Erica Enders-Stevens won the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge for the second consecutive year on Saturday during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) all carried their Friday qualifying bests into Saturday and secured No. 1 qualifying positions at the fifth of 24 events in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
 
Enders-Stevens, the reigning Pro Stock world champion, ran a 6.650-second pass at 208.01 mph in her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro to beat Vincent Nobile’s 6.694 at 207.62 in his Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro during the eight car Pro Stock bonus event.
 
“It was very exciting,” Enders-Stevens said. “We’re so appreciative of K&N and Toyota for the support they give our class of Pro Stock. It’s huge for us. My guys did a really great job. They kept their heads together in the pit and that’s what it’s all about – getting it done when you need to. I am very excited and just thankful.”
 
In Top Fuel, Todd used his Friday best of 3.758 at 324.83 in his Red Line Oil/Kalitta Air dragster to lead his field into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations. This is Todd’s second consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season after racing to his first two weeks ago in Charlotte, N.C.
 
“We were a little aggressive both runs but our early numbers were good,” Todd said. “Hopefully we’ll make four solid runs tomorrow.”
 
Todd now has eight-career No. 1s, and this is his first at The Strip at Las Vegas. Todd, the runner-up at this event one year ago, will face Steve Faria in the first round on race day.
 
Eight-time world champ Tony Schumacher’s 3.779 at 325.45 in his U.S. Army dragster on Friday was enough to earn him a second place starting spot. Schumacher will race three-time world champ Larry Dixon, who qualified 15th.
 
Shawn Langdon, who recorded a 3.782 at 315.93 in his Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE dragster, sits in the No. 3 spot and Steve Torrence qualified fourth in his Capco Contractors dragster.
 
In Funny Car, Hagan earned his 19th career No. 1 qualifier by posting a 4.007 at 318.02 in his Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger in the second session of qualifying on Friday. No one was able to post a quicker run on Saturday.
 
“We’ve got a great race car,” Hagan said. “I think we have a really great shot at coming out here tomorrow and doing big things. Going down both lanes and putting down big numbers for the conditions. I want to go after it. I think everybody wanted to see a three out there. We were able to come out and run good here. I’ve never won this race and I’m really looking forward to trying to do that tomorrow.”
 
Hagan, the defending world champ, has now earned two top qualifying positions this season. He also has two victories this season and was the runner-up at this event in 2009. He will race veteran driver Jeff Arend in the opening round of eliminations.
 
Recent Four-Wide Nationals winner Jack Beckman qualified second with a 4.014 at 315.64 at the controls of his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger and will face Cruz Pedregon in the first round. Tommy Johnson Jr. will start third in his Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger with a 4.020 at 313.07 and will race Gary Densham in the opener.
 
Defending event winner Alexis DeJoria qualified fourth and was followed by Del Worsham, Tim Wilkerson, Ron Capps and John Force.
 
In Pro Stock, Line took the top qualifying honor with a 6.606-second run at 208.75 mph in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro during the final pair on Friday. Line, now with 39 career No. 1 qualifiers, was the 2014 runner-up at this event and has one win this season, which came in the season-opener at Pomona.
 
“The race track got hotter so there was no danger of anybody going faster than that,” Line said. “It was a nice run and my car is really good right now so I’m excited about tomorrow.”
 
Defending event winner Enders-Stevens qualified second with a performance of 6.617 at 208.94. She will battle Matt Hartford in the first round as she pursues her second straight sweep at this event.
 
Line’s teammate, Greg Anderson, qualified third by recording a 6.621 at 208.81 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro and will line up against Jonathan Gray. Chris McGaha qualified fourth in his Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevy Camaro and will race Deric Kramer in round one.

 
Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 16th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings. 

Top Fuel -- 1. J.R. Todd, 3.758 seconds, 324.83 mph  vs. 16. Steve Faria, 4.036, 243.72; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.779, 325.45  vs. 15. Larry Dixon, 3.952, 300.86; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.782, 316.01  vs. 14. Antron Brown, 3.916, 313.22; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.783, 323.89  vs. 13. Terry McMillen, 3.902, 312.64; 5. Richie Crampton, 3.787, 321.12  vs. 12. Troy Buff, 3.879, 307.02; 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.793, 317.94  vs. 11. Spencer Massey, 3.867, 323.43; 7. Brittany Force, 3.801, 310.77  vs. 10. Clay Millican, 3.847, 315.86; 8. Dom Lagana, 3.805, 300.66  vs. 9. Dave Connolly, 3.817, 320.66. Did  Not Qualify: 17. Jenna Haddock, 4.110, 295.66; 18. Steven Chrisman, 4.617, 214.62. 

Funny Car -- 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.007, 318.02  vs. 16. Jeff Arend, Charger, 5.090, 162.35; 2. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.014, 315.64  vs. 15. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.393, 295.27; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.020, 313.07  vs. 14. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.296, 290.76; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.037, 308.78  vs. 13. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.236, 297.16; 5. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.048, 316.52  vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.129, 303.98; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.065, 314.31  vs. 11. John Hale, Charger, 4.091, 311.92; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.075, 316.15  vs. 10. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.091, 314.97; 8. John Force, Camaro, 4.086, 317.19  vs. 9. Chad Head, Camry, 4.090, 303.84.  Did Not Qualify: 17. Terry Haddock, broke. 

Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.606, 208.75  vs. 16. Joey Grose, Camaro, 6.794, 203.46; 2. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.617, 208.94  vs. 15. Matt Hartford, Pontiac GXP, 6.768, 204.85; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.621, 208.84  vs. 14. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.695, 207.88; 4. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.624, 208.36  vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Dodge Avenger, 6.691, 206.51; 5. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.630, 208.49  vs. 12. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.690, 207.50; 6. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.631, 208.71  vs. 11. V. Gaines, Dodge Dart, 6.682, 207.98; 7. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.641, 208.30  vs. 10. Jimmy Alund, GXP, 6.647, 208.07; 8. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.645, 208.59  vs. 9. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.647, 208.36.  Did Not Qualify: 17. Jeff Isbell, 6.825, 203.00. 

Saturday's final results from the K&N Horsepower Challenge at the 16th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is a special race within a race. 

K&N Horsepower Challenge Final -- Erica Enders-Stevens, Chevy Camaro, 6.650, 208.01  def. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.694, 207.62. 

Final round-by-round results from the K&N Horsepower Challenge at the 16th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is a special race within a race. 

K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE: 

ROUND ONE -- Vincent Nobile, Chevy Camaro, 6.690, 207.40 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 13.718, 93.92; Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.690, 207.98 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 17.154, 46.29; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.698, 208.17 def. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.695, 207.88; Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.676, 207.91 def. V. Gaines, Dart, 6.688, 207.98; 
SEMIFINALS -- Enders-Stevens, 6.652, 207.88 def. Line, 6.648, 208.62; Nobile, 6.706, 207.50 def. S. Gray, 7.850, 137.86; 
FINAL -- Enders-Stevens, 6.650, 208.01 def. Nobile, 6.694, 207.62.

Defending world champion Matt Hagan raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.
 
J.R. Todd (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their categories at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the fifth of 24 events in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
 
Hagan ran a 4.007-second pass at 318.02 in his Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger to improve on his category-leading 4.067-second effort from the first session.
 
“What impressed me is we went 318 (mph) with two holes out with 100 feet left to go,” Hagan said. “To do that on six cylinders is pretty impressive. Dickie Venables (crew chief) is making a lot of horsepower. He’s making the right calls on the race track. The car is really strong.”
 
Hagan, the defending Funny Car world champion, has two victories so far this year, winning the first two races at Pomona, Calif. and Phoenix, where he was the No. 1 qualifier for the latter. He was the runner-up at this event in 2009, but has not won the spring event here in his career.
 
Recent Four-Wide Nationals winner Jack Beckman qualified second with a 4.014 at 315.64 at the controls of his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger. Tommy Johnson Jr. is third in his Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger with a 4.020 at 313.07.
 
In Top Fuel, Todd recorded a performance of 3.758 at 324.83 in his Red Line Oil/Kalitta Air dragster, earning him the top position in Top Fuel qualifying. 
 
“Our run was pretty slow early on compared to some better runs we’ve had in the past,” Todd said. “It was charging from half-track on and that’s what it takes. It was pretty tight so it will be pretty interesting come race day.”
 
Reigning Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher qualified second by posting a 3.779 at 325.245 in his U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher has four career wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, tying for most all-time in Top Fuel with Larry Dixon.
 
Shawn Langdon qualified third with a 3.782 at 315.93 in his Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE dragster while Steve Torrence sits fourth with a 3.783, 323.89 in his Capco Contractors dragster. Richie Crampton is fifth with a 3.787 at 316.67 in his Lucas Oil machine.
 
In Pro Stock, Line took the qualifying lead with a 6.606-second run at 208.75 mph in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro on the final pair of the day. Line was the 2014 event runner-up and already has one win this season, which came in the season-opener at Pomona.
 
“We felt like we could go that fast,” Line said. “After looking at the run, I’m going to say we could go a bit faster than we went. I always say that there is more left. I’m very excited about tomorrow. We have a great race car and it’s going to get better.”
 
Reigning Pro Stock world champion, Erica Enders-Stevens, qualified second. The 2014 event winner powered her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro to a performance of 6.617 at 208.94. Line’s teammate, Greg Anderson, qualified third by recording a 6.621 at 208.81 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro.
 
Jimmy Alund, from Norrkoping, Sweden, posted a track record speed of 210.93 mph during the first round of qualifying. His second session performance of 6.647 at 208.07 earned him and his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro an eighth place position in the 16-car lineup.
 
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 1:10 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 16th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.  Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
 
Top Fuel -- 1. J.R. Todd, 3.758 seconds, 324.83 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.779, 325.45; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.782, 315.93; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.783, 323.89; 5. Richie Crampton, 3.787, 318.02; 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.793, 317.94; 7. Brittany Force, 3.801, 310.77; 8. Dom Lagana, 3.805, 300.66; 9. Dave Connolly, 3.817, 320.66; 10. Clay Millican, 3.847, 315.86; 11. Spencer Massey, 3.867, 316.67; 12. Troy Buff, 3.879, 307.02.  Not Qualified: 13. Terry McMillen, 3.997, 307.51; 14. Steve Faria, 4.166, 217.70; 15. Antron Brown, 4.220, 202.27; 16. Steven Chrisman, 4.353, 214.62; 17. Jenna Haddock, 4.399, 190.40; 18. Larry Dixon, 6.088, 110.86.
 
Funny Car -- 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.007, 318.02; 2. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.014, 315.64; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.020, 313.07; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 4.037, 308.78; 5. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.048, 316.52; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.065, 314.31; 7. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.075, 316.15; 8. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.086, 317.19; 9. Chad Head, Camry, 4.090, 303.84; 10. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.091, 314.97; 11. John Hale, Charger, 4.091, 311.92; 12. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.129, 303.98.  Not Qualified: 13. Cruz Pedregon, 4.140, 295.27; 14. Courtney Force, 4.190, 289.57; 15. Jeff Arend, 5.029, 162.35; 16. Gary Densham, 5.388, 137.25.
 
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.606, 208.75; 2. Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.617, 208.94; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.621, 208.81; 4. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.624, 208.36; 5. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.630, 208.49; 6. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.631, 208.71; 7. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.641, 208.30; 8. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.645, 208.59; 9. Jimmy Alund, Pontiac GXP, 6.647, 210.93; 10. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.651, 208.36; 11. V. Gaines, Dart, 6.682, 207.91; 12. Deric Kramer, Dodge Avenger, 6.691, 206.51.  Not Qualified: 13. Matt Hartford, 6.739, 204.85; 14. Jeff Isbell, 6.869, 196.85; 15. Joey Grose, 8.110, 127.50; 16. Vincent Nobile, 16.668, 40.49; 17. Jonathan Gray, 20.566, 25.71.

FRIDAY RESULTS - SPORTSMAN