K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge Winner Erica Enders-Stevens Voted Racer of the Year

Enders-Stevens amassed 6 NHRA Pro Stock race wins during 2014, and she also won the 2014 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Erica Enders-Stevens defeated fan-vote winner Dave Connolly in the final to become the first female winner in the history of the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge

Readers of Racer magazine have been casting their votes for overall Racer of the Year since 1995, and for the first time in the history of the award a female racer has been chosen. Having clinched the 2014 NHRA Pro Stock championship Erica Enders-Stevens is the hottest driver in NHRA Pro Stock drag racing right now. It comes as little surprise that she would have been voted Drag Racer of the Year by readers of Racer magazine. However, it was her commanding margin of victory for overall Racer of the Year over veteran racers John Force, Kevin Harvick, and Lewis Hamilton, among others, that caught Racer magazine by surprise.

Erica Enders-Stevens had an amazing 2014 NHRA Pro Stock season. Enders-Stevens amassed 6 NHRA Pro Stock race wins during 2014, and along the way she also won the 2014 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge pits eight of the best NHRA Pro Stock drivers in a three-round shootout with the winner taking home $50,000. Erica Enders-Stevens was an alternate filling in for Mike Edwards, and she ended the day with two trips to the winner’s circle. Not only did Mrs. Enders-Stevens enjoy a winning 2014 NHRA Pro Stock season but she was also successful at setting NHRA Pro Stock speed and elapsed time records.

Enders-Stevens, driver of the Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, collected a $25,000 “double-up” bonus from NHRA due to also winning the NHRA Pro Stock race

Erica Enders-Stevens was quoted as saying “I have an awesome team – owner Richard Freeman, crew chiefs Rick and Rickie Jones, engine guys Jake Hairston and Nick Ferri, and the rest of our extended crew at Elite. We always say 'team work makes the dream work' and that team work allowed us to win six races and the K&N Horsepower Challenge.”

Based upon Erica’s 2014 season it’s not much of a surprise that she would become Drag Racer of the Year. In fact, according to the stats released on Racer.com, Erica Enders-Stevens ran away with the Drag Racer of the Year fan votes with a landslide victory. What was surprising, is that Enders-Stevens’ winning streak carried over into the overall Racer of the Year vote where she earned nearly 50% of all votes. Her next closest competitor for overall Racer of the Year was John Force with a mere 9.7% of Racer magazine readers voting for him. This award makes Erica Enders-Stevens the first woman in history to clinch the NHRA Pro Stock championship, the first female overall Racer of the Year, and the first woman to win the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge bonus race.

Anne Perkins, a 2014 K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes finalist, was paired with Enders-Stevens and took home the one-of-a-kind 2014 K&N HPC Custom Toyota Tacoma

Of her Racer of the Year title, Erica Enders-Stevens said “No woman had ever won the NHRA Pro Stock title – nor the RACER of the Year award! – so I'm humbled to be the first. I always wanted to be thought of as a racer, not just a 'female racer,' but I recognize my place in history – even though sometimes I don't believe it!”

K&N is excited to see what the 2015 NHRA Pro Stock season has in store for Erica Enders-Stevens. The 2015 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge is quickly approaching with the special bonus event to take place during the 2015 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals to be held on April 11th, 2015 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It will be exciting to see if Erica Enders-Stevens is able to win a second K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge. For the last six years K&N air filters has run a sweepstakes in which eight finalists are chosen at random and awarded a Prize Trip Package to include travel expenses and hotel accommodations for two in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the event each finalist is randomly paired with one of the eight K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge professional NHRA Pro-Stock drivers. A grand prize winner will be determined based upon the finalist who is paired with the professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver that finishes first in the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge.