Five Questions with Team Chevy’s Jason Line – Pro Stock Points Leader - Speedway Digest

KB Racing teammates Jason Line and Greg Anderson, who drive the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, have dominated the early going of the Pro Stock class of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. They have split the wins in the four events and enter the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods at zMAX Dragway first and second in the standings.

Line, who also has posted two runner-up finishes to Anderson, enters his 289th career race with 39 Pro Stock victories and 43 second-place finishes. He’s been the No. 1 qualifier twice already this season after recording three top qualifying spots in all of 2015. In the spring Charlotte event last year, Line set the national Pro Stock elapsed time record with a 6.455-secnd pass. He was the No. 3 qualifier but fell in the second round, and is looking for his first win in the seventh annual event.

Statistics aren’t the whole story, though, for the 2004 NHRA rookie of the year who was the head dyno operator at Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR operation before joining KB Racing in 2002.

Line provides his perspective on the event this weekend and his close-knit team that is off to a fast start to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS:

Q: THE FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS IS CERTAINLY A UNIQUE EVENT ON THE SCHEDULE. IS THERE A WAY TO PREPARE?

JASON LINE: “I don’t know if you can prepare. We’ve been trained for years to do something a certain way and for one weekend we have to do something differently. It definitely takes a little practice and a little luck because there is a lot of stuff going on. It is a lot of fun, though, and certainly a good test for all the drivers. It’s one of those things where you either decide you don’t like it and you continue to or embrace it and try to do the best you can. I’ve embraced it, though I haven’t done that well. This race win has eluded me for some reason. But this year we have a great car and certainly have a great chance of bringing home the Wally.”

Q: THROUGH FOUR RACES WITH THE NEW PRO STOCK TECHNICAL PACKAGE, KB RACING CARS HAVE HAD A DECIDED ADVANTAGE OVER THE FIELD. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MAIN REASONS?

JASON LINE: “We have embraced (the changes to the car) and are going forward. All our (crew) guys did a great job over the winter to learn and adopt these changes. It’s a learning curve for all of us, and we’re not where we need to be by any means. We’ll continue to work to learn as fast as we can. There’s still a lot to learn, a lot of development left in the car. With the help of partners like Chevrolet, we know where we’re going. It’s just a question of how fast we get there. So far, it’s been good for our team; we’ve had a good run through the first four races. This weekend, we’d like to keep that going.”

Q: WHAT IS YOUR ASSESSMENT OF YOUR SEASON SO FAR?

JASON LINE: “It would be hard to say that I’m not happy with the start of the season. If you’re not happy now, you’ll never be. We’ve ran in every round of eliminations; we’ve been in four finals and won two of them. I would have liked to win all four but it didn’t work out that way. I lost to my teammate (Greg Anderson) in the final twice. But our team as a whole I would give us an ‘A’ because we’ve pretty much done about all you can do. It’s very satisfying. That being said, there’s still a lot left to do. We want the rest of the season to continue on this way so we’re working hard.”

Q: THE FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS WILL BE YOUR 289th EVENT IN A SUCCESSFUL CAREER THAT SPANS MORE THAN A DECADE. WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR STAYING POWER TO?

JASON LINE: “I must love it; sometimes I have to tell myself that. It will make you old, there’s no question about it. I love cars and all forms of motorsports, but I’m especially fond of drag racing. I’ve always been a muscle car kind of guy so it’s been great for me. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to last as long as it has, and I’m certainly grateful that it has. I have a lot of folks to thank for that. It’s been fun, and I don’t plan on driving for anybody else. I’ll stay with this team until I’m done. It’s something you don’t see too often. All of our core guys have been here a long time, too. They are pretty loyal folks, and that’s pretty hard to find in today’s world and especially in the racing world.”

Q: THAT FLOWS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE SHOP AND TRACK THAT TEAM OWNER KEN BLACK TALKED ABOUT A FEW WEEKS AGO. HOW IMPORTANT HAS THAT BEEN IN YOUR CAREER WITH KB RACING?

JASON LINE: “I started part-time in 2002 and became full time in ’03. I’m certainly grateful to Ken and to (primary sponsor) Summit Racing Equipment. You don’t see relationships last this long in racing, so I’m very grateful. Of all the things our team has accomplished over the years, I’m most proud of that because nobody has gotten to the point where they have decided it’s all them. There’s a lot of give and take with personalities put on the side. We’ve all figured out what we’re good at and not good at and managed to try to do those things. That’s the makeup of a good team. It’s been a great ride. I have no regrets.”

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.