CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Call them the Twin Terrors of the National Hot Rod Association's Pro Stock class.
Jason Line and Greg Anderson seem to be dominating -- again -- in their KB / Summit Racing Pontiac GXPs, making it tough for even cagey veterans such as Mike Edwards, Jeg Coughlin, Warren Johnson, and Allen Johnson to find any weaknesses to exploit.
Line, the reigning Pro Stock champion, earned his 28th career victory Sunday in the Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway, tying him with Darrell Alderman for seventh place on the category's all-time list. Anderson was in the spotlight a week before that, winning the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. They faced each other in the final round Sunday, kicking off three sets of teammates-versus-teammates showdowns. Line won with a 6.558-second, 211.69-mph pass, but Anderson was right alongside him down the quarter-mile course, clocking a 6.570, 211.06. "It feels good to get my first win here in Phoenix," Line said. "We've had one of the best cars in the class for the first two races but weren't able to close the deal in Pomona, so it's great to get the job done today. “Of course, going into the final we knew a Summit car was going to win, which took some of the pressure off.," he said. "Still, anytime you go up against Greg, you know you're going up against one of the very best, so you have to be on your very best game if you hope to beat him. Fortunately, we were able to make a good run and get the win. "All in all, today was a really good day," Line said, "but I'm looking forward to getting home [to Troutman, N.C.] and spending a little time with my family, who I haven't seen since before Pomona. After that, it will be time to get back to work. We have a couple weeks before the Gatornationals, and just like everyone else, we're going to be spending some long hours, looking to make these cars run even better. We've gotten off to a good start, and we want to keep it going." Anderson is just as gluttonous for goal-achieving as Line is. And he said after Sunday's runner-up finish that left him at the top of he standings by a mere point, "Even though we made a pretty good run, it wasn't enough to catch Jason and his rocket ship. Still, my Summit Racing Pontiac ran well all day, and I made it to the final against my teammate, which is our goal at every race. So I had a very good day. "This was the first time in about 10 years that we actually ran well here in Phoenix," Anderson said. "There were a lot of cars having a heck of a time getting a handle on the racetrack today, but our guys did a tremendous job of adjusting our race cars and we went right on down, so my hat's off to them. They're the reason we won the race. It's been a great two weeks, and we're looking forward to keeping it going." Their next chance is the March 8-11 Tire Kingdom Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Florida. # # #