Erica Enders delivered a monster run in the second round of qualifying Friday night at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, stopping the clocks with a run of 6.557 seconds, 209.10 mph.
That run was good enough to survive Saturday’s two sessions and gave her the No. 1 position for Sunday’s eliminations at zMAX Dragway north of Charlotte, N.C.
This is the 40th No. 1 qualifier of her career and her sixth this season. She was most recently No. 1 in Seattle in the Elite Motorsports Camaro.
Enders, a six-time Pro Stock world champion (2014-15, 2019-20, 2022-23) is aiming for her 50th career Wally on Sunday. She will meet No. 16 qualifier Derrick Reese (6.644 seconds, 206.80 mph) in Round One.
Enders, who also qualified No. 1 at this event a year ago, owns wins at zMAX in 2015 and ’18.
“I’m a numbers girl, and it was definitely cool to secure our 40th No. 1 qualifier. While in a way it seems like a big number after doing this for 20 years, it’s really not that big of a number,” Enders said. “So, we have our work cut out for us (Sunday). Obviously, that 50 is being held over our heads pretty significantly. But, great race car I have this weekend. My JHG Melling Performance car is flying. We were low for every session, which was worth 12 bonus points, I think, right? …
“So that’s more than half a round, like we talked about (Friday night). So, all those points are going to add up come Pomona, and I’m stoked to have a fast race car. Now, I have to go to work.”
Enders entered Charlotte — the second race in the six-race Countdown to the Championship — third in the points standings, 35 points behind the leader and her Elite Motorsports teammate Aaron Stanfield.
Enders has captured championships in a variety of ways, and she knows her competitors want to knock her off her throne.
“When you have the target on your back, everybody’s gunning for you, right? They throw their best up at you,” Enders said. “People are very likely to go double-0 against me. And then, next round they tend to drag a 50 or 60 up there. So, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, it’s a compliment.’ Well, I’m tired of being complimented. But also, racing from behind, offense is different than defense, and I kind of like that. But the mindset of just having to go up there every single round and make it matter, it keeps you hungry. You got to stay aggressive. And that’s going to be the challenge in this Countdown.”
In the highly competitive Pro Stock class, Enders knows her starting-line reaction time is of the utmost importance.
“Well, I’d like to be 10, but I was making a sandwich up there. We were talking about it, in all seriousness, me and the other drivers at Elite right before that round. Me, TJ (Coughlin), Aaron Stanfield. Cristian Cuadra popped in at the end of the conversation. But as you go from track to track, roll out’s different and the lights are different,” Enders said. “And as much as you try to make them the same, and we’re betting our lives on it by thousands of a second… So, in Reading, we were able to go double-oh-one.”
Enders doesn’t see reaction times that rapid-fire unfolding in Charlotte on Sunday
“Aaron and TJ were saying the best they can be is 20s and 30s. We feel like this track has always been a looser track,” Enders said. “So, you just, collectively as a field, everyone’s slower and everybody’s going to probably be speeding up their clutch linkage and really going after it (Sunday). Those are the things behind the scenes that the numbers don’t report, like the reaction times.
“And then, also, we’re leaving very low. Our leave RPM is almost 1,000 RPM lower than we used to leave at. So, that significantly changes your reaction time. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but the human variable is obviously the largest. So, remove head from butt and go after it.”
