One of the most accomplished drag racers of all time is Erica Enders, a six-time world champion in the NHRA Pro Stock class. Erica’s career in drag racing has been marked by numerous accomplishments. It all started in 1992 when she took the wheel of her first Jr. Dragster at the age of eight.
That day, the Texas native discovered her calling and passion, and she has been developing her extraordinary talent ever since.
Erica competed in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League for eight years, winning 37 races and winning the Jr. Dragster Driver of the Year award in 1995. A Disney Channel Original film centered on the lives of her and her younger sister Courtney was inspired by their achievement.
In the 2003 Disney Channel premiere of “Right On Track,” Academy Award winner Brie Larson and Beverly Mitchell played the Enders sisters.
Erica joined the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the age of sixteen, and she went on to win the title of NHRA Sportsman Rookie of the Year. Before entering the professional ranks in 2005 and competing in Pro Stock, one of the hardest categories to learn in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, she won her first national event in Super Gas in 2004.
Erica won more rounds in her rookie season of professional racing than all other female Pro Stock racers combined. And that was only the start. In the history of drag racing as a whole as well as for female drivers, Erica has accomplished several firsts. She is the first woman in Pro Stock to qualify No. 1 at a national event, the first woman in Pro Stock to win a national event, and the first woman in Pro Stock to win a world title. She presently owns the national records for both speed (215.55 mph in 2014) and elapsed time (6.450 seconds in 2022) in the Pro Stock category. She is among the Top Ten most successful drivers in NHRA Pro Stock history.
Erica began working with Richard Freeman’s Elite Motorsports squad in 2014. That year, at the wheel of her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, the gifted driver claimed her first NHRA Pro Stock world championship followed by her second in 2015. Fans and other racers nicknamed her “Double-0 Double-E” because of her remarkable and reliable reaction times.
With incredible speed, Erica won her third global championship in 2019 and then another one the following year in 2020. Her most successful season to date was 2022, when she won her fifth series title and set a personal record by winning ten national races in a single year. The tenacious Pro Stock veteran is the first woman in history to win five world championships, and she has no intention of slowing down. A new sponsor, Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, will join her in 2023.
With her 47th win in Dallas in 2023, Erica broke over as the most successful woman in professional racing. She went on to win 48 in Las Vegas and her sixth NHRA Pro Stock World Championship in Pomona.
Being a beloved and well-known figure in drag racing today, Erica knows how important it is to set an example for upcoming drag racers. She frequently attends Jr. Drag Racing events and gives young fans advice on how to follow their own aspirations. Erica is not a contracted driver at all. She not only actively participates in the engineering of her meticulously tuned Pro Stock vehicle but also provides support to the whole Elite Motorsports Pro Stock car lineup.