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Line celebrates farewell tour with a victory for the 17th straight season

Earlier this year, Jason Line announced plans to retire from driving in the Pro Stock class at the end of the 2020 season and knowing that his swan song is just around the corner, he’s determined to make the most of it.
12 Jul 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
Race coverage
line win

Earlier this year, Jason Line announced plans to retire from driving in the Pro Stock class at the end of the 2020 season and knowing that his swan song is just around the corner, he’s determined to make the most of it. After a runner-up at the season opener in Pomona five months ago, Line collected career Pro Stock win No. 51 at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals when he stopped longtime rival Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the final round. Line got off the starting line cleanly and drove his Summit Camaro to a 6.647 to top Coughlin’s 6.658. Line was appearing in his 104th career Pro Stock final while Coughlin was racing in the final for the 113th time in his career.

“I wish I could see my dad’s face right now because he’s big into streaks and it was important to him that I win at least one race every year that I’m in Pro Stock and we got it done,” said Line. “I want to thank Greg [Anderson]. He worked his tail off this whole time we’ve been off.”


Line was only able to make one run during Saturday’s two-shot qualifying round due to a mechanical issue in Q2, but he made his one shot count with a 6.626 that was good enough to secure the top spot in the field for the 56th time. Line was both consistent and quick on race day with runs of 6.61, 6.62 and 6.60 in his wins against Alan Prusiensky, Alex Laughlin, and KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson. By his own admission, Line was not stellar on the starting line until the final round, where he used a competitive .017 light to leave five-thousandths of a second ahead of Coughlin.

Like Line, Coughlin has also announced that 2020 will be his final season as a full-time driver in the Pro Stock class and he’s also visited the winner’s circle this season with a victory over Line at the Pomona season-opener. Coughlin was the second-quickest qualifier in his Elite powered JEGS Camaro with a 6.635, and drove to Sunday wins against Bruno Massel, Chris McGaha, and Phoenix winner Erica Enders. Coughlin was incredibly consistent on the starting line with four lights between .022 and .029 in eliminations. In the final, he came up just .016-second short of catching Line.