NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Erica Enders took over the Pro Stock lead after a first-round victory combined with a first-round defeat for Jason Line at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals. 

The two-time world champion can extend her lead if she earns back-to-back victories after third-place racer (and 2017 world champion) Bo Butner also lost in the first round. Enders, who is coming off her first win of 2019 at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, cut a .011-second reaction time to beat Cristian Cuadra in the first round. Cuadra was even better on the Tree with a .007 light, but Enders had enough under the hood of her Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro. 

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Jeg Coughlin Jr. also advanced to the second round as he continues to claw his way up the Pro Stock leaderboard. The driver of the JEGS.com Camaro moved up to fifth, 90 points behind his Elite Motorsports teammate. Both of the Elite Motorsports house cars are tuned by Rick and Rickie Jones, the former of whom spoke to NHRA announcer Joe Castello following the first round of Pro Stock. 

Enders gets a shot at Fernando Cuadra Sr., who defeated Butner in the first round on a holeshot. Cuadra reached the first final of his career at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Reading to kick off the Countdown. Enders will have to be on top of her game at the starting line once again, as Cuadra dropped a .014-second reaction time on Butner to win in the opening stanza of Pro Stock. 

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Coughlin will face off against Deric Kramer in the second round as both racers attempt to stay relevant in the championship picture. Kramer is 128 points behind Enders with three races (and three rounds) of racing remaining in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.