Line Eager to Start Title Defense in Pomona

Eleven weeks after leaving California as the 2011 NHRA Pro Stock champions, Jason Line and the Summit Racing team will return to the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona ready to start their title defense at the season-opening Winternationals, the first of 23 stops on the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing circuit.

Their plan is to duplicate their Pomona performance from a year ago, when Line charged out of the 11th starting position and defeated an all-star cast that included teammate Greg Anderson en route to the win. Armed with the same talented crew and record-setting race car that carried him to the title, it is easy to see why Line is ready to return to racing.

“It’s the start of the new season and you can’t wait to get back in the race car,” said Line. “It’s been a long winter, and this will be the second year in a row that I won’t have driven my Summit Racing Pontiac at all until a few days before the first qualifying session on Thursday. It worked out pretty well for me last year, and we’re hoping to have the same result again in 2012.

“Unlike the last few years, the off-season has been relatively quiet, allowing us to focus on improving our race program," Line explained. "Although we believe we’ve made some progress, since we didn’t do any real testing, we won’t find out how we did until we let the clutch out in the first qualifying session on Thursday. Even so, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Line spent countless hours and numerous gallons of fuel working on the dyno at the KB Racing shop in Mooresville, NC, exploring every option in the never-ending search for horsepower. Without the benefit of any testing to verify the results of their efforts, the two-time champion is anxious for the year to begin, approaching this initial race with cautious optimism.

“We’ve been in the shop long enough. It’s time to head out to the track and see how well we did with all that hard work during the winter," said LIne.  "Even though it’s been nice being home, and we’ve had a mild winter here in North Carolina, I’m ready to be out in the California sunshine.  The Auto Club Raceway has been a good track for the KB Racing team, and we’d like to add to that record this weekend.  After all, we’re looking to successfully defend our title, and the best way to do that is winning races, which is exactly our plan for this weekend.”

Jason Line By the Numbers - The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
2: Wins scored at the Winternationals heading into this weekend
3: Finishes of the semifinals or better in 8 previous starts at the NHRA season-opener
4.63: Average starting position in 20 career Pomona starts, with only two starts outside the top half of the field
12: Elimination round wins scored in his previous 8 Winternationals starts versus 6 losses for a 66.7 round win percentage