Vonnie Mills has an interesting scenario going on. The more she concentrates on racing and winning, the more history she makes. 

The professional hair stylist from Kennedysville, Md., won her first NHRA national event in 1987 when she took home the Super Gas title. Mills added to her legacy two weeks ago when she drove her Jerry Bickel Camaro to the Top Sportsman title at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals. 

"We've been waiting for this day," Mills said. "We knew it was coming. We've got really close before. We've won Divisionals, and we won PDRA and IHRA. Winning the NHRA National is, it's just such a good feeling.

It's an even better one knowing she has a car capable of winning often. 

But it wasn't that wasn't the case, to begin with. 

Almost a year to the date of the Reading victory, Mills and her husband Eddie purchased what was supposed to be "a turn-key operation" in an estate sale. The car had sat idle for three years and, in the time, had fallen victim to some of the effects of time. 

The car had an 863-inch motor from Sonny's Racing Engines, and it, too, had been the victim of time. They had it freshened up and, without really knowing the time on the rods, made a pass at the Divisional event in Atco, NJ. 

"We ran it at Atco this spring, and we went to the semis. And we went to Maple Grove, and we got down to three cars, and I was in the lights, and the motor goes, ka-boom," Nills explained. 

Mills brought the car to a stop without any further damage, but the engine was broken to the point buying another engine was a better proposition. The engine was repairable, but the connecting rods couldn't be delivered until January; sent them shopping for a new one.

"I didn't want to sit the whole year out, so we found a fresh Sonnys engine and bought it," Mills explained. "It was about 100 cubic inches smaller, but it has been a great one. We already have three final rounds with it."

It's not the first time Mills has bounced back from a bad situation. 

At the 1990 NHRA Gatornationals, Mills won the battle but lost the war. Mills crashed her beautiful Show & Tell Beretta, rolling it in the lights and catching fire. 

While three years earlier, Mills had become the first female to win an NHRA Super Gas national event, she became the last driver to win a Super Gas race before driving gloves were required. She suffered burns to both her hands and face.

"I told Eddie the whole race, 'I cannot control the car. It's all over the place," Mills said. "Lamb had re-did the shocks, and to make a long story short, there was definitely an issue. You just could not keep the car on the track, and it finally let go."

Mills doesn't have those problems now. Thanks to Bickel, she's got a car that's next-level fun. 

"I absolutely love this car," Mills said. "I don't even think we're done winning for this year. I think it's got more in it."

And maybe Mills has a few more cracks at history with it.