NHRA News: Erica Enders to make move to Pro Stock in 2005 (7/5/2004)

Erica Enders to make move to Pro Stock in 2005

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
7/5/2004

"I tend to over-prepare for things. That's how I want to approach this opportunity."
– Erica Enders

Standout sportsman racer and former Jr. Dragster star Erica Enders will become just the fifth woman ever to compete in Pro Stock beginning with the 2005 POWERade season. The 20-year-old Enders, who had a Disney movie – Right On Track – made about her life last year, will pilot a second Grumpy Jenkins-powered car for Cagnazzi Racing with Steve Johns as her teammate and mentor.

"I'm excited beyond words," said Enders, a junior marketing major at Texas A&M University. "I literally can't wait to get started." The team has already picked up a Jerry Haas-built Chevrolet Cavalier and Enders will begin testing immediately, while also continuing her quest for the 2004 Super Gas and Super Comp national titles.

Team owner Victor Cagnazzi and Johns got the idea to hire Enders in April after reading a story about her win in Houston on NHRA.com in which she expressed a true desire to take on the boys in a class where few women have ventured.

Enders will have the backing of team owner Cagnazzi (center) and the tutelage of established racer Johns.
Racers Edge Photography

"Steve's the one that suggested we hire her after he read that story on NHRA.com," said Cagnazzi, a former sportsman racer himself who spent some time in the pros in the defunct truck category. "Obviously, she's a talented driver and her marketability should be great because she's genuinely a great kid and a role model. She has fun out there and for a 20-year-old kid, she already has quite a racing history."

Gregg Enders, Erica's entrepreneurial father who has spearheaded his daughter's drag racing efforts since Erica was 8, says that between her Jr. Dragster days and time in the sportsman ranks, Erica has over 5,000 competitive passes on her dossier. Although initially apprehensive about putting his daughter in a Pro Stock car, Gregg said an early season trip to Frank Hawley's NHRA Drag Racing School and the positive feedback Erica received from the legendary Hawley changed his mind.

"I made some passes in a Top Alcohol Funny Car and Frank and his staff all said I did great," Erica said. "You do change gears in a Top Alcohol Funny Car and when you hit those buttons it puts you back in the seat. They say it's the same feeling as when you grab gears in a Pro Stock car.

"Frank is a really good teacher. A lot of racing is mental. You have to have your head on straight. I get frustrated when I'm not totally together so I tend to over-prepare for things. That's how I want to approach this opportunity."

Preparation will be a key element for this venture by Cagnazzi Racing. Although Erica has driven a Top Alcohol Funny Car at Hawley's school and all of the super classes in competition, she has never attempted a pass in a Pro Stock car.

Enders gets comfortable in her new office.
Racers Edge Photography

"We're gonna shake her and rattle her cage, get her going left, get her going right," said Cagnazzi, who was once named New York City's Entrepreneur of the Year. "I want her to experience everything that could happen in that car before she makes one pass in competition. By the time she rolls to the line at the Winternationals, I want her to be totally comfortable with every aspect of Pro Stock racing. I don't care how many laps that takes between now and then."

Respected tuner Tommy Utt will now serve as crew chief for both cars with Johns adding the responsibility of training his young protégé to his driving duties. Ender's car already boasts major associate sponsorship from Bourget's Bike Works and Global Home Loans and Finance of New York City.

"Of course we're hoping for a big sponsor to get behind this effort," Cagnazzi said. "Putting a young female racer like Erica in a position where she can succeed is key. We want her to have every chance to do well. We anticipate that it will be tough for her initially. I mean, there's a reason only three other women have tried this class. But if anyone can do it, and succeed, it's Erica."

Shirley Shahan, Judy Lilly, Lucinda McFarland, and Shay Nichols all precede Enders in the class. Of those three, only Lilly has earned a win at the national level, and she did it in Super Stock. No female racer has won or qualified No. 1 in Pro Stock's 31-year history. Currently sixth in the national Super Gas points, Enders won that category earlier this year in her hometown of Houston.

One of the most popular sportsman racers ever thanks in large part to the Disney movie about her life, Enders expects to receive plenty of support when she debuts her new Pro Stock car. But she also anticipates a little static.

Enders has competed in all of the sport's "Super" catagories.

"This is my 13th year in drag racing," said Enders, who climbed in a Jr. Dragster as soon as she turned 8. "I pretty much have gotten used to the fact it's a male-dominated sport. I know there are some negatives to being a female racer but there's a lot of positives also. This move is a big positive.

"I know all of our close friends will be excited and happy for me. We have lots of friends in the sportsman ranks and I've become good friends with some pro-level drivers. I guess they'll be some envy for some people but I can't really control that so why worry about it.

"All the Jeg's boys are really excited for me. I guess all of their kids watched the Disney movie and they wanted to meet me. So I went over there and the kids were all like, 'You're so cool,' and I just kept saying, 'Your dads are the ones that are cool, not me.' They're great kids and a great family."

For now, Enders will worry about seat time and doing whatever it takes to get up to speed in the intensely competitive class.

"Pro Stock has always been my favorite class to watch," she said. "The racing is so close every pass it seems like. I can listen to Top Fuel or Funny Car on the radio but when Pro Stock is running I like to be on the line watching it first hand. I've always been that way. To think I'll be out there soon is very exciting. It'll be so cool."

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