Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 63

AN IDEAL FINISH
There were some bumps in the
road early on, but Enders and
her team put it all together
when it mattered the most, as she
was stellar in qualifying in the
playoffs, winning a pair of races
and topping rival Greg Anderson in
a heated race in Pomona to claim
her third Pro Stock world title.
there were a lot of contributing factors to that. I
wanted to prove to the world I was still the best
and my team was still the best, and we did it.”
W
ith each accomplishment,
Enders’ legacy seems to reach a
new level. She became the first
female in Pro Stock history to
win a race back in 2012, soon becoming the first
female world champion in 2014.
She put together back-to-back titles, while the
2019 triumph gave her three world titles – along
with 25 wins – this decade. It matches Antron
Brown, Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines for
the most championships this decade, putting her
on the short list of best drivers during the 2010s.
But even dating back to 2015, when the icon-
ic Bob Glidden told ESPN that Enders “is the
best driver that’s ever sat in a Pro Stock car, pe-
riod,” she has always been near the top of any
best-of lists.
Glidden added, “I don’t think anyone would
argue with that” during the same conversation
and there are plenty who agree with him.
To wit:
- Rickie Jones, current crew chief for Cough-
lin at Elite Motorsports: “When you stack it up
and everything’s on the line, she’s one of the best
drivers ever. She turns into a machine into the
car and just crushes it.”
- Freeman: “If she’s not the best, she’s in the
top two of the best drivers that ever sat their ass
in a Pro Stock car, and I think Jeg will tell you
the same thing. Day in, day out, she’s amazing.”
- Line: “I have my moments, but she’s as good
as anybody ever, as far as letting her left foot out.
I don’t care who that is, whether it’s Coughlin or
Alderman or Connolly or Tanner Gray – anyone.
She’s as good as there has ever been.”
Line’s comments came after he nearly matched
her on the starting line in the final round of his
victory in Brainerd, but the words matter and
motivate Enders.
She’s been driven to succeed from the moment
she first stepped foot in a Jr. Dragster as a bright-
eyed eight-year-old in 1992, and there’s never
been any let-up.
“I take a lot of pride in my driving,” says Enders,
whose Vegas win also gave females 150 wins in
NHRA professional history. “I want to be the
best. I don’t want to be the best female; I want
to be the best driver, period. It means a lot that
my peers feel that way, but it took a lot of years
to get to that point, driving a lot of different cars
and working with a lot of different people and
different characters of people.”
The drive to be the best hasn’t been easy,
though. There have been consequences and lost
relationships both off and on the track along the
way, but Enders has always tried to learn from it
and move forward.
She’s been remarkable at recovering from ad-
versity and Enders is the first to admit her situ-
ation with Elite Motorsports altered the course
of her career.
Now, there are no limitations and the possibil-
ities are endless for what she could accomplish.
Enders remains a young gun in the class com-
pared to the other fantastic stalwarts in Pro Stock,
and the championship continued to hit home the
fact that she’s in the perfect place, in the perfect
situation, at the perfect time.
“God’s timing is always perfect. We might not
understand it, we might question it, but the suc-
cess I’ve had with Elite is so important because
I’ve had that success with them,” Enders says. “I
get to do what I love with the people I love and
that’s what makes it so wonderful. I have a group
of guys that are out-of-this-world talented. I think
the sky is the limit with this group and they prove
it week in, week out. There’s so many components
that go into being successful.
“All the stars have aligned and I have to give
credit to Richard Freeman,” she continues. “He
put the perfect group of people together and he
has put us all in a position to excel. We just all
work so well together and if I could sum it up in
a few words, it would be God’s perfect timing.”
In the aftermath of a third world champion-
ship, things haven’t slowed down for Enders.
First, there was an emotional speech at the NHRA
Awards ceremony, followed by a trip overseas to
Saudi Arabia for the Global Auto Salon.
Then came a trip to PRI, right into the holiday
season, which included an official championship
celebration party as well. She is back at the track
in early January, testing new cars and helping new
Elite teammates get settled into Pro Stock during
what will be a landmark 2020 season.
As the class continues to be invigorated, enjoy-
ing the benefits of an 18-race schedule and seeing
a noticeable uptick in participation, Enders will
have the No. 1 on her Camaro for Pro Stock’s 50th
anniversary this year.
She already spoke on a panel that also fea-
tured legendary drivers like Anderson, Coughlin,
Warren Johnson and Herb McCandless at the
SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and now she’ll be the
frontrunner heading into the historic season.
It’s a significant achievement, and one that’s
not lost on Enders, who continues to be the mark
of perseverance. Her talents and a standout team
have led Enders to this point, and the three-time
champ has no plans of slowing down.
“I think next year is going to be awesome for
being the 50th year for Pro Stock. How cool is it
that the whole 50th year we get to have the No. 1
on the side of our car and go out there and defend
our title,” Enders says. “So, I’m really excited about
that opportunity.
“There will be a lot of tough competition,” she
adds. “I know that the KB guys are hard at work
and our team is continuing to grow. I think it will
present plenty of challenges, I’m absolutely cer-
tain that there will be ample amounts of drama,
but I welcome all of the challenges that come
with it and we will do our best to go out there
and defend our title.”
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