Throughout his recent string of strong runs, Summit Racing driver Jason Line had made it clear that
the one win he wanted most of all was this weekend's Lucas Oil Nationals, held at his home state
track, Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, MN. During Sunday's rain-delayed eliminations,
he came within two thousandths of a second of accomplishing his goal, scoring a runner-up finish to
his teammate Greg Anderson in the second consecutive all-Summit final round.
"Although I'm happy for Greg and our Summit Racing team, this one will probably bother me more than
any other recent loss," said Line. "Not only do I really want to win in Brainerd, but I also
wanted to give the trophy to my friend Peter Boslovitch, whose Stocker I drove this weekend and is
battling cancer. So, in that regard, it's a little=2 0bittersweet. But still I'm really glad that
Greg was able to get that monkey off his back and get that first win."
Starting fourth, Line was challenged from the start, opening against four-time winner Kurt Johnson.
As they have all season, the KB crew responded with the third-quickest time of the round at
6.689-seconds to easily advance. After eliminating veteran Ron Krisher in the second round, the
Wright, MN native faced No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards, who had posted the quickest elapsed time in
every round.
Welding his opponent to the tree with a nearly perfect .006 reaction, Line gained the advantage and
never looked back, using a 6.659-second, 207.15 mph pass to hold off a hard-charging Edwards, who
posted the quickest time (6.630 seconds) and fastest speed (208.07 mph) of the weekend in the
losing effort. This sent Line to his fifth consecutive final round, 42nd of his career and second
at Brainerd International Raceway.
Just as he had in their previous All-Summit final round encounter in Sonoma three weeks ago, Line
gained a slight edge on his partner at the starting line. However, this time it was not enough, as
Anderson's 6.641-second, 207.53 mph run allowed him to just edge Line's 6.655-second, 207.30 mph
pass at the finish line. Despite the initial disappointment, Line was pleased to have continued
his run of strong showings, which moved him into second place in the championship standings and
well within reach of the lead.
"We're making progress working on our Summit Pontiacs," said Line. "For example, my car was
substantially better today than it was Friday, but I still think it can be improved. We still have
work to do in order to consistently run with (Mike) Edwards and the other quick cars and I'm
confident we'll get there. Everyone on this team is working really hard, and we're finding ways to
win. I'm glad to have beaten Mike in the semis on a hole shot, but as an engine builder, I'd
rather out run him, and we will.
"Still, it really was a good day for us and a great day for our sponsors. Now that Greg's gotten
that first win, he's going to be tough from here on out, which this KB crew needs. This is one
team with two race cars, and it's obvious from our performance that we don't play favorites or do
anything that would jeopardize the integrity of the race. It was a great race for the fans, and a
good day for the Summit cars, but we have to keep working."
Established in 1968, Summit Racing Equipment is the leading high performance parts and accessories
company. Summit Racing offers the largest selection, lowest prices, and best customer service in
the high performance industry via catalogs, Internet, and Retail Super Stores. The company is
headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio with retail locations in Tallmadge, Ohio; Sparks, Nevada; and
McDonough, Georgia. For more information, please visit http://www.summitracing.com
