ON FAST TRACK
Pro Stock champ working overtime as she, team deal with rule changes
Erica Enders-Stevens thinks slow start to season is now a blur in rearview mirror.
After wrapping up the 2015 Pro Stock championship, Erica Enders-Stevens did not have much more than an afternoon to enjoy the spoils of winning her second consecutive title.
Entering this weekend’s NHRA Spring-Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in B ay t own, the combination of adjusting to a host of changes for the Pro Stock class mandated by the NHRA that included replacing carburetors with an electronic fuel-injection system, the expansion of her Elite Motorsports Team from a two-car to four-car operation and her move from Chevrolet to Mopar power, put the team in a hole that it still is trying to climb out of five races into the season.
“It was a very hectic offseason, but we have no excuses,” Enders-Stevens said. “While other teams were working on finetuning their EFI, we were working on getting something put together fast enough for Pomona (the site of February’s season opening Winter-Nationals). We were literally putting the engines together in the parking lot at Pomona.”
Seeking consistency
Enders-Stevens, 32, a Houston native who lives in New Orleans, along with her teammates — four-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin, Vincent Nobile and Drew Skillman — have struggled with consistency. She qualified sixth for Sunday’s final eliminations, while Coughlin starts 11th, Skillman goes from the fourth spot and Nobile starts seventh.
Enders-Stevens, who is gunning for her third consecutive event title at her hometown track, said even though KB Racing teammates Greg Anderson, Sunday’s top qualifier, and points leader Jason Line, who qualified second, have dominated this season, don’t count her out Sunday.
“I feel like we’re headed in the right direction,” Enders-Stevens said. “I’m optimistic about it.”
While Coughlin and Enders-Stevens switched to Mopar power, Skillman and Nobile still are running GM-powered machines. Coughlin, the 2013 Pro Stock champion, says teaming with Enders- Stevens should benefit the entire team.
“I’ve known Erica since her junior dragster days, but working firsthand with her, I’ve been really impressed with her ability to focus, her discipline and drive to win,” said Coughlin, currently tied with Enders-Stevens for seventh in points. “The two of us feed off each other. Being former champions, our drive is very similar and we know what it takes to pull off wins and championships.” Challenges abound
The transition to electronic fuel injection, along with the implementation of 10,500-rpm rev limiters on the 500-cubic inch engines created controversy throughout the class and has presented challenges, both mechanical and financial, for every team.
Enders-Stevens said the switch to the new system has cost about $100,000 per car. While fans have been overwhelmingly in favor of the changes, including the elimination of the huge hood scoops the cars sported for years, the class is undergoing some turbulence this season.
The 13 cars entered in Pro Stock this weekend represent the smallest car count of the season for the class, and it will be the third race with a field under 16 cars. NHRA officials say the 13 cars on the grounds at Baytown may be the fewest for the class since 16-car fields became commonplace in the 1980s.
Enders-Stevens said other factors are at play, but the new rules are wreaking budgetary havoc for many teams.
“We’ve spent thousands of dollars on new parts and testing, and most parttime racers can’t afford that,” Enders-Stevens said. “Down the road, it will entice people to come into the class because they feel like they can play, so I think it will get better.”