NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders comes into the final day of qualifying for the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals with a final-round appearance in Saturday's Mission Challenge and with a strong-running JGH/Melling/SCAG Camaro that looks to be back in winning form.

Enders is qualified third after three sessions, having run a 6.525 and her top speed of 211.23 mph is the fastest so far of the meet. The 71st “Big Go” is an important one; a win would mark Enders’ 50th victory, her fourth Indy title and it would break the streak of 30 races since her last win, which came in 2024 Gainesville Raceway.

“We’ve been trying to win our 50th for a year and a half,” Enders said. “To summarize it the best I can, the improvement in performance has taken a lot of time, effort, and a lot of money. It's been a grueling year. The only thing that I can relate it to is in 2016 when we ran the Dodge program and we went from winning back-to-back world championships to barely being able to qualify. This sport is massively humbling. It's a challenge, but that's what's so intriguing about Pro Stock. We call it competitive problem solving and it's a true challenge.”

Not one to be kept down, Enders and her team have clawed back despite incredible setbacks.

“What tears most teams apart makes ours stronger,” Enders stated. “We've been through a ton together, but I'm so thankful. My sister said, 'You're a much happier person when your race car is running well.' I'm like, 'Well, besides my family, it's the only thing that matters to me.' I've poured my whole life into it — but you don't become a champion by winning races and winning world championships. You become a champion by how you deal with adversity and how you rally back. I'm proud to stand with the guys I go to battle with. We're going to keep our integrity and do things the right way. And I think that's what makes it cool."

While the first half of the season has only produced one win for team Elite (Greg Stanfield in Sonoma), Enders is confident they’re aiming the ship in the right direction. And they are hoping for better results beginning this weekend. Currently, there are four Elite cars qualified in the top half of the field.

“We've made improvements in our engine stuff like intake manifolds, and with the clutches. I mean, it's been a little here, a little there,” she explained. “There's been no smoking gun, which is disheartening because we went from having a championship-caliber team to a DNQ this year. It's mind boggling in a sense because all that changed was the fuel (Pro Stock cars switched to VP Racing Fuels for 2025) and it ran great on the dyno, but it did not produce numbers on the scoreboard. We've worked in every area, all while the guys are trying to develop new stuff in the engine department, and the crews have gone to work making our race cars better.

“We were getting crushed to 60-foot, 330, and 660 before we turned this corner. Just a couple races ago, Greg [Anderson] outran me almost four hundredths to the center [of the track] and that translates much more out the back. But we just keep our heads down and keep working even though you want to pull your hair out, but you just keep going.”

The margin of just a few hundredths may seem small on paper, but they are mountains in Pro Stock.

“It's a huge margin. It looks small on paper, but you can’t blink your eye as fast as what we're looking for [on track]. We were getting outrun four, five, or eight hundredths at the worst point in our season. I mean, it doesn't matter how good of a driver you are, you can't make that up on the starting line,” exclaimed Enders.

“Emotionally, you go from being 10 feet tall and bulletproof to questioning yourself, losing your confidence and your mental toughness. You go up there, and we're grasping at straws. We're trying to do the best that we can, and you go out there and you shake [the tires], four out of five runs, and it's just like, God, not only is it hard on your equipment, hard on your body, it's hard on your heart, too. What's that famous quote? I'd rather be the doer of deeds or the man in the arena than the critic sitting on the sideline talking about what I should be doing.

And it appears Enders and her team are ready to start winning again, as they have a racehorse that can get her to her 50th win.

“I'm proud of what we've accomplished as an organization. I mean, we still have a lot of work to do. Don't get me wrong, but our race cars are running a little bit better and we're going to try to be a thorn in their side for the countdown to the championship. It's been extremely disheartening and challenging. We've only put, you know, one car in the winter circle the entire year thus far. So, it sucks. It sucks to suck. I say that, but I'm not worried about it. This doesn't define us. It's not who we are. It's what we do, and we get to go home to great lives and great families and houses and cars, and it's just not that bad.

“I get emotional talking about it, but I said I'd rather never win another round than to not have my guys [at the track]. We’ve been dealt a tough hand this year with health issues. Our crew chief, Mark [Ingersoll] had a double-lung transplant and our lead engine builder and tuner, Jake Hairston, has been battling cancer for a year. He had significant surgery at M.D. Anderson in July, and he made his first appearance back in Brainard, which is crazy. He's not even supposed to be traveling yet, but he's here. So, you know, they love this as much as we do and they want to be here. Jake spent two weeks in the hospital and he's got to go back in October for scans and blood work and stuff, but, you know, two days after he's home in Oklahoma he was at the shop. He could barely stand up because they ripped his guts out, but he's there.”

She continued, “He's my hero. To have the band back together, that's all I care about. I don't care if Greg [Anderson] wins everything. I just want my people. That's what matters to me. Doing what you love with the people you love and going through the valleys that we're going through puts things in a real nice perspective. You try to find the blessing in the lesson, and I think that's what I've dealt with throughout my whole career. I mean, it was like nine years of Pro Stock racing before I ever put one in the winner’s circle, so I've been through way more valleys than peaks. But to be able to go through the peaks with the right group of people, I think it's all about God's timing, so it does make it sweeter. It really does. And it teaches you."