After winning in the first and second rounds, Enders-Stevens lined up against Line in the semi's with championship implications in the air, and Enders-Stevens ripped off a .009-second reaction time, getting the crucial round-win when Line turned on the red light.

Then, facing Coughlin in the final round, Enders-Stevens was even better, cutting a .007 light against one of the best drivers in the history of NHRA. She sped to the win with a pass of 6.587 seconds at 206.36 mph to beat Coughlin's 6.596 at 209.14 mph.

"Those were two of the most important rounds of my career," Enders-Stevens said. "I stepped up the plate and it feels good. (Crew chiefs) Rick and Rickie Jones were talking in my helmet and telling me, 'Give it to God, do your best, if you want it, you've got to take it, don't let up, and go after it.'

"That's exactly what they did with the tune-up on the race car and that's what I did behind the wheel today."

The win against Line moved her to within three points of the lead, and beating Coughlin moved her 17 points.


Dave Connolly lost traction in his second-round match with Jason Line. Line turned on the red light in the next round against Enders-Stevens.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. reached his 99th career Pro Stock final, but came up just a little bit short.

"Obviously, the whole Elite (Motorsports) team had their act together there by Q4, and they were strong all day today," Coughlin said. "We had a car that could run with them there in the finals. We were just about a hundredth behind them in performance.

"I let my foot out on the clutch and I was thinking, 'Son of a gun, I didn't hit it as well as I wanted to.' I knew it was a .020 or somewhere around there and obviously didn't have any idea what she had. As it turned out, she put down a nice package."

Coughlin and Mopar teammate Allen Johnson are now tied for fifth in the points standings, as Coughlin moved up three spots with his final-round appearance.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE


In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines, who entered Las Vegas with a 25-point advantage over Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate Eddie Krawiec, raced to the win with a 6.965 at 191.02, defeating reigning world champ Matt Smith. Hines, who claimed his class-leading sixth victory of the season and 38th of his career, holds a 92-point advantage over Krawiec in his bid for a fourth world championship.

“I don’t want to play defense,” Hines said of his preparation for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. “I’m going to go on the offense. I don’t want to give up any bonus points during qualifying. I want to keep it over 80 points so we can roll into Sunday with the championship basically mathematically locked up.”