring as part of the 14th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 5-7, 2013 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Jason Line Powers to the Top During Final Pro Stock Session at Maple Grove Raceway Pennsylvania

26 Oct 2012

Jason Line currently drives a relitively new 2012 Camaro in the NHRA Prostock Class

For the seventh time during the 2012 season, Jason Line drove his Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock ride to the top of the qualifying field, by adding his most recent pole during the 28th annual Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals. The feat made it back-to-back number one qualifiers for Line and his still relatively new 2012 Chevy Camaro chassis and he did so with grand style, saving a spectacular run for the fourth and final session at Maple Grove Raceway, just outside of Reading, Pennsylvania.

During the opening session of Pro Stock qualifying Friday afternoon, humidity ran a little on the high side, although temperatures were comfortable in the mid-seventies and the adjusted altitude was hanging below 2300'. Current K&N Horsepower Challenge point leader, Allen Johnson managed to tune the best of the entire class, for the track and air conditions, and lay down the quickest lap of the session. Johnson's 6.545 easily edged out Line, who came up with the second quickest of the session and a 6.553.

By the time the team's rolled into the staging lanes for their second shot, track temps had cooled from 100 to 92 and the humidity had dropped a full ten percent, but one wouldn't notice much of a change in the performance of the top two. Allen Johnson ran just one thousandth off his previous run and posted a 6.546, while Line fell off five to a 6.558. But even before they had their shot, V. Gaines had trumped them all to shoot up to the proverbial top spot. Gaines laid down a 6.544, and going into the end of the first day of on-track activity, he was looking at the chance of grabbing his career first number one qualifier.

"Short times were really, really good. I shut it off at 6.40 [seconds] into the run. So I guess we're lucky it went as fast as it did," said the 65-year-old racer following session two. "Shutting it off early will hurt the mile an hour more than it will the E.T. But it certainly had a little more left in it."

"We've been improving steadily, since about Atlanta, and we just keep getting better and better every week," Gaines continued. "Obviously making mistakes, but certainly forward progress and having a lot of fun."

"We're in charge of our own destiny, and nothing's more rewarding than to have a run like this after the guys in the engine shop that madcap there. They're working day and night and day and night -- and I got to tell you, we've got a lot of things coming. So I'm really excited about what the future holds for us."

With not-so-nice weather forecasted for the remainder of the event, Gaines joked that the only way he felt he may be able to hang on to the top spot would be, "A rainstorm".

Jason Line sits 3rd in the 2013 K&N Horse Power Challenge points race

"Obviously, we've got a good combination," he added. "We all read the weather forecast, and it's hard to say what it's going to do. If the weather conditions change, it throws a whole new opportunity out there. So we'll go out there and see what we can do."

When Saturday rolled around, the racers were greeted with cloudy skies and a track temp of only 76 degrees. This session didn't seem to bode well in the improvement department for most and even though Gaines was able to hold on to his top spot as the competitors made their way down the eastern PA track, he fell way off his pass from the day before, this time only coming up with a 6.589. Line, however, was starting to show some teeth as he laid down an identical 6.558. Even though the effort would not improve his qualifying position, he was quickest of the session.

It would be the final attempt for the Pro Stock category that would make things real interesting. Now with the best air conditions of the meet thus far, drivers from all over the sheet started shaking things up. First it would be 2012 U.S. Nationals winner Dave Connolly, who would start the swapping for the top spot, as he pushed Gaines from his perch with a 6.539. Not to be outdone by her teammate and crew chief, next Erica Enders would take her turn on the pole with a 6.538.

But it was far from over. Jason Line, who had now been bumped from third coming into the final session all the way down to seventh, had quite a number up his sleeve. Line blazed past the field to grab the number one spot for his first time of event during the very last pair in Pro Stock qualifying. Line's 6.515 at 212.36 was an amazing more than two-hundredths of a second quicker than the closest to him at number two.

Line grabbed up the maximum points [175] for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge, as well as his second K&N Low Qualifier $3,000 bonus check in a row. Line has now placed himself on the pole for race day a total of thirty-one times over his Pro Stock career and seven of those coming so far in 2012.

What made it even more interesting, is what we will never know. Given the fact that it was pointed out that Line's teammate, multi-time K&N Horsepower Challenge champ Greg Anderson, lifted during his final run down the track, it very well could have been Line sitting at number two. Anderson was trying to pick his spot on the ladder and in doing so, try to insure a potential matchup for race day with Allen Johnson.

"It was entertaining to watch Greg try to pick his spot. He lifted. He was trying to pick his spot on the ladder. He was trying to race A.J. early and knock him out. That didn't work out too well," Line said shortly following qualifying on Saturday, chuckling as he spoke. "If he had just kept it to the floor, he would have been on the pole. He was faster than I was at 1,000 feet."

"There are too many variables," he continued on Anderson's attempt. "You've got to count on everybody else to do the right thing. We don't even know what we're going to do, let alone what anybody else is going to do," he said. "I just try to be No. 1. That's my goal always."

Competitors had hoped for the same type of conditions they were afforded during the same event the previous year, but things just didn't quite add up for record setting performances, such as Line experienced when he set the E.T. record of 6.477, that still holds today. "We should've been faster than we were," he admitted of the run. "I don't know why we weren't. Certainly these cars are capable of going [6].44 or .45 very easily, maybe even faster. It takes the perfect conditions and the perfect racetrack. To have all those things line up is difficult."

With just two events remaining during the 2012 NHRA season, Allen Johnson still holds down the top spot in the 2013 K&N HPC standings. Erica Enders is 105 points behind at number two and with Line's two latest number one efforts, he is sitting nicely in the number three spot.

"It always feels good to get the K&N bonus and more points for the Challenge," Line admitted. "It's a program that is very important to not only our team but to everyone who competes in Pro Stock."

The teams head to "The Strip" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then wrap up the 2012 season in November during the NHRA World Finals in Pomona, California.

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Terra Cross Icon Daryl Rath Caps 2012 with Championship Win Number Eight

26 Oct 2012

The K&N backed veteran competitor said he has every intention of racing in 2013

"I believe this is number eight," commented Daryl Rath during an ESPN interview. "I'm blessed. I have raced all of my life and got to do things that most people just dream of. I seriously have nothing to complain about, I'm 44 years old and I saw people this weekend that I had not seen in 20 years and they could not believe that I am still doing it. And still doing it competitively!"

What Rath is "still doing" is TerraCross racing. If you've never heard of it you're not alone. Terracross, as seen on ESPN, was formally branded as the Quad Terrain Challenge, and in September of last year it made its spectacular return to motorsports racing at the 2011 Haydays Extravaganza.

Fans immediately take to the sport as it pits ATV's, UTV's and Side-by-Side's against the most excessive, extraterrestrial inspired terrain imaginable. Topography that includes lunar-like rock crossings, malevolent log sections, vehicle consuming mud and pretty much anything else a demented track ogre would need to claim victims. The idea is not only to survive the course and chaos, but to undergo it faster than everyone else. The series recently wrapped and it was none other than K&N racing veteran, Rath, claiming the overall ATV category title and complimenting that with the runner-up spot in Side-by-Side.

Rath is no stranger to TerraCross, as he's been diligently working behind the scenes for two years helping the ESPN X Games Promoter to bring the sport back in a big way, by debuting it in front of 35,000-40,000 estimated spectators. "TerraCross was created for the ESPN Great Outdoors Games by Tes Sewell," explained Joe Duncan, another key player in bringing the event together. "It evolved into the professional sport of Quad Terrain which played for two seasons on ESPN. With the original name TerraCross back and the help of Rath the large crowds at Haydays will see this thrilling action packed form of competition."

Rath added a 2nd overall in Side-by-Side's to his 2012 ATV TerraCross title

Give us a few insights from your thrilling opening round win in Elk River?

"I had some experience with terrain racing in these conditions on a Utility, but was excited to see how the RZR would do. The biggest battle is with the track, and making sure you can race a good line, and to be quick to adapt to the track as the track changes. It was also great to be a part of a series that will be televised on CBS Sports Network giving this sport such great exposure. After talking to some of the people involved both the racers and the spectators, everyone is pretty excited about Terracross."

How long have you been racing Side-by-Side's, how'd you get started?

"I have been lucky to have such a great long standing relationship with Polaris, and that opened the door for me to try Side-by-Side racing. My first race in a Side-by-Side was a GNCC event , and I did some Ice Racing in it, and now I am doing the TerraCross."

Daryl Rath won the season opening TerraCross event at the Haydays Extravaganza

The Elk River race was back in June, and we know the 2012 season treated you very well overall, recap some of the highlights as you saw them?

"I am happy with what I was able to accomplish in 2012. I finished winning the Championship in the Utility Class and finished 2nd Place in the Championship for Side-by-Sides . Winning a Championship will follow you in your career, winning races is a lot of fun, but a championship is what every racer strives for."

What's up next and have you started thinking about the 2013 season yet?

"I am honored to be able to say I am racing another year. I have been blessed to be able to do it for so many years and to build some lifelong relationships with people in the Industry that I now consider friends. I am hoping to be able to fit more TT racing into my schedule for next year along with Terracross and a few other surprises. It's that time of year and some things still need to be kept quiet!"

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Dylan Kwasniewski Wins K&N Pro Series West Race at All American Speedway in Roseville

26 Oct 2012

Winning at All American Speedway in Roseville put Dylan Kwasniewski in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West points lead

Kwasniewski took over the lead in the K&N Pro Series West Series standings with the win at Roseville. He is two points in front of Gene Price Motorsports teammate Greg Pursley with one race to go. The 17-year-old Kwasniewski rallied through the field after his car got a flat tire early in the race. He took the lead from Eric Holmes on lap 119 of the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 and went on to win his third race of the season.

Pursley, the reigning K&N Pro Series West Series champion, also had tire troubles, but didn't recover well. He climbed all the way up to fourth place midway through the race, but fell back at the end and came in 13th. It wiped out the 14-point lead Pursley had in the K&N Pro Series West standings entering the race. "I'm in the lead by one or two points," Kwasniewski said. "This was by far the best race. We not only gained the points lead, but we won the race. I can't thank the guys enough, and my mom, too. This is the happiest I've been all year."

Dylan Kwasniewski had a little tire trouble during the race but managed to pull off a first place finish

Kwasniewski won the pole, but Derek Thorn passed him for the lead on the first lap. Thorn was out front for the first 14 laps of the race. Eric Holmes and Thorn battled for the lead over the next 19 laps before Holmes took over. Holmes led a race-high 101 laps and was out front from lap 33 to lap 118. Kwasniewski passed Holmes on lap 119 and held on over the final 11 laps of the race. "We just had an awesome car," said Kwasniewski, who won the fifth race of his K&N Pro Series career. "That was by far the best race I've had all year. It was so good to finish in the front. There's no better feeling." Holmes was second, his eighth top-five finish in 14 races this season.

"Disappointed we didn't get the win, but Dylan had a really fast car coming through the pack," said Holmes, a three-time K&N Pro Series West champion. "Congratulations to him. That was an awesome win for him. Long greens, I was a little better than him I think. Just them short greens, he got by me."

David Mayhew made his return to the K&N Pro Series West after racing for Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and was third at Roseville. It was his eighth top-five finish in 13 West Series races.

Dylan Kwasniewski looks forwad to the next race at Phoenix International Raceway as the 2012 season comes to a close

"Once the green flag dropped, the thing was pretty good," Mayhew said. "Just a lot of rubbing racing. Two-wide on a short track like this is good racing, but you're going to rub a lot. It was fun, just wish we had a little more for the 03 (Kwasniewski) and the 20 (Holmes)." Thorn dropped back at the end of the race and finished fourth. Rookie Cameron Hayley was fifth.

The K&N Pro Series West season finale is the Casino Arizona 50 at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 10. Mayhew won the K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix in March.

Pursley has won four races this year. He won the 2011 K&N Pro Series West season opener at Phoenix. He won the pole but finished 23rd at Phoenix in the 2011 season finale.

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Current 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Point Leader Allen Johnson Picks Up Another Pro Stock Pole

26 Oct 2012

Allen Johnson was unstoppable during the Fall Finals in Ennis Texas

As the NHRA teams continue their trek crisscrossing the country from not only one venue to the next, but also the sometimes greatly varying air and track conditions they encounter from event to event, Pro Stock teams continue to keep their eye on the elite prize of putting their name on the list for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge. After fairly decent temperatures the week before in North Carolina, racers were greeted with a little more heat for their next event and the 27th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas.

Every team seems to have their weather, where their tune-ups just seem to shine, and for Allen Johnson and his Mopar Dodge Avenger, the hotter the better. The weather and track conditions served up to teams during qualifying, for the NHRA event outside of Dallas, played right into Johnson's logbook and they came out swinging.

During the first lap down the track, surface temperatures were just a tick over one-hundred thirty degrees and air temps soaring into the low nineties. Just three teams were able to put their rides into the 6.50 range, Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders and Allen Johnson. It would be Johnson's 6.585 at 211.86 that would grab the top spot and set pace for the event.

While temps remained high for the second session on Friday, the track had cooled ever-so-slightly, giving teams a little more to work with on the completely concrete surface. Again Johnson was not only the quickest Pro Stock of the session, he even managed to improve nearly two-hundredths of a second when he posted a 6.568 and distanced himself quite a bit from the rest of the field.

"Our game plan with the Mopar Dodge Avenger is consistency," said Johnson following the first day of qualifying. "We've done that so far after two runs. We won both runs and that's what we were shooting for."

"It's a great track and great surface," he continued. "There's a lot of traction out there and that's what we were banking on."

With the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge around the corner, points are a big deal to future contestants like Allen Johnson

When it was noted to Johnson that the track he was on the prior weekend was also all concrete and he hadn't managed the same success, he explained the some of the reasons that are not so obvious to the naked eye. "The difference between Charlotte and here is Charlotte (is like) a ski ramp. Flat on the starting line and ground downward," Johnson pointed out. "It's really, really finicky for Pro Stock cars because as your rear tires go through the staging beams, they start dropping and the reared starts trying to kick the rear of the car out. This means you really have to keep the front end of the car down. It makes it a little tricky and the car wants to spin the tires."

"We never really got a great handle on it there. It was decent on race day but Jason [Line] and Greg [Anderson], have a handle on that track. They test there all of the time."

If anyone was showing they had a handle on the track at Texas Motorplex early in the game it was Johnson.

"This track is great, it is flat, and without the ski slope," Johnson explained. "It's a more narrow groove. If you stay in the groove, you're going to be okay. It's smooth."

Come the next day and session number three, teams started to make things a little more interesting and as the pairs went down the strip, they shook the field up a little. This was partially thanks to the much cooler conditions with temps in the mid-eighties, less humidity for the naturally aspirated combinations to contend with and a much more favorable track temp of 107.

First, 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge champion, Vincent Nobile took his turn at the proverbial top spot with a 6.564, but as most know things can change pretty quick in the world of drag racing and in just the very next pair to take the track, Erica Enders bumped him off with a nice 6.557. Allen Johnson had been the quickest of the first two sessions and he would make it a third to better himself one last time when he made a smooth 6.550 to wrap up the session.

The teams knew that if they wanted to make any kind of move, the third session was going to be their best chance to get it done and following unsuccessful attempts to improve during the final qualifying session, Johnson's 6.550 remained the number one pass going into Sunday's eliminations. It would mark the tenth number one of the season, the twenty-eighth of his career and the fifth K&N Low Qualifier bonus for the team from Greenville, Tennessee since the points were reset back in July for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge.

"I can remember my first like it was yesterday," said Johnson, whose first number one came in Columbus, Ohio in 2006. "I wondered if I would get another one after that. It's been a great year for the Mopar Dodge Avenger; qualifying number one 10 times and four wins. Hopefully we can add a few more here this season. We're hitting on all cylinders. We have a very consistent strategy right now. We are just trying to make good, clean and safe runs. We're not pushing it and it is still coming out right."

With just seven events left to gain points and position for the 2013 K&N HPC, that will be held during the spring Las Vegas NHRA national event, Johnson continues stay right where he started the current chase and holds down the number one spot. Even with so few chances to gain qualifying points remaining, not one driver has locked in their chance to compete for the $50,000 championship bonus from K&N and anything could happen.

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