ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS QUALIFYING: ERICA ENDERS IN PROVISIONAL NO. 1

Pro Stock Provisional #1 Qualifier: Erica Enders (Photo Courtesy Elite Motorsports)

By: Elite Motorsports

ERICA ENDERS, Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / R+L Carriers
Qualifying: No. 1
6.542 209.92
Bonus Qualifying Points: 3

Noteworthy:
*If it holds, this would be the 42nd No. 1 qualifier of her career, first since St. Louis 2024.

“This is definitely a good feeling. I’m surprised that we stayed number one, but I honestly don’t think that we’re fast, I just think that everyone else is slow. But it’s directionally correct, and at this point, we’ll take it. The 2025 season was extremely rough for our entire organization. And 2026 hasn’t started off on the right foot either, but we’ve been working really hard. It’s about tenacity and not giving up and just keep plugging away at it, and that’s what my guys are really good at. As long as I’ve been a part of Pro Stock, which is over 22 years now, it’s gone in cycles. Peaks followed by really deep valleys and sometimes I’ve had a valley that lasted seven years. Unfortunately those valleys are what make the peaks sweet,” Enders said. “It was like this back in the day when I raced with Warren and Kurt Johnson and V Gaines and Mike Edwards and all the badasses of Pro Stock. The trend always continues. You have teams that are at the top and then it cycles and other teams work really hard and they catch up and we’re just in one of those cycles right now, but we’re digging our way out slowly.”