Erica Enders-Stevens, the reigning Pro Stock world champion, plans to put herself into the history books once again at Pacific Raceways this weekend during the 28th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals.
In the midst of her breakthrough 2012 campaign, Enders-Stevens and Funny Car racer Courtney Force became the first pair of female professional racers to win the same national event, marking their territory in the history books.
"That was such a cool day," Enders-Stevens said. "I had just won my first ever Pro Stock trophy in Chicago a few races before the Western Swing, and that was a huge deal because no woman had ever won in Pro Stock before. We finally got it done and it was like, 'How can we top that?' Then we come up here and make some more history with Courtney. It was really neat to be a part of that, especially with my budy Courtney.
"The Seattle win was special because it validated the Chicago win. It proved we were legit. We ended up winning a couple more times that year, but the Seattle win was one of the biggest I've ever had."
Enders-Stevens is entering the race weekend second in the Mello Yello championship points, a mere 47 points behind the points leader, Greg Anderson, and 147 ahead of her third-place competitor, Jason Line.
"We have to go to Seattle and perform flawlessly, especially coming off a quarterfinal result in Sonoma," Enders-Stevens said. "We all know what we need to do in this pit and we just need to get to work. Seattle is usually a hot and tricky racetrack, so we'll be prepared for that and try to win some round and maybe get back in the winner's circle. I'll talk to Courtney and see if we can't recreate 2012!"
Enders-Stevens is excited to be back in Seattle.
"It's such a beautiful city," she said. "I'm excited. This is definitely a race you always look forward to every year."
Pro Stock qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Friday, and 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday. Eliminations begin at noon on Sunday. ESPN2 will cover both qualifying and elimination action.