Three-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jason Line saw a window of opportunity to get back behind the wheel of his 1970 Buick GS at the 2019 NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
As often as possible, Line had still been piloting the same blue Buick he won the 1993 Stock Eliminator championship with, but for the first time in his racing career, he entered the reliable racecar in the Super Stock category for the Charlotte race. Since Pro Stock was not scheduled to compete at the Four-Wide Nationals, Line could dial into reconnecting with his Sportsman-racing roots.
“I only get to run my car a couple of times a year, and I really just want to see how fast I can make it go,” said Line before the event. “It’s just a chance for me to go and have some fun. I’m not here to beat up on anybody; they’re going to beat up on me.”
Entered in SS/JA, Line had the chance to test just how fast his car could go when he was faced with back-to-back heads-up competitions in the first two rounds of eliminations.
He qualified No. 8 with a 10.105 (.0895 under the class index) and advanced from the first round with a 10.088 next to a red-lighting Kevin Riner. In the second round, Bryan Worner clocked a 9.928 to defeat Line’s 10.149.
Line is no fan of early exits, but the circumstances that day were more positive than negative.
“This was about being with my wife and kids and having a good time, and absolutely, it was great,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to visit with a few Sportsman racers I haven’t seen in a long time, and I like my old car. In a way, it was kind of a chance for me to relive my youth.”
Scroll down for photos of Jason Line’s Buick GS at the U.S. Nationals in 2019!
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