National-record run places Enders-Stevens second on Englishtown’s Pro Stock grid
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ Championship points leader Erica Enders-Stevens continues to display her dominance of the Pro Stock field, 
this time posting a national record top speed of 215.55 mph during a 6.473-second qualifying run at the 45th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals. Enders-Stevens’ speed mark raised her own national record by nearly 1 mph, and her elapsed time was the third-quickest in history.
The effort places her Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro second on the Pro Stock ladder, just .001-second behind good friend Allen Johnson. She will now begin preparations for a first-round elimination matchup with Val Smeland, who qualified 15th with a partially shutoff 8.017 at 127.94 mph.
“I’m really excited about how awesome this car is and how well things are going for us,” Enders-Stevens said. “Raising our own national speed record is very cool because in Pro Stock speed is the best indicator of horsepower, so all glory to the guys once again for making awesome engines.
“We went out there today, in conditions we expect will be very similar to what we’ll have tomorrow, and posted two super-fast passes. What’s exciting is I know there is more in the car. We definitely have something to be pumped up about for tomorrow because I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to run even quicker.”
Enders-Stevens already has backed up her speed mark to make it an official record and her e.t. of 6.473 seconds is just two-thousandths of a second off the national e.t. record, so she already is well within range to set an official record in that category as well. By rule, national-record runs must be backed up with another run within 1 percent of the record at the same race to make it an official mark.
“The primary goal on race day is to get the car from A to B,” said Enders-Stevens, a two-time winner this season who has held the points lead for five consecutive races. “But if the opportunity to set the record is there and the guys feel confident we can go for it, we’re not afraid to try.
“This run we’re on is a great reward for the guys, especially after these last few weeks where they’ve been working around the clock to keep up with the engines, sleeping at the shop sometimes because there’s not even time to go home. I’m so blessed to have this team behind me and I’ve never had so much fun racing.”
Qualifying highlights will air this evening beginning at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Eliminations start at noon, Sunday, and will be shown in slight tape-delay later Sunday afternoon.
