(Tim Marshall photo)

PRO STOCK

Pro Stock veteran Rodger Brogdon scored the biggest victory of his professional career, defeating reigning world champion Erica Enders-Stevens.

It was the second time Brogdon has beaten his Houston neighbor in the final round of a national event but the first time since Enders-Stevens won the Pro Stock world title last year. Both racers are powered by Elite Performance engines, the main sponsor of Enders-Stevens' team.

"We've both got fast race cars and it was an exciting race," said Brogdon, who moved into the points lead with the win. "That's such a great group over there at Elite, and Erica is the champion and we're all very proud of her. Beating that girl isn't easy, I can promise you that. She's had my number most of the times we've raced, but I just found out that we're 2-0 against her in final rounds, so I guess that balances it out a bit.

"Everyone else in this class better watch out because Elite-powered cars are dominating right now and we're going to win a bunch more races. Hopefully that includes our group. I'd like to win several in a row. I have such a great team of dedicated guys. I'm lucky."

Brogdon beat Deric Kramer, Shane Gray, and Drew Skillman to get a shot at Enders-Stevens. Although he gave up a .033-second head start in the final, he quickly passed Enders-Stevens and drove away for a 6.560-second, 211.49-mph win. Enders-Stevens appeared to have a mechanical issue and slowed to a 6.640 at 205.51 mph.


(Ron Lewis photo)

Reigning World Champion Erica Enders-Stevens came up one win light short of victory.

Taking on No. 16 Joey Grose in the first round of final eliminations, Enders-Stevens was able to power her Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro on with a win after Grose experienced an issue with his car early in the run.

In the second round against Greg Anderson, Enders-Stevens cut a .013 light and never looked back, running a 6.570 to beat Anderson's 6.603 and advance to her second semifinal of the year.

However, the semifinal round was a tight battle in which both she and Chris McGaha had almost identical reaction times, her .027 to his .026. McGaha's car stepped out and swerved partway down the track though, allowing Enders-Stevens to cruise on to her first final-round appearance of the 2015 season.

"What a great weekend for Elite Motorsports and Elite Performance," Enders-Stevens said. "It speaks volumes for our team, how hard they work and their determination for perfection. To be three of the final four cars two weeks in a row is unreal. The morale is awesome around here. It's three different groups but it's really one team.

"I know I talk about my team a lot, but that's the most important part of the puzzle. We certainly have a great group of guys, and I couldn't be more blessed to be a part of it."

After battling with Brogdon all weekend for the top spot in qualifying, Enders-Stevens had one more showdown with her fellow Elite Performance driver in the final round. Enders-Stevens killed the Christmas Tree with a .017 reaction time and was out in front until an untimely mechanical issue reared its head and Brogdon passed her at the line for the win.

"We're having a blast," Enders-Stevens said. "Did I want to win? Absolutely. It's so hard to get to a final round in Pro Stock, so to give one away it sucks. I am very happy for Rodger though. We're glad to have him on board as part of our team. He had the fastest car all weekend and he deserved to win.”