Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 60

It had been brewing all weekend, which made
the buildup to this must-see matchup utterly
fascinating.
Enders admitted feeling the “weight of the
world” on her shoulders, but this marked a chance
for a career-defining moment, much like beating
Line in a winner-take-all final round in Pomona
in 2014 was.
How Enders balanced it all would determine
her fate, which is why there was a noted change
in her mindset from anger on Friday into posi-
tivity on Saturday to recognizing the opportunity
on Sunday.
“If it’s a negative attitude, it’s negative ener-
gy and it’s not just me. It trickles down to my
team. So, I think it was extremely important
that I changed my mindset,” Enders says. “There
were a couple key factors in that, you know, from
my dad [Gregg] who’s always been my positive
mental attitude coach to my sister’s [Courtney]
I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude. What [team owner]
Richard [Freeman] told me helped and even
some sportsman friends as well. They helped me
see, ‘Hey, we do this every weekend, like it’s not
that big of a deal.’
“So, I think all of these things are contributing
factors to me, changing my mindset but I also
knew that I had to in order to win because 90 per-
cent of this thing is mental. So, you have to believe
it to be it, and when I woke up, I believed that we
were going to be 2019 world champion. We just
had to execute and that’s exactly what we did.”
While the buildup was remarkable, the race
was even better.
With all eyes on the pairing, both drivers and
teams delivered in every way imaginable.
Anderson and Enders faced off in the next-to-
last matchup of the round, with Enders posting
a strong .017 reaction time. She had the lead by
the time the two Pro Stock icons passed the tree,
but it was incredibly close throughout.
When the two Camaros crossed the finish
line, Enders was a mere 16 inches ahead, with
her 6.570 at 210.41 topping Anderson’s 6.575 at
210.31 in a matchup for the ages.
What followed was an explosion of emotion
on the starting line. Rick Jones, the normally
stoic crew chief, was jubilant, while Freeman
vigorously pumped his fist and let loose a yell
as the team rejoiced in a manner usually only
reserved for championship-clinching victories.
“I take a lot of pride in my driving,"
says Enders, whose Vegas win
also gave females 150 wins in NHRA
professional history. “I don't want
to be the best female; I want to
be the best driver, period."
60 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 152