![]() And I've made some mistakes as a crew chief when we could have won. She has made some mistakes, but I've been there. "As long as I do the right things, Erica will get there. "It's not that you don't believe you can do it, but you just have to get over that hump. "I think I was in four or five finals before I finally won one," he said. Connolly has 22 Pro Stock victories as a driver, but he remembers how tough it was to get the first one. 1 qualifier twice this season and made it to the final round twice, but lost both times. And when she does, more wins will follow."Įnders has been the No. "Erica respects how tough this is, but it's only a matter of time now until she gets that win. "She is one of the most consistent drivers out here as far as reaction times and getting the cars down the track. "She's really doing an excellent job," Connolly said Thursday. She ranks seventh in the Pro Stock standings, safely inside the 10-driver cutoff for the Countdown championship playoff that begins next month. Now Enders has a competitive car with team owner Victor Cagnazzi and talented young crew chief in Dave Connolly. ![]() "Did I want to put my head down and cry sometimes? Sure. She went from a teenage sensation, portrayed in a successful movie and destined to drag racing stardom, to a struggling pro without a ride in 2008 and without a decent ride the next two seasons. We've put the work in and is around the corner."Įnders' career has been around the bend, to say the least. "I'm very optimistic about what's to come. "I can't wait until we get it over with, quit talking about it and move on," Enders said Thursday at the Space Needle in Seattle. If she does, and it appears she will soon, Enders will become the first woman in NHRA history to win in the Pro Stock class. Now, at age 27, after years of struggle and disappointment, she is on the verge of beating the boys again.Įnders enters the O'Reilly Northwest Nationals this weekend expecting to win. It was a real-life fairy tale, but Enders learned life isn't always a fairy tale. She won 37 times as a kid, beating all the boys along the way. Dragster Driver of the Year in 1995 when she was 12. The movie chronicled her success, along with her younger sister, Courtney, as winning drivers in the NHRA's Jr. "It was a blessing, but it also was a double-edged sword, just like being a female drag racer." "Since it first came out on the Disney Channel, more than 50 million people have seen it," Enders said. SEATTLE - Erica Enders was a celebrity long before she was a professional drag racer.Įnders still was a teenager in Houston when her life story was the subject of a TV movie in 2003 titled "Right on Track." You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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