Enders once again a contender in Pro Stock

PHOENIX (Feb. 25) -- Pro Stock star Erica Enders rose from the ashes this weekend in Phoenix, re-igniting her promising young career with a strong showing that featured her qualifying third overall in a stout field of 16 and racing to the semifinals with the quickest racecar on the property.

The 23-year-old from Houston first raised eyebrows when she piloted her sleek Dodge Stratus R/T through a 6.648-second pass at 207.02 mph in Saturday's heat to place her third overall on the Pro Stock elimination ladder.

Things got even better on race day as she eliminated teammate Rodger Brogdon and veteran Mike Edwards with a pair of great quarter-mile passes before getting edged out by eventual race winner Kurt Johnson by just .022 of a second. Enders' 6.677 in the quarterfinals and 6.687 in the semifinals were the quickest passes in the entire class. Elapsed times were slightly slower Sunday due to increased temperatures.

"What a weekend for this race team," said Enders, who last found this much success at last year's national event in Topeka, Kan., where she became the first female to qualify No. 1 in the Pro Stock category. "We needed this. Everyone has been working their tails off since dad and I took this team over in September and the ultimate reward we're all working towards is being a winner on the track. We tasted that today.

"It's exciting to not only go rounds but to have our engine program come together and produce the kind of runs we had today. My guys are awesome because they put it all together and when you start rolling like this, good things happen. I can't wait for the next race."

Enders' strong performance anchored her in the POWERade top 10, a nice accolade for the only female participant in the class.

The tour now takes two weekend's off before the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

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