PRO STOCK

Erica Enders-Stevens had a successful weekend in Las Vegas, sweeping the K&N Horsepower Challenge and taking the Pro Stock title. After defeating Dave Connolly to win $50,000 on Saturday, Enders-Stevens took out Larry Morgan, Steve Kent, Chris McGaha and Jason Line to secure her seventh career victory at the controls of her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro.

After struggling to find sponsorship and only being able to race a partial schedule last season, Enders-Stevens is thankful for the opportunity that team owner Richard Freeman presented her for 2014.

"I have a different mindset," Enders-Stevens of her new attitude this year. "It goes back to the people [I'm around] - for the first time since I raced with my family as a kid, and then in the sportsman ranks, I'm having fun again. As a driver, it adds a lot of pressure when you have the fastest car, but I like that."

With that win, she became the third winningest female driver in a pro class behind only Angelle Sampey and Shirley Muldowney. She leaves Las Vegas as the Pro Stock points leader, becoming the first female in history to lead the point standings in the factory hot rod category.

"It certainly is very important to us, it keeps us going on this 24-race schedule," said Enders-Stevens, who earned $100,000 during the weekend. "This is storybook. We've gone a few years without sponsorship; there were definitely more lows than highs. It would have been easy to quit. This is definitely a highlight. Next to winning a championship, this is probably the coolest thing in the world."

Jason Line, of Mooresville, N.C., qualified in the No. 5 position based on a promising 6.630 at 208.94 mph. Following an extended delay in action due to aggressive winds that created a safety hazard for the Pro Stock competitors, the driver of the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro clocked one of the quickest passes of the first round of eliminations on Sunday in his defeat of fellow Minnesota-native Deric Kramer. Line's 6.645, 207.37 topped Kramer's 6.705, 206.29.

For the second round, Line drew Dave Connolly, a driver known for his quick reactions at the starting line. This time, Line was first to leave the starting line, registering a .028-second reaction to Connolly's .033. The pair were close together as they raced down the quarter-mile, and Line got the win light with a 6.652, 207.72 to Connolly's 6.654, 207.91. The margin of victory was a slim .007-second.