WELCOME TO THE ERA OF ERICA

by Susan Wade    Sat, 2021-03-13 07:38

 

Oh so much has changed in the Pro Stock class since 2010. Greg Anderson had won yet another championship, a fourth, and was vaulting into the stratosphere of class legends. Today he still commands respect with his 94 victories (second only to John Force among active drivers), 840 round-wins (fourth-most in NHRA history), and 106 No. 1 qualifying positions. But July 1, 2012, the tide shifted. Anderson still won plenty more races (although none since Dallas 2019). What shifted the momentum that evening was a young woman from Houston and her victory at Chicago – against rival Anderson in the final round, which made it all the juicier for her. She became the first woman to win a Pro Stock race.

She said Anderson “grabbed my shoulder and said, ‘Well deserved.' That means a lot, coming from [him].” She referred to him as “an 800-billion-time champion and somebody I’ve been trying to beat for eight years.” But at that point, Anderson already was perturbed that he had made “the history book now for the wrong reason,” he said. “The bottom line is this has been a long time coming for Erica. You knew she was going to win soon. I didn't want to be the guy on the other end, but I am now,” he said. “And it's probably going to open the floodgates for her."

It did. In her last NHRA Pro Stock appearance, Enders matched Anderson’s four series crowns (and those of the late Lee Shepherd) and became the sport’s most successful woman. Her 29th victory lifted her to eighth on the class’ all-time list, but it pushed her past drag-racing icon Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Pro Stock Motorcycle trailblazer and 43-time winner Angelle Sampey for the most titles among NHRA women.

“It’s pretty awesome to join the winningest female, Angelle, and then of course, Shirley, who’s one of my heroes, paved the way for all of the girls nowadays and a tough woman who has offered a lot of solid advice for me,” Enders said. “It’s a goal I set as a child, that I wanted to be the best race-car driver on the planet, not just female. To be one ahead of my idols means a lot to me. I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near done yet, but even if I were, this is huge.”

It’s safe to say this is The Era of Erica. Anderson certainly is no less a threat. But she described her ascent in Pro Stock lore by borrowing from the so-called “Spirit of Aggieland.” It’s woven into the culture at Texas A&M University, where she is a Class of 2006 Mays Business School alumna.

“Like we said at Texas A&M, from the outside looking in, you can't understand it. And from the inside looking out, you can't explain it,” Enders said.

That’s an apt depiction of her journey, which began nearly 30 years ago at age eight as a Jr. Dragster competitor and has progressed through the Super Gas, Super Comp, Factory Stock Showdown, Stock, Competition Eliminator, and Pro Modified classes.      

This most decorated professional woman in the NHRA has navigated all kinds of roadblocks and speed bumps: short-lived sponsorship deals, the occasional run-in with an on-track rival, the heartbreak of a broken car at the starting line in the final round, losing close races, red-lighting, and being tricked by malfunctioning electronics telling her she won when she didn’t. She has learned valuable lessons about corporate cunning that has made posting stellar reaction times and hitting shift points seem like a breeze. Those experiences have galvanized her, and she’s looking ahead rather than backwards, with her Elite Performance team.

“I believe that our ability to persevere through any circumstance is what makes us great,” Enders said of the Richard Freeman-orchestrated operation with whom she has registered all four championships. “No matter what the world, the NHRA, our competitors, or our haters throw at us, we find a way to dig deep and play with all the heart we have. Individually we all have strengths, but together we are unstoppable. I believe and trust in this team with everything that I have. They are the reason why I am here. Our fearless leader, Richard Freeman, organized the most perfect group of people. We crawled our way to the top, earning every bonus point, every qualifying position, every round win, every national event win and every world championship. We did it with our backs against the wall, and we did it together. That's what makes our team special. It’s what makes us ‘Elite.’”

Bo Butner, the 2017 class champion, said, “She's badass. I mean, she hops in the cars. She's been taught well, but people need to realize she paid her dues.” And Jason Line, who retired in November, said Enders is one of his top three favorite opponents. Tanner Gray, the 2017 champ and now-NASCAR rising star, had a tiff with Enders off the track. But when Gray defeated her in the final round at Richmond in 2018, he was humble, saying, “You’ve got to respect her. She’s a two-time champ and has accomplished a lot more than I have.” But Anderson still is a bit of a tough nut to crack. His rivalry with Enders carries mutual respect but is nettlesome nonetheless. He conceded, “She’s a great racer, does a great job,” but he stopped short of confirming she had earned her way into the Pro Stock Parthenon. He said, “We’ll have to see how it all shakes out at the end of her career.” But she shrugged off his lukewarm endorsement, saying, “That guy has hated losing to a girl from the day I set foot on the scene – and I plan to keep it that way.”

Unlike Butner, Gray, and Line, she hasn’t left the Pro Stock class in 2021, but she said she plans to race in some sportsman-level classes.

“I definitely have interest in racing Pro Mod again. I think our new Pro Charger program shows a lot of promise. However, my dad and team owner aren't too keen on the idea after our catastrophe of a fire in Norwalk [in June 2019] that destroyed our car and did everything it could to take me with it! Let's just say I'm game. I just have some convincing to do,” Enders said. “We plan to continue to run some Competition Eliminator, and I have interest in some super class racing, as well. Time will tell, but you can bet I will be competing in a few classes this year, in addition to chasing our fifth world title in Pro Stock.”

But unlike Anderson, Butner, Gray, and Line, Enders has not won at Gainesville. She was runner-up to Allen Johnson in 2014 and to Tom Martino in 2006. It’s just one more hurdle to clear for a woman who has jumped her share of them on the way to excellence.

 

 

 
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