In the early 1990s, Jason Line was at Brainerd International Raceway for an NHRA points meet. He was running his newly built 1970 Buick GS 455 in NHRA Stock Eliminator competition. Surrounded by a sea of Camaros, Mustangs, and Mopars, Line had clearly chosen the path less traveled. Walking through the pits of that divisional, I remember having a short conversation with him, complementing him on his Stratomist Blue stocker. He said he chose the Buick because he wanted to race the car he liked.

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While still actively campaigning the KB Racing Summit Racing Equipment Camaro, Line will occasionally bring his trusty 1970 Buick GS 455 to a national event when schedules allow. A professional drag racer piloting a Stock Eliminator car is not a common sight at an NHRA national event, but, as he says, "I am a purist when it comes to muscle cars. I love racing them, and I love restoring them."

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About five years ago, Line spotted this 1970 Buick GS 455 on eBay in basket-case condition. He called his buddy Kurt Anderson at Autokraft Race Cars and Restorations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for his opinion. Anderson says, "When I pulled the ad up, I initially thought that the car looked really rough. It was sitting in the middle of a field somewhere in Idaho or Montana. But then I noticed the cowl tag with the color code 26R, which I knew was a special-order paint. Somehow the color turned out to be the same Stratomist Blue as Jason's race car. The Burnished Saddle interior just made it more unique. To our knowledge it is the only GS 455 convertible with that combination."

Line bought the car and sent it directly to Autokraft for a complete resurrection. In his words, "Everything was replaced." Line rebuilt the entire drivetrain—the 455 engine, Muncie M20 transmission, and 3.64 Posi rear—at KB Racing during his off hours. He might not admit it, but my guess is that he probably fluffed the motor up a bit. Given his knowledge and engine building equipment at KB Racing, who could blame him?

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Unlike the typical caricature of the celebrity race car driver who doesn't have time for "normal people," Line spent hours talking to fans who braved the balmy Chicago weather to attend MCACN. The judges liked the Buick as well, scoring it 999 points out of 1,000, earning him a Concours Gold Award.