Enders' semifinal finish lifts her to third in championship points
ENNIS, Texas (Sept. 25) – ZaZa Energy driver Erica Enders powered up to third in the Pro Stock points standings after a strong semifinal appearance Sunday in the AAA of Texas NHRA Nationals at Texas Motorplex.
Enders climbed two spots in the standings and finds herself 24 out of second place with four races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.
"That's a great move," Enders said. "Considering the way we're qualifying, we're all very thankful for how well we did today. We put 20 points on a lot of the big guys, a couple in front of us and couple who were behind us.
"I would've loved to have won this weekend, but we did make good headway. I'm so proud of my guys."
Enders beat Rodger Brogdon in the first round and Chris McGaha in the second before falling to Kurt Johnson in the semis.
"That last round, the track was 135 degrees, and we were first pair out," Enders said. "It kind of bit us in the butt because when I let the clutch out, the thing just blew the tires off the car and took a hard right to the tree. I did what I could with it. It just wasn't enough today."
Enders made a pass of 6.683 seconds at 207.37 mph to Johnson's 6.658 at 207.82 mph as temperatures soared in the Texas heat, on and off the track.
As always, Enders was solid on the Christmas Tree in her round wins, cutting a .038 light against Brogdon and .018 against McGaha.
Brogdon, like Enders, is powered by engines from Cagnazzi Racing, so Enders knew winning in the first round would be difficult. Enders made a pass of 6.633 seconds at 208.46 mph to take out Brogdon.
"We knew we had our work cut out for us against Brogdon because we know the power he's got," Enders said. "He can pull good lights out when he needs to. I just took it round by round today and put the thought in my head that the only thing standing between me and a championship is whoever is in the lane next to me."
She took that approach against McGaha, who had beaten defending Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson in the previous round, and won with a pass of 6.649 seconds at 208.17 mph.
"After Brogdon, it was great that McGaha beat Greg," Enders said. "But there was a lot more to that race against McGaha than a lot of people know, and I was really happy to put the win light on in our lane."
Enders enjoyed the support of ZaZa Energy in Dallas, as more than 100 ZaZa employees and family members were in attendance. Plus, the Houston native had plenty of cheers from her home state fans.
"The fans have been great," Enders said. "They know I'm from here, so it's cool to come home. I definitely miss Texas."
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