Jason Line is the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season as the lucrative special event takes center stage Saturday during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
 
A purse of $76,000 is available for the eight drivers competing in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. The winner of the 28th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge will earn $50,000. The runner-up will earn $10,000, the two semifinalists $3,000 each, and the four first-round finishers $2,500 apiece.
 
Line, from Mooresville, N.C., qualified No. 1 at 10 of the 24 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events where drivers could earn K&N Horsepower Challenge points. It will be Line's eighth appearance in the bonus event.
 
The $148,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge showcases eight Pro Stock teams in a race-within-a-race bonus event. Seven of the teams qualified during a 24-race span from the 2011 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk through the 2012 O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Joliet, Ill. The eighth-place team was selected via a special fan vote on the K&N website. Besides the $76,000 available in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, bonuses of $72,000 were paid to the top Pro Stock qualifiers throughout the 24-race K&N Horsepower Challenge series, including $3,000 to the No. 1 qualifier at each race.
 
This year's K&N Horsepower Challenge field features three past winners and five drivers who are looking for their first victory in the special event. The past winners are four-time and defending champ Greg Anderson, third seed and 2008 winner Allen Johnson, and the Fan Vote winner, Jeg Coughlin, who is a three-time K&N Horsepower Challenge winner. Among the five drivers who have never won, two are multi-time runners-up in the race: Mike Edwards (four) and Line (two).
 
In the opening round, top-seeded Line will face fan vote winner Coughlin, who is making his 10th appearance in the event. Second-seeded Edwards will meet first-time qualifier Ronnie Humphrey; third-seeded Johnson will face Vincent Nobile, who is also making his first start; and four-time and defending winner Anderson will meet Erica Enders, who is racing in the Challenge for the third time.
 
Other past winners of the K&N Horsepower Challenge include Larry Morgan, Bruce Allen, Bob Glidden, Darrell Alderman, Kurt Johnson, Warren Johnson, Jim Yates and Dave Connolly.
 
K&N Horsepower Challenge rounds are scheduled for 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. on July 7.