Erica Enders has said she would rather be known for her success as a drag racer than as a female drag racer. However, the thought of being drag racing’s winningest female drag racer has piqued her interest. Enders is now within one victory of tying Angelle Sampey at 46 as NHRA professional drag racing’s winningest female competitor. Counting her 2004 Super Gas title at the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Texas, they are already tied. 

“I don’t care about it, but in the same sense, I think that would be really cool,” Enders said. “Angelle is a woman that I’ve looked to my entire life, even starting as a Junior Drag Racer, so to even have my name mentioned in the same sentence as hers is pretty spectacular. We haven’t had the best season, but I feel like we have a much better hot rod now, and I definitely have something to work with. So, got two more races before the countdown starts, and then it’s balls to the wall, so I think we can get her done.”

Enders did herself a solid on Sunday in Topeka by winning her 45th title against Greg Anderson, the driver she beat a little over 11 years ago for her first as a professional. 

Enders, who became the 35th female driver to win in NHRA competition, has quickly catapulted up the list, passing such iconic drivers as Shirley Muldowney, Courtney Force, Shelly Payne, and Melanie Troxel. 

Enders has won five NHRA championships and 44 national event victories to her credit. But there was a time when Enders, who has 51 DNQs, wondered if she would win one race, much less become one of the winningest of her gender. 

“I don’t feel like I’m close to being done yet, so it’s not just a goal to get to that number; it’s to surpass it by a lot and just keep rolling,” Enders said. “Richard [Freeman] always says if the crickets had pistols, the birds wouldn’t mess with them. But if we can secure our sixth world championship in the future, the only person that would have more than us would be Bob Glidden, so we’d be tied with Warren Johnson. So it’s a really cool place to be in as just a little girl who had big dreams.”

In the heart of a drag racer, not just a female drag racer, are the memories of those wins that got away. Sunday’s final round represented her 76th win and on a day when she surpassed 450 round wins. 
Three races mean three missed opportunities, and Enders remembers every missed opportunity.  

“I was dead late in the finals against Greg Anderson, although I was very happy that he won for the final time with Ken Black,” Enders said. “Triple zero one margin of victory in Seattle with TJ, but got to be alongside of him for his first Pro Stock victory. And then, of course, the Bristol blow up. We were turning that beacon on for sure. So there’s your three right there that got away from us last year in a 13 final round season. So, again, whatever, we’ll just do our best, and we’re going to have fun.”