Drag racing’s Erica Enders-Stevens aims for first pro stock title

Erica Enders-Stevens is one of the most successful female drivers in drag racing history, but she’s still looking for her first NHRA championship.

The 30-year-old Houston native drives in the National Hot Rod Assn.’s pro stock class, which is one step below its two fastest classes, top fuel and funny cars.

Enders-Stevens has four wins in her Chevrolet Camaro this season but trails two-time pro stock champion Jason Line by 30 points in this year’s title chase.

The NHRA’s six-event Countdown to the Championship starts this weekend with the Pep Boys NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., and ends with the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona on Nov. 13-16.

“We’ve got to do our job” to secure a title, Enders-Stevens said in notes released by her Elite Motorsports team. “At this point I rely a lot on my faith. I know there’s a bigger plan and we’re not going to get stressed out.

“We’re going to continue to have fun and do the best we can do and see what happens,” she said.

Enders-Stevens become the first woman in NHRA history to win a pro-stock event when she prevailed in Chicago in July 2012, and she now has 10 victories overall. She also finished a career-high fourth in the title standings in 2012.

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