Two-time Pro Stock world champ Erica Enders remains bullish on her chances in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 3) — Erica Enders has been to the top of the drag racing world twice, finishing as Pro Stock world champion in 2014 and 2015. She’s the most decorated female racer in class history and she even has a victory at the sport’s biggest race — the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals — in 2015.
Maybe that’s why she sounds so bullish on her chances of winning drag racing’s crown jewel for a second time Monday when eliminations begin at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indy.
“I say it every time but my money’s always on my guys because they’re the best in the business and we’ve proven that time after time,” Enders said. “When they give me a car that goes A-to-B, nine times out of 10 we’ll turn the win light on. I’m optimistic about tomorrow. We’ll do our best and see
what happens.”
Enders qualified her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in the No. 11 position after posting a best pass of 6.604 seconds at 209.10 mph Friday night in the first of five time trials.
“I feel like we have definitely put in the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears to earn some round wins tomorrow,” Enders said. “We’ve collectively made 65 runs in the past five days between testing my car and Jeg’s (Coughlin Jr.) car plus all the runs the four Elite cars have made in qualifying.
“We still have some issues but we are chipping away at them. We feel like together we can accomplish anything. This is the good stuff about this team that keeps us always going in the
right direction.”
It’s not just Enders who has a positive outlook about their chances against first-round opponent Chris McGaha, who qualified sixth with a 6.577 at 209.95 mph. Veteran crew chief Rick Jones, Enders’ tuner since she joined Elite Motorsports nearly four years ago, offered his opinion.
“We always have a chance with the way Erica drives,” Jones said. “We made two solid runs today, maybe a little conservative but we’ll get better tomorrow. Race day is always a different deal, especially at Indy. The track usually gets worse and we already know it’s going to be way hotter. The bottom line is Erica’s going to be leaving first and we’ll see if they can catch her.”
Pro Stock eliminations are slated to start at noon, Monday. FOX Sports 1 will air the first round of eliminations live from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Monday. The main FOX Network takes over from there, airing the remainder of eliminations live from 1-4 p.m., Monday. (All times are local and subject to change.)
“Mark Melling and his son are here from Melling Performance and we are proud to have them on board with us for the rest of the year,” Enders said. “We also have Gallagher Insurance and a couple of their guys out here this weekend as well so we have a lot of exciting things working on the business side of this program. That’s the key to making it work on the race track.
“Everyone is working hard and nothing would be better for us than another U.S. Nationals win.”