PRO STOCK

(Chris Haverly photo)

Mike Edwards claimed his third consecutive Bristol Dragway win and 30th of his career and in the process denied Erica Enders a milestone victory as she tried to become the first woman to win in the history of the 41-year-old factory hot rod category. Enders left the starting line first in her ZaZa Energy Chevy Cobalt, but the car lost power near midtrack while Edwards sped down the track to finish in 6.685 at 205.79 in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP.

“We made some ugly runs, and somehow we were able to turn the win light on,” said Edwards of his second win of the season. “Some days, no matter how bad you do, you still win. That’s the kind of day we had today. Congrats to my team. They fought hard. This car has given us so many headaches. I hope we can build on this. We have the K&N Horsepower Challenge next week, so hopefully we can build off of this and something good will happen.”

Edwards moved to second in the series standings with the victory and trails Jason Line by 24 points.

ZaZa Energy Pro Stock driver Erica Enders fell to 2009 Pro Stock champion Mike Edwards in the final, but that was after Enders, a Houston native, had the better reaction time off the starting line. Enders' Cagnazzi Racing Chevrolet Cobalt shook the tires as she shifted into second gear, giving the win to Edwards.

That came after seven excellent runs down Bristol Dragway, four in qualifying and three during Sunday's eliminations.

"It just wasn't meant to be today, and that's OK," Enders said. "I trust that there are better things in store. And we get to try again in four days."

That's because the NHRA Full Throttle Series races next weekend at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. In addition to the regular Full Throttle points event, Enders will compete in the K&N Challenge, a special race for eight Pro Stock drivers.

Enders and the Cagnazzi Racing team weathered a five-hour rain delay before having their best performance of 2011, advancing past the second round for the first time. She took out Larry Morgan in the first round, and then won on holeshots in the quarterfinals and semifinals.