Remember when Erica Enders got the record Pro Stock ET record in Gainesville a few weeks back and lost in the first round? It didn’t take long for her to make up for it as she won her 36th national event title and third at a four-wide race. Enders powered her way to the victory with a 6.668, holding off Cristian Cuadra, who earned the first runner-up finish of his young career with a 6.702.
Enders set the national record in Gainesville with a 6.450, but did not turn on the win light against Bo Butner. She quickly set her sights on Las Vegas, where her Elite/Melling team could seemingly do no wrong.
“Las Vegas has been good to me even when I wasn’t at my best,” said Enders, who now has nine career wins in Las Vegas, more than any other racer. “Thankfully, I have a crew that picks me up when I need it. That holeshot loss in Gainesville was a lot of crap to eat over the last two weeks while we had off. I took it hard. I also lost on a holeshot in Phoenix but my sister reminded my that we’ve had four races this year and I’ve won two of them so she doesn’t let me get too down on myself. Our Elite family lost one of the best guys on the planet this week, Scotty Oksas. We wanted to win this one for him.
"The Cuadra’s are an amazing family," Enders added. "They are so humble and gracious. Cristian and Fernando are also amazing drivers. We know the power they have. I’m sure they’re going to park those cars in the winner’s circle soon."
RPM Round By Round:
Round 1 - Erica Enders faced Steve Graham, Troy Coughlin Jr & Fernando Cuadra Jr in round 1 and the runner up position was good enough to move her forward in 4 wide competition. With a run of 6.667 at 206.39 MPH she was able to move forward with Troy Coughlin Jr while Graham and Fernando Cuadra Jr bowed out of competition for the weekend.
Round 2 - Round 2 added Cristian Cuadra and Aaron Stanfield along with Troy Coughlin Jr but the end result stayed the same with Enders and Cristian Cuadra moving on. This time Enders won the round running a strong 6.684 at 206.13 MPH.
Round 3 - In 4 wide competition, round 3 decides who takes home the Wally and Enders would not be denied against 3 of the sports young guns. Adding Dallas Glenn and Mason McGaha to the mix along with Cuadra, Enders got there first with a run of 6.668 at 206.32 MPH.
This is Enders 35th career win and her ninth in Las Vegas. She has three Four-Wide wins and the second Four-Wide in Las Vegas.
See a full recap of all of the winners:
See Sundays photo gallery from NHRA National Dragster: