Erica Enders Maple Grove Saturday report

Enders spearheads Cagnazzi Racing's drive for five in Reading

Erica Enders, ZaZa Energy Chevy Colbalt

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

READING, Pa. (Oct. 1) – ZaZa Energy driver Erica Enders has history on her side as she races in Sunday's Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

Her Cagnazzi Racing team has won four Pro Stock races in a row at Maple Grove, and her crew chief, Dave Connolly, won this event in 2010.

"Cagnazzi Racing has dominated at this race track," Enders said. "We're hoping to make it five in a row.

"We struggled through qualifying, but I know that I've got the best guys you could possibly have in my corner with a record that's better than anybody out here."

Enders qualified eighth – the 12th race in a row she's qualified in the top half of the field – with a pass of 6.565 seconds at 210.93 mph. She faces No. 9 Shane Gray, who had a best lap of 6.567 at 210.28 mph, in the first round of eliminations in what could be a pivotal race in the Countdown to the Championship.

Reading is the third of six races in NHRA's playoffs, and Enders sits third in the Pro Stock standings, 24 points out of second place.

"We've got to man up tomorrow because we've got the tough side of the ladder," Enders said. "Every point matters. Anything can happen, as we saw in Dallas. It's all God's plan anyway, so it's all according to what he's got in store. Hopefully, he's got a day planned for us."

Many expected national records to fall in the Pro Stock category, but Enders held on to her national speed record of 213.57 mph.

"It's cooler here, but the air's not as good as everybody thinks it is," Enders said. "It's really, really wet. That's why you haven't seen record-setting passes.

"Tomorrow's going to be a little bit cooler, but I still think there will be a lot of moisture in the air, and that will make it hard to set any records."