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NHRA - Can Jason Line win the SummitRacing.com Nationals?


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LAS VEGAS (April 12, 2007) - In Las Vegas you can get odds on most anything. The odds that Jason Line will win the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals is five-to-two.

Why has Station Casinos' odds maker Micah Roberts established Line, the driver of one of the two KB Racing LLC-owned, Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs, as the second favorite behind teammate Greg Anderson, who is the frontrunner at five-to-nine odds?

One reason is that Line, who by self-admission is usually a slow starter each season, is off to a fast getaway in 2007. Last season, it took Line 13 races to jump into the top spot in points. This season, the reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion, has assumed the point lead once after race two and currently, after four races, is second, 45 points behind Anderson who leads with 468 points in the "Countdown to Eight" segment of the "Countdown to the Championship,"

Another reason, directly related to points, is that Line has been to two final rounds in the four races contested thus far in 2007, winning at the last race in Houston. His round record is 9 wins and 3 losses, his best start ever after four races since turning pro in 2003.

While he still is looking for his first win at Vegas, the 37-year-old driver, who was born in Minnesota and now calls North Carolina home, does have two final rounds at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Line finished runner-up both times, once to Richie Stevens in the fall race last year and in the fall of 2004 to his teammate.

Line does hope the odds established by Roberts means that he is going to fair well at the eighth running of SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

"I do think that we have a shot to win the race and a shot to be No. 1 qualifier," said Line, as he reflected on the odds. "It does seem like it gets harder all the time to win a race. The competition has got that good. I feel like we have a good car and while it's been a while since we had back-to-back wins, I think that if I drive like I'm capable we can put this Summit Racing Pontiac in the winner's circle no matter the odds."

QUALIFYING: Qualifying for the Pro Stock cars begins on Friday (April 13), with two sessions at 3 and 6 p.m. Qualifying for the Pro Stock class concludes on Saturday (April 14), with two sessions at 12 noon and 3 p.m. Final eliminations for all teams begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Times are local Las Vegas time (PT) and subject to change.

TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the Eighth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD Saturday evening (April 14) from 6 until 8 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (April 15) from 7-10 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday morning (April 18), from 4-6 a.m. Also, NHRA Race Day is back providing the drag racing fan with the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen this Sunday (April 15) from 11-11:30 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing.

KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti, Mich.