In a season full of great accomplishments, Erica Enders added another – the Texas two-step.

After winning the Houston race in the spring, the Texas native captured the title at the Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas Sunday.

Enders, in her Elite Motorsports Camaro, clocked a 6.537-second run at 209.63 mph to defeat Greg Anderson’s 6.547-second run at 208.74 mph in the finals.

“Yeah, so coming in on Friday, we had high hopes for the weekend,” Enders said. “Winning two of the Countdown races of the three entering Dallas, we just wanted to come here and have a successful weekend. No mistakes, no parts failures, and some of those things you can't help. But it was awesome. It was awesome coming here and going to the Champions dinner on Wednesday night. Everything that the Meyer family has done for this race and this track is huge. So, it's been a really fun week. Then coming out on Friday night, going low, collecting that $7,500 bonus, and then going on to win today, win the race day (Sunday) was just the icing on the cake.

“It was a sad day for us in Houston. Obviously, we won so it was super exciting but a sad day for that racetrack to be going away. That's the facility that I made my first runs at in a Junior Dragster when I was 8 years old, and it's a track that I grew up as a toddler watching my dad raise Sportsman cars. So, a very meaningful place. But in '15 we were able to accomplish the Two Step and Steve Torrence and I nicknamed it that or whatever, but Courtney (Erica’s sister) reminded me of that before the final round that if you can get it done here today, that's the Texas Two Step for the last time ever because Houston's gone. So just a fun accomplishment.”

This was Enders’ 42nd career win of her career and ninth this season.

During her victory parade Enders beat Fernando Cuadra Jr., Matt Hartford, Troy Coughlin Jr., and Anderson.

With the victory, Enders increased her points lead to 163 points over second-place Aaron Stanfield, her Elite Motorsports teammate.

Enders, a four-time Pro Stock world champ in 2014-15 and 2019-20, will try and clinch her fifth crown in the final two races of the season – Las Vegas (Oct. 27-30) and the Auto Club NHRA Nationals in Pomona, Calif., Nov. 10-13.

“If we could at least go to the semis the last three races, nobody can catch us and we'll be able to secure our fifth title,” Enders said. “So, once we got to the semis here, it was icing on the cake. We were able to get around my teammate, TJ Coughlin, in the semifinals and then beat our archival Greg Anderson in the finals. So, it was just a really great day for our entire operation. We had three of the four cars in the semifinals.

“The only thing that could have been better is if my sister (Courtney) and my dad were here. Courtney's working the PDRA World Finals in Richmond. She was on FaceTime with us at the top end and in the Winner's Circle, of course, but she was sorely missed. I had no direction, but I'm appreciate Woody for stepping up to the plate and helping me out, so I know where to go. But, no, just an epic weekend. I hate that word, but it was, it was just the ultimate. We're headed to Vegas from here, which that track, it's no secret, has been a huge success for us. We've won nine national events there and hopeful to win our 10th.”

Enders acknowledged she is trying to reach some other goals in this magical 2022 season.

“Personal goal coming into the year, I know it was a tall order, but the most wins we've ever had in one season were nine in 2015,” she said. “Granted, we had 24 events back then, but this makes our ninth and we have two races left, so there's still room to accomplish that goal. But either way, what a tremendous season that we've had and to do so well in my home state in front of a hometown crowd. Our shop's just two hours north of here so everybody's family and friends were here from Richard (Freeman’s) Elite Motorsports. Cultivation, processing, all of his businesses, his people were here. It was a packed house and to be able to park it in the Winner's Circle when everybody's watching is pretty substantial.”

Surprisingly in Enders’ decorated career, this was only the second time she has won at the Texas Motorplex in Dallas.

“This one's definitely very special,” Enders said. “We've only won here one time, that was in '15, in the 18 years that I've been driving Pro Stock. So, the cowboy hat definitely means something to us. And I know it sounds silly, but coming in, winning Pomona for the first time at the Winternationals, we got that cool shifter for the 900th Pro Stock victory. We got the ice cream scoop in Norwalk (Ohio). We got the wine goblet in Sonoma (Calif.), for the first time ever and then the cowboy hat in Texas. The corn hole boards in Reading (Pa.). I've never won there either. So, this season has definitely been a dream come true for me.”

Now, Enders is channeling her energy for more success at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finishing the season with a championship.
“I've definitely always been big on the positive mental attitude part of it and speaking things that you want into existence, visualizing the positive things that you want instead of focusing on the negative, which is the human way to do things,” Enders said. “So, it's definitely a battle to get there, to think that way. But, yeah, when I can't sleep at night, I definitely think of those things. And I go back to the seven years that I drove Pro Stock without a win and just how challenging those years were and driving for teams that we knew when we pulled on the property that we probably weren't going to qualify unless somebody broke or hit the wall or something. So, it was all of those valleys that make these peaks so enjoyable because when you're going through that stuff, the view of the top where you want to be seemed so distant.

“It's just a testament to never give up and to do your best to surround yourself with the right people and that's exactly what I have at Elite Motorsports. Those guys, they have my back and it's a pretty awesome environment to work and we certainly have a lot of fun. There are seven cars there now and with TJ, Aaron Stanfield, Bo Butner's on board, it's just a whole lot of fun. And you add the Cuadras as well. So, yes, I definitely think about it. I try to visualize what I want to happen. I want to go to Vegas, and I want to capitalize there, and it would be awesome to lock it up. But even if we don't, that's OK. Pomona's a point and a half and we've battled it out before. So, whatever comes our way, we're ready to deal with it and I thank the good Lord for blessing me as much as he has.”

And with her drive for five – a fifth world championship – within her reach Enders isn’t about to relax.

“It makes us fight harder. My dad has always told me, ‘Don't get so far ahead of yourself that you forget to enjoy the moments that you're in right now.’ that's something that we all have trouble doing. So having a performance advantage is a unique position to be in, in Pro Stock because it's super challenging to get there. It's definitely a transfer of pressure, it's a different mindset, but I love the performance advantages. It's definitely awesome, but it was super tight. Look at the final round with Greg Anderson. These guys are cutthroat and I love competing against them.”

On Wednesday at the Champions dinner prior to the FallNationals, reigning world champ Anderson, who has won an NHRA-best 100 Pro Stock national events, seemed to acknowledge that 2022 is Enders’ season for a title. That moment wasn’t lost on Enders.

“KB and Elite are the juggernauts of Pro Stock, and we definitely have an on-track rivalry, but behind the scenes there is, at least from our end, a tremendous amount of respect. I had a pinch me moment at the Champion's Dinner, because I was sitting off to the right and he (Anderson) was facing the center, and when he turned and he looked directly at me and said what he said, it was pretty awesome, man. I raced for seven years before I ever won anything and it was him that we beat in the finals, so he's just been a huge part of my entire career and he's been the guy I want to be like because he's the most successful and he and Jason (Line) were the first ones on the scene when I crashed in 2004 when I was training to drive Pro Stock.

“We had an interesting meeting, but here we are, 18 years later, battling out for the championship. Every single year, it's him and I, him, and I. He means a lot to me. He means a lot to this class and the sport and without him and Richard Freeman, Pro Stock would not be what it is today in my opinion. I'm thankful for what he said. It means a tremendous amount to me. And to go out there and to go toe to toe with somebody who I wanted to be like and looked up to my entire career and come out on top, it humbles you and it means a lot. I don't know what else to say. He's great.”