Joliet: Jason Line preview

Preparation a Key for Line & Crew Heading into Joliet

Mooresville, N.C., June 2, 2010 -- With the recently completed Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of the summer season, families across the country are looking forward to well-earned vacations. However, for competitors in the NHRA's Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the next two months represent the toughest part of their entire season, a seven-race-in-eight-week cross-country odyssey that will most likely determine the players in the 2010 Countdown to One championship playoff.

With so much at stake, pre-race preparations have taken on added meaning, as there will be little time during this period for anything more than simple maintenance. Therefore, since their return from Topeka a week ago Jason Line and the Summit Racing team have been putting in long hours getting ready, as they look to get their summer off on the right foot at this weekend's United Association Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, IL.

"With so much on the line over the next few weeks, it's very important to get off to a good start, said Line. "You not only want to win this weekend, but you also want to set the stage for the races that follow. You don't want to put yourself behind the eight-ball, so it certainly hasn't been hard going to work.

"We've been trying to get a better handle on our Summit Racing Pontiacs so we can start running the way we should, while at the same time getting ready for these back-to-back races. It's all a matter of staying focused on our objective, which means being better than we were at the last race, and then building on that in the weeks ahead."

Located 45 miles to the southwest of Chicago's famous Loop, Route 66 Raceway is a multipurpose motorsports facility that joined the NHRA circuit in 1998. Recognized as drag racing's first "stadium", it offers tremendous amenities for both the racers and the fans. It is also the site of Jason Line's first Pro Stock national event win in 2004, where he started from the No. 1 qualifying position and defeated Troy Coughlin, Steve Johns, David Connolly and his teammate Greg Anderson to reach the winner's circle in only his 12th career start.

"Route 66 Raceway is one of the nicer tracks we go to, with a good racing surface," said Line. "We've been there under all types of weather from unseasonably cold to a hundred degrees, so it's hard to predict how everyone's going to run. Fortunately, this weekend's forecast is looking okay, so we should be in good shape.

"Naturally, having won there three times, including my first Pro Stock national event win in 2004, I always enjoy going back. I'd like to say that we're definitely going to add to that total this weekend, but our approach going into this race is to take it one run at a time. We have a few things we've been working on that have shown some promise, but won't know exactly what we have until we let the clutch out on Friday. We have a tough stretch ahead of us, and this Summit Racing team is determined to get back on top. It may not happen overnight, but we certainly want to start heading in that direction."

-source: kb racing