New drivers, great racing, and another NHRA Pro Stock championship. That sums up Team Summit’s 2011 racing season. Let’s take a look at the highlights.
Jason Line: 2011 NHRA Pro Stock Champion
The KB Racing championship run continued with Jason Line’s second Pro Stock title. It was the second consecutive championship for KB Racing—teammate Greg Anderson won it in 2010.
Despite back surgery in the off-season, Line climbed into his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP and won the first two events, the Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals and the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals. Line and teammate Greg Anderson also battled for first place during the early part the season.
Line’s next win was a big one—the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in May. The win gave Line a commanding lead over Anderson in the points standings, a position he did not relinquish until dropping to second place after the Mopar Performance Mile-High Nationals in July.
Line earned a spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with a semi-final round finish at the Fram Autolite Nationals. Line regained the points lead after winning the next race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals.
Anderson’s victory at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in August bumped Line to second place; another win over Line in the final round of the U.S. Nationals further widened his points lead.
But the Countdown to the Championship changed everything. Line regained the points lead after a runner-up finish at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals in September and never looked back. He won the next two races (Texas AAA Fall Nationals and Auto Plus Nationals) and won the championship outright at the second-to-last race of the season, the Nevada Nationals in late October.
Greg Anderson Finishes Third in Countdown to the Championship
While Greg Anderson did not repeat his 2010 Pro Stock championship drive, he did turn in a fine performance. Anderson started 2011 with two runner-up finishes to Jason Line (the Gatornationals in March and the Summit Racing Southern Nationals in May) and a win at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 4-Wide Nationals in April. Anderson also won his fourth K&N Horsepower Challenge at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in June, the most wins of any driver in NHRA history.
But those wins didn’t translate into points, with Anderson sitting as low as fifth place by mid-season. A pivotal victory at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals moved Anderson back up into second place in the points for a time. His next win, the Fram Autolite Nationals in late July, earned Anderson a spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Consecutive victories at the Lucas Oil Nationals and U.S. Nationals gave Anderson the points lead over Jason Line heading into the Countdown to the Championship. However, Line took over the points lead with a runner-up finish at O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals and never looked back. Anderson finished the season with five event wins and a third-place finish in the points—a fine effort.
Humphrey, Lang Join Team Summit
Team Summit welcomed two new racers in 2011. Ronnie Humphrey joined the Pro Stock ranks as the driver of the Genuine Hotrod Hardware Pontiac GXP. In his first full season as a Pro Stock racer, he scored one runner-up finish (the Auto-Plus Nationals), one semi-final finish (the Kragen-O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals), and one Number One qualifier (the O’Reilly Auto Parts Springnationals). Humphrey finished the season 11th in the points standings.
Kenny Lang debuted the Summit Racing 1969 Camaro in Get Screened America Pro Modified competition. Lang acquitted himself well in the 10-race series, reaching the semi-finals at the Gatornationals and placing fourth in the points standings.
Team Summit All-Stars: Pro Stock
Warren Johnson finished 2011 with a 15th place finish in the points standings. Kurt Johnson finished 13th in the points, earning one event win (O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals) and two runner-up finishes (Texas AAA Nationals, Auto Club Finals). Larry Morgan finished 12th in the points with one runner-up finish (Summit Racing Equipment Nationals).
Team Summit All-Stars: Top Fuel
Brandon Bernstein finished 2011 with a sixth place finish in the points standings, with one runner-up finish (SummitRacing.com Nationals) and a Number One qualifier (Thunder Valley Nationals) to his credit.
Team Summit All-Stars: Funny Car
Tim Wilkerson finished 10th in the points standings for 2011, earning one event win, a Number One qualifier (both at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals) and two runner-up finishes (VisitMyrtleBeach.com 4-Wide Nationals, Fram Autolite Nationals).
Dan Wilkerson, Tim’s son, made several appearances in Funny Car (including the U.S. Nationals) behind the wheel of a Shelby GT 500 flying the Summit Racing colors.
Team Summit All-Stars: ADRL
Pete Berner delivered the goods in Extreme Pro Stock, finishing third in the points standings and recording one event win, the Safety-Kleen Spring Drags II in April.
Rickie Jones had a busy 2011. He competed in the ADRL Pro Nitrous class, finishing eighth in the points. Jones also joined Team Summit driver Kenny Lang in Get Screened America NHRA Pro Modified competition. Jones competed in three of the last four races, making one semi-final round appearance (the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals).
Congratulations on a terrific 2011 racing season to Team Summit and the Team Summit All-Stars!
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