NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Erica Enders is nearing the finish line in her quest to win a fourth NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock title but she’s not there yet. Before Enders can successfully defend her 2019 title, she’s going to have to fend off a challenge from her own teammate, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and rival Jason Line.

The situation: Heading into the final event of the season, the Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas, Enders currently enjoys a lead of just 55 points over Coughlin and Line, who are tied for second place. Should Enders win a fourth title, she will join an exclusive club of Pro Stock drivers that includes Bob Glidden (10 titles), Warren Johnson (6 titles), Coughlin (5 titles), Anderson (4-titles) and the late Lee Shepherd (4 titles).

How we got here: Three-time and reigning champ Enders grabbed the lead early this season after her win in Phoenix but slipped to third place following NHRA’s mid-summer return to racing in Indianapolis. She climbed back into first place by winning the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals and has been there ever since. She has a 12-3 record in elimination rounds since the U.S. Nationals.

Coughlin, in his final season as a full-time pro, also racked up some points early when he won in Pomona to open the season. He was in first place after beating his nephew, Troy Coughlin Jr., in the final of the Indy 3 event in August but slipped to third place after a tough and controversial quarterfinal loss in St. Louis. Always resilient, Coughlin bounced back with a runner-up finish in Houston to remain in contention.

Line, who is also hanging up his helmet after this season, at least as far as Pro Stock is concerned, has only held the lead once this year following a semifinal finish in Gainesville. Conversely, he’s never been ranked lower than third in spite of a tough loss in the first round last week in Houston.

The scenarios: With 30 points available for each round win, Coughlin and Line essentially need to advance two more rounds than Enders in order to win the title. That, of course, assumes that Enders does not extend her lead to more than 60 points based on qualifying bonus points or points for qualifying position. She could accomplish that feat by earning six more points during qualifying than either of her rivals.

As long as Enders qualifies for Sunday’s final eliminations, which is nearly a give since she’s made every field since the 2016 Fall Charlotte event, there is no pathway for Line or Coughlin to reduce her advantage to less than two rounds. If Enders were to lose before the semifinals and Line and Coughlin were to meet in the final, that race would be a winner take all battle.

Quotable:

“This last race is going to be cutthroat. It’s going to be a dog fight like it always is. We just have to do the best we can and not get ahead of ourselves.” – Erica Enders

“We’re going to need a little help to win the championship, and certainly I’m not wishing anything bad on Erica, or Jason for that matter, but as witnessed [in Houston], anything can happen. If we have a repeat of that race we might be able to complete this dream scenario.” – Jeg Coughlin Jr.

“We didn't do a lot to help ourselves in the championship chase last week, but there's definitely still a chance to win it with the silver Summit Racing Chevy Camaro. I would really like that for all of us, for Ken Black and for Summit Racing. It would be a nice going-away present.” – Jason Line