LAS VEGAS – Defending Pro Stock champion Erica Enders can clinch her second consecutive championship at the 15th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals. After all, she has a massive 154-point lead on her nearest rival in the standings and is riding an otherworldly winning streak of 18 straight rounds of competition at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, winning five successive races at the facility.

Yet the record-setting driver from Texas says this weekend’s race is no different than the first 22 this year, of which she has won eight, an all-time, high-water mark for female drivers.

“I’m treating this race like all the other ones; I want to do my very best to put this Elite Motorsports Camaro in the winner’s circle,” Enders said. “We have an awesome team with the best mechanics, engine builders, and crew chiefs in the world and we have a lot of confidence. To change the way we’ve been racing at this point would be crazy.”

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WYNNEWOOD, OK – As Elite continues to expand its presence in professional drag racing, its support of competition at the Sportsman level remains an important part of its core business.

To augment its participation in the amateur ranks, Elite will merge with Patterson Racing Inc. to form Patterson-Elite Performance. The new company will continue to operate out of Patterson’s shop in Augusta, Kan., and supply high-powered, reliable performance to Sportsman racers across the country.

“This is an extension of our growing business,” Elite owner Richard Freeman said. “Patterson Racing has been a staple in the world of Sportsman racing, and we had been looking for a way to expand into every class of drag racing. This is a perfect opportunity for us.”

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WYNNEWOOD, OK – Elite Motorsports driver Drew Skillman has turned the battle for the NHRA Auto Club Road to the Future Award into a skirmish.

Skillman, who drives the Ray Skillman Chevrolet in the Pro Stock class, has been the dominant rookie driver in NHRA’s professional classes. He has made the choice for the sport’s top rookie an easy one, especially after you consider:

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DALLAS – Erica Enders proved she’s the best drag racer in the country Sunday, beating her nearest two rivals in the Mello Yello points to power to a massive 154-point advantage with just two races left in the season. It was her NHRA-leading eighth win of the year, and first in Dallas.

“I am so glad we were able to get this eighth win here in my home state,” said Enders, who grew up in the Houston suburbs. “You know, I have been talking about a cowboy hat for months, just waiting to come here and win a cowboy hat, so I’m excited to be able to get that done in front of all of our friends and family. It’s just a huge blessing.”

A cowboy hat is the traditional winner’s gift at the Texas Motorplex, a complex owned by former Funny Car driver Billy Meyer. This year, the winner’s also got a belt buckle to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the event.

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DALLAS – Race day at the 30th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals could very well go down as the one that decides the Pro Stock championship with the top three drivers in the Mello Yello points stacked up for early head-to-head battles when eliminations begin Sunday at Texas Motorplex.

Current points leader and reigning NHRA champion Erica Enders has a slight advantage in her Elite Motorsports Camaro as she outqualified both second-ranked driver Greg Anderson and third-place Chris McGaha, who won the last race in Reading, Pa.

Adding a huge dose of intrigue, Anderson and McGaha are slotted to face one another in the opening round, with Enders getting the winner of that head-to-head match should she manage to beat Vieri Gaines in her Round 1 race. The end result is that only one of the three top drivers in the points has a chance to reach the semifinals.

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DALLAS – Erica Enders is known as the reigning Pro Stock world champion. She’s also referred to as the points leader and odds-on favorite to win this year’s title, having led the standings for the last four races. She’s the most prolific female racer in class history and recently passed legend Shirley Muldowney for number of national event victories on the all-time list.

The bottom line is Enders can answer to a lot of different titles, but the one she relishes the most is a simple one: Texan.

Born and raised in Houston, Enders attended Texas A&M before chasing her drag racing dream full-time. The decorated driver of the Elite Motorsports Camaro often wears Texas-themed clothing and jewelry and always greets fellow Lone Star State inhabitants with a broad smile, no matter where in the world she might be.

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WYNNEWOOD, OK – Reigning NHRA Pro Stock World Champion Erica Enders and Elite Motorsports team owner Richard Freeman will appear on the premier episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, which will air Wednesday night at 10 p.m. Eastern on CNBC and will feature Enders teaching the talk-show host/comedian and car enthusiast how to drive a drag race car.

“It will be a great way to introduce the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series to a new audience,” Enders said. “That was a great experience and a neat opportunity. I grew up watching Jay Leno and always enjoyed him throughout my life, so it was cool to be able to work with him. He shares the same passion for automobiles that we do, and that was pretty evident.”

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READING, PA – For the first time in two months, reigning Pro Stock champion and current points leader Erica Enders will not reach the final round of an NHRA national event in her Elite Motorsports Camaro. Enders, the wife of fellow Pro Stock driver Richie Stevens, fell in the second round to Bo Butner Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway when her engine expired, squandering a near-perfect .004-second reaction time.

“When it’s not your day, it’s just not your day,” said Enders, who has three wins and a runner-up in the last four races. “There’s nothing you can do about it. This whole weekend has been goofy with all the rain and only getting one qualifying session. Then we switched to a new motor this morning and hurt it against Kenny (Delco, first-round opponent). The guys thrashed to change it out and then we blew that one up big time against Bo.

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READING, PA – Two days of intermittent rain washed out three of the four scheduled qualifying sessions of the NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, but reigning series champ and current Pro Stock points leader Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports teammates were ready for the lone run they were afforded, qualifying sixth with a safe 6.537-second pass at 213.13 mph.

“It’s always nerve-racking going down a track when the surface temperature is 60 degrees, it’s really cold and damp and the dew point is way up there, but that’s where my guys really show how great they are,” Enders said. “We just went up there and made a very, very conservative run because we really didn’t know at that point if we’d get another session in or if it would start raining again.

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WYNNEWOOD, OK – Elite Motorsports continues to add to its championship team, hiring veteran crew chief and engine builder Brian “Lump” Self this week.

Self joins a trio of talented crew chiefs tuning three Elite Chevrolets: Rick and Rickie Jones and Mark Ingersoll. Elite Motorsports is the reigning Pro Stock champion, winning the 2014 title with driver Erica Enders.

“This is a dream come true to have a chance to work on a team of this caliber,” Self said. “Just to be considered for a job at Elite is an honor. To actually be offered a job is incredible. I feel very, very fortunate.”

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