After securing her 47th career victory on Sunday at Texas Motorplex, Erica Enders became the winningest woman in NHRA history.
The five-time Pro Stock champion broke a tie with Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Angelle Sampey, who has 46 national event wins, and claimed sole possession of the record.
When Enders was introduced with her new title during the post-race press conference at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, the 40-year-old’s brown eyes widened, shoulders heaving as she took it all in.
“I remember like it was yesterday when we tied Shirley Muldowney for 18 when we won the U.S. Nationals in 2015. And here we are at 47, so it’s pretty crazy…I never thought I’d be racing long enough for this to happen,” Enders said. “And to not just have it be drag racing, but motorsports worldwide, is pretty substantial.”
The weight of the accomplishment was not lost on Enders, despite the fact she typically sees herself as a racer, first and foremost, and a female, second. It was also quite a full-circle moment for Enders, who idolized Sampey when she was young.
“We had her T-shirts and her autographs,” Enders said.
Sampey began racing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in 1996, while Enders made her NHRA debut in 2005. Both women have been exceptional competitors in the drag racing ranks, with Sampey owning three championships and Enders’ in the hunt for her sixth title.
With her victory at the Ennis, Texas, drag strip on Sunday, Enders extended her points lead to 85 markers over Greg Anderson — another crucial advance for Enders over the weekend.
“There’s just so much on the line, it was hard to control your emotions up there,” Enders admitted, adding she had a case of “Sunday nerves” on the starting line. “In qualifying, we felt like we missed it a little bit and felt like there was so much more we could get out of that car.”
She began to turn it around in first round, powering to the win over Eric Latino with a 6.467-second run (212.23 mph). However, her .056 reaction time was less than ideal, and Enders noted she had to “dig myself out of a ditch” to improve.
But, while waiting for her quarterfinal, Enders was heartened as she watched as her Elite Motorsports teammates Aaron Stanfield and Troy Coughlin Jr. defeat Anderson and Matt Hartford — her two closest title rivals — in their second-round matchups.
“I was so excited in the car, just because of how everything was going,” Enders said.
Enders lit the win light against Cristian Cuadra, Coughlin Jr. and Dallas Glenn, capturing the holeshot advantage each time with reaction times of .027, .012 and .026 seconds.
“Awesome day,” Enders said, still in disbelief.
The Texas event has often been a pivotal moment in the title fight, as it’s the fourth race in the Countdown to the Championship. As Enders says, “You can’t win the championship here, but you can sure lose it.”
Heading into the next event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Texas native plans to cling tightly to the momentum that’s been rolling her way. Considering it took her six races to make it past the quarterfinals at the beginning of the season, and now she’s been in the semifinals at every playoff race, the five-time champion is grateful to be in this position.
“Being that, in June, we were 15th in points and now we’re sitting here with the lead, it’s absolutely unbelievable to me,” Enders said. “We finally parked it in the winner’s circle here, but it’s not over.”
Enders has 46 national event wins in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock category and one professional win in Super Gas, bringing her career total to 47.