NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Jason Line

Teammates Jason Line and Greg Anderson have experienced a number of high-pressure situations throughout their standout Pro Stock careers, but none of them have included something quite like this heading into this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at historic Auto Club Raceway.

The longtime Summit Racing Equipment duo, who have six world championships between them, are separated by just 19 points heading into the final event of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Line is the current leader and the showdown is the first time the highly-successful tandem has been this close with a title on the line at the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship finale.

“You go through some of these moments and these high-pressure situations and hopefully everything you learned prepares you for this moment,” said Line, who has eight wins this season. “It comes down to doing the best we can and enjoying the fact that we’re in this situation. I want to go win the race. If I do that, I’ll feel good. We’ve never won there in the fall. It’s always eluded me and it would be nice to do it this year.”

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will air for the first time on FOX Sports 1. On Sunday, FS1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage starting at 4 p.m. (ET). The last race of the 2016 season is loaded with juicy storylines, with the duel between teammates Anderson and Line chief among them.

They have dominated the new era of Pro Stock in their Chevrolet Camaros in 2016, with Anderson following closely behind Line’s win total with seven victories. But with just one combined win in the Countdown to the Championship – Line’s playoff-opening win in Charlotte – they’ve had to scratch and claw their way past a talented Pro Stock field. With everything on the line in Pomona, Anderson envisioned the perfect scenario in regards to how everything would play out during Sunday’s eliminations.

“If we can make our way through competition on Sunday, qualify well, and on opposite sides of the ladder make our way through the rounds and match up in the final round for all the marbles, that would be a dream come true just to have that opportunity,” said Anderson, who has four world titles and 85 career wins. “If it were to happen, that would be the best scenario ever and may the best man win. (We’re) looking forward to this weekend, and hopefully we can execute and make it a dream race.”

Anderson, who last won a Pro Stock championship in 2010, does have history on his side. While Line has four wins in Pomona, none have come at the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Anderson, meanwhile, has posted five of his 11 track victories at the event.

“It's a great racetrack for me,” Anderson said. “It's a feel good racetrack for me. I love come Sunday and trying to make your way through the rounds and come final round when that sun goes down and it's dusk and you've got lights shining and the grandstand packed. I love it. It's where drag racing started and it's just got so much history.”

Line will try to make his own history this weekend in Pomona as he chases his third world championship and first since 2011. The 45-time event winner hasn’t been thrilled with his playoff performance but all of that could change with one impressive weekend.

“We’ve haven’t ran as well in the Countdown as we’d hoped, but we’ve outlasted everybody else and that’s all that matters,” Line said. “We’re not satisfied and we want to keep going faster, but it’s going to be a fun weekend no matter what happens.”
 
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying feature two rounds at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, and two final qualifying rounds on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
  
Tickets are available at NHRA.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-884-NHRA. Kids 12 & under can see it all for free with a general admission ticket, while all students can save 50 percent on general admission at the gate with a student ID.