Photo Credit: AutoWeek
Erica Enders, now Erica Enders-Stevens, did a complete 180 this week during the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway! Last week, Erica went out first round after blowing her motor during elimination at Pomona. This week, Erica went rounds and advanced to the finals against Mike Edwards.
Erica Enders ran a 6.538 at 211.99 against Mike Edwards 6.520 at 213.74. Although Mike had a faster ET, Erica’s well-known reaction times got him at the tree! Erica’s win today and Courtney Force’s win last week, locked in the first time ever that women have won back to back season opening events in the NHRA.
“Our guys really worked their butts off during the winter, but we didn’t get the chance to test a lot. And I was a little bit nervous coming into this year because the other big teams got to test a lot. But our guys proved that they can pick up where they left off, and I’m excited,” stated Enders after her win.
Erica later commented on how her and her team will always cheer for Jimmie Johnson of NASCAR. “My crew chief, Dave Connolly, reminded me that every time that Jimmie Johnson wins, we win. And he told me that Jimmie won today’s Daytona 500 prior to the final. So needless to say, we’re going to be cheering for Jimmie all year.”
Source: NHRA
