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NHRA
NHRA: Line Rocks Pro Stock
Jason Line wasn't sure he'd even be able to make the Pro Stock field at the Gatornationals, much less beat Mike Edwards in the final round on Sunday.
Craig Wack  | http://www.go2Geiger.com  |  Posted March 14, 2010  
Jason Line was as shocked as the rest of his competitors to be the person hoisting a Wally above his head on Sunday. (Go2Geiger.com)
Jason Line wasn't sure he'd even be able to make the Pro Stock field at the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, much less beat Mike Edwards in the final round on Sunday.

Line, who has never failed to qualify for a race, made it in on his final qualifying run on Saturday.

"We started off awful and didn't think we were even going to qualify," Line said. "I thought this was going to be the time I didn't qualify. Before my last run a fan came up to me and said, 'I just wanted to meet you because I read in the fan guide you were the only driver to never fail to qualify.' I rolled my eyes and said thanks a lot buddy."

During Sunday's eliminations, he ran consistent enough to advance to the final where he beat the seemingly invincible Edwards on a holeshot.

Other winners at the Gators were Tim Wilkerson in Funny Car, Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

For most of the end of 2009 and through the first two races of 2010, the question on every pro stock driver's lips has been, "How do you beat Mike Edwards?"

Edwards, who won the Pro Stock championship last year and the first two races of 2010, has been the 800-pound gorilla of the class, but Line used solid horsepower under the Summit Racing Pontiac and an amazing .052-second advantage off the starting line to win the race with a 6.580 second pass at 210.14 mph to Edwards' 6.556 at 211.16 mph in the Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac.

"The only way to beat Mike right now is with your left foot," Line said. "He's got so much horsepower you can't do it with your right, he's got it covered. He left us a little bit of room and we managed to get it done somehow."

Like Line, Wilkerson used a little luck in his Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang to win the Funny Car title on Sunday. Entering eliminations, Wilkerson had yet to win a round this season. At the Gatornationals, his car was running consistently and the other cars literally broke in the lane next to him.

"It been a great weekend," Wilkerson said. "I look back at the whole round of eliminations and nobody went down the track against me. I definitely had the mojo going on."

Jeff Arend, low qualifier Matt Hagan, Tony Pedregon and final round opponent Bob Tasca III all smoked the tires or had some kind of mechanical issue up against Wilkerson. Wilkerson beat Tasca with a 4.097 second pass at 303.78 mph with Tasca with a 4.192 second pass at 287.17 mph.

"The car went down the track every run this weekend," said Wilkerson, who nearly won the championship in 2008. "If you can do that, you are learning. That is my '08 car, and the ol girl acts just like she did in '08. So I'm pumped now."

Schumacher won the Gatornationals for the fourth time in his career, tying him with Joe Amato and Larry Dixon for best all-time. Schumacher said the U.S. Army dragster team made significant changes to the car to give it an edge in the ever-tightening Top Fuel class.

"We changed the fuel system, the blower and a little bit of the clutch to get our (starting) lights back because they have been miserable," Schumacher said. "You can't go out and win races like that. We're all running too close and having awesome battles."

Schumacher beat teammate Antron Brown with a lap of 3.797 seconds at 322.04 mph to Brown's Matco dragster which ran a tire-smoking 6.632 at 101.17.

Krawiec opened the season the way he closed 2009, with a victory. Krawiec guided the Screamin Eagle Harley-Davidson to a final round pass of 6.899 at 195.68 mph to Gann's 6.908 at 194.21 mph on the RumBum Buell.

"I've always wanted to get a win here. It's the place Big Daddy (Don Garlits) made famous," Krawiec said. "To start the season with the win is just great for me. I'm pumped."

Krawiec said the bikes are going to show parity this year thanks to some offseason rule changes that gave horsepower to the slower bikes rather than trying to hold back the quicker ones. He pointed to the fact that Karen Stoffer set the PSM national record during the weekend on the GEICO Powersports Suzuki.

"The top three qualifiers were all three different (makes) of motorcycles," Krawiec said. "They all qualified within two- or three-hundredths of a second. That speaks volumes for the class. I think the NHRA did great with what they did.

"It's a step in the right direction. All the bikes are very close right now."

Up next for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the Four Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway outside Charlotte, N.C. March 26-28.



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Craig Wack

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