Wed, 22 Apr 2009, 03:16 PM Eastbound and Down

By Jon Knapp Jason Line's Cross-Country Project Car Travelogue

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- At the end of an NHRA national event, teams are typically quite anxious to return home. After all, with 24 races scheduled at tracks across the country, time spent with family or preparing in the shop is often at a premium. Therefore, within minutes of each event's conclusion, team transporters are headed for the highway, while drivers and other crew members often scramble to catch the next available flight.

However, following the conclusion of the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas, NV, Summit Racing GXP driver Jason Line used a rather unorthodox method to return home. Teaming with Summit Racing crew chief Rob Downing and crew member Pat Topolinski, Line spent 44 hours driving the 2,200 miles from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to the KB Racing shop in Mooresville, NC in his latest ride and project, a powder-blue 1968 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon.

"The first car I ever drove was a '68 Impala, and for some reason I've liked them since then, so it was a natural choice for a project car" said Line. "I actually have a '68 Biscayne wagon back in Minnesota with a 427 in it, but it's completely rusted out, so I was looking for something with a good body that I could transfer the drive train into.

"I had been looking for the last six months, and had even enlisted (NHRA announcer) Alan Reinhart's help since he lived in Arizona, which offers the best chance for a rust-free car. Although he couldn't find one for me, I was able to locate this car (right) five miles from his house. He was still extremely helpful, checking out the car and putting the whole deal together, including driving the car to Las Vegas. I'm extremely grateful for his help, but he's still not getting a finder's fee. (laughs).

"From the very start, we knew there would be a road trip involved, and as long as the car ran, we felt we'd be fine. With our schedule, we normally don't take a lot of days off, but with the race on the West Coast, we had a small window of opportunity, because if we drove straight through we could beat the team's trucks home and not lose a lot of work. Luckily, everything worked out, the car ran great, and we got back in plenty of time."

Upon his return to North Carolina, the 2006 NHRA Pro Stock champion took time to share some photos from his trip, offering his thoughts on each:

"Here I am in the pits at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, checking and topping off all the fluids. We received plenty of supplies and good-natured advice from our fellow competitors, most of whom came over to give the car a look when I pulled it into our pit area on Friday afternoon."

"As you can see from this photo, we didn't take that much in the way of tools or spare parts. Between Greg's Uncle Les and Alan (Reinhart), they really fixed it up for us beforehand, putting on new heater hoses and getting it all spiffed up for the trip, so we really didn't need that much.

"We had an extra set of points and condenser, a set of spark plug wires, some spare hoses and extra antifreeze, and of course, a hammer and some pliers and screwdrivers, but that was about it."

"Here are my Summit Racing teammates and co-drivers, Pat Topolinski (front) and Rob Downing. Pat is a real character who really made the trip entertaining - his only problem is that he wants to stop and eat every 15 miles - just kidding, while Rob, as everyone knows, is the crew chief on our Summit Racing Equipment GXP. I really appreciate their helping me out.

"Believe it or not, this was not their first cross-country trip of the year, as they drove a 1965 Plymouth Belvidere Rob had bought back from Nebraska after the Winternationals."

"Driving non-stop from Vegas to Charlotte, we obviously didn't have time to do any sight-seeing, but we did pass a couple interesting places along the way, and even remembered to take a picture of a couple of them. At 190 feet in height, it's the second tallest cross in the western hemisphere, which is located in Groom, Texas. You can see it from miles away, and the closer we got to it, the bigger it got. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but believe me, it was big."

"We also passed an Air Force base in Oklahoma that had several impressive planes on display, including a rare B-58 Hustler and the B-52 Stratofortress you see in this picture. I'm sure we all would have loved to stop and take a look, but we were on a pretty tight schedule, and wanted to get home as soon as possible."

"This was a scene that was repeated several times over the trip. Our mileage during the trip ranged from a high of 16 to a low of 12 mpg, which isn't bad considering the size and age of the vehicle.

"Notice the killer ground effect mud flap under the back bumper - that was the first thing I took off once we got home, which took about two hours, because it was hooked underneath the trailer hitch.

"Of course, when you're dealing with a 41-year old car with at least 100,000 miles on it, there are going to be a couple issues that crop up during a trip like this. Fortunately, we had our crack crew chief on hand to perform the repair with exacting precision, as he did here securing the sun visor that wouldn't stay up. Notice the tasteful fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror courtesy of Uncle Les."

"After all those years baking in the Arizona sun, the weatherstripping was naturally dry-rotted, turning the wagon into a mini wind tunnel. We tried sealing it up with duct tape, but, as you can see from this picture of me calling home from the back seat, we often had to resort to alternative methods to keep warm."

"We also discovered that our wagon was not the oldest car on the highway, as we were passed by this really nice 1958 Ford Fairlane, who gave us a big wave as he went by."

"Of course, the worst weather of the entire trip had to come when we crossed into our home state of North Carolina. It's hard to tell from this photo, but it was really coming down. Pat took exception to my driving at this point, because it seemed the harder it snowed, the faster I went. I don't know if it was a combination of my Minnesota heritage or just that I wanted to get home, but it all worked out in the end, and we made it home safe and sound.

"Funnily enough, this turned out to be the last picture we took on the drive. I know we should have taken a picture of our arrival, but by that time we were are pretty tired and ready to get to our respective homes and families.

"It ended up being a fun trip, and I'd love to do it again sometime. Those old Chevrolets run forever, and the closer we got to home, the harder we pushed it, and it never missed a beat. I really want to thank Rob and Pat for their help in getting the car home - I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

"Although I don't have a specific timeframe for getting the car done, I've already got it up on jack stands in my garage and have started taking it apart. I'm really looking forward to turning it into a nice hot rod that I can enjoy with my family. I'll work on it when I can, but a lot will depend on our Summit Racing team's schedule. After all, that's what makes this all possible."