NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Mello Yello's Al Rondon, left, and NHRA President Peter Clifford congratulated Jason Line after he clinched his third Pro Stock world championship.

Jason Line capped a dominant season by the KB Racing team by driving his Summit Camaro to the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock championship on Sunday at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona. Line, who won Pro Stock titles in 2006 and 2011, as well as a Stock eliminator national championship in 1993, clinched the title when he defeated reigning champ Erica Enders in the semifinals.
 
After qualifying in the No. 1 spot with a 6.545, Line entered final eliminations with a 23-point advantage over his teammate, Greg Anderson, whom he will race in the final round. With 20 points available per round-win, Anderson can’t catch Line, even if he should win the all-KB team final.

“I don’t like pressure; I’m a boring guy, and to have it come down to the end like this is hard on my heart,” joked Line. “It’s been an incredible dream season. I can’t believe I didn’t mess it up. You think about it, but you don’t want to overthink it because it’s not about thinking; it’s about letting your foot out, and I struggle with that sometimes. It’s such an honor to be here; you have no idea.

“It was a great year. I want to thank all of our competitors; they get us honest and made us work hard to the end. I also want to thank all of the Summit folks and Ken and Judy Black. I also want to thank Greg for being a great competitor and a great boss.”

The 2016 season represented a dramatic change in the NHRA Pro Stock class with a variety of sweeping rules changes, including the introduction of electronic fuel injection and a mandatory 10,500-rpm rev limit. Line and Anderson were quick to adapt to the new regulations and combined to win the first 13 events of the season. Collectively, Anderson and Line have appeared in 28 finals during 2016, and they will finish the year with 16 wins in 24 events.

Line, who worked as an engine builder for Joe Gibbs’ NASCAR Sprint Cup team, has won eight times this season in 13 final rounds. He was never ranked lower than second during the season. Line entered the Countdown to the Championship as the top seed and never relinquished the lead. During the six-race playoffs, Line has compiled an 11-4 round-win record.

“After I won in Charlotte [to open the Countdown], I started to think that maybe I had a shot. Greg and I have had probably the two best cars all year. It’s been a fun year, and if it had ended any other way, I’d have been disappointed. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” he added.