GAINESVILLE, FL – March 8, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Of all Erica Enders’ incredible accomplishments throughout a sterling Pro Stock career, there has only been one thing that has eluded the six-time NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and that’s a win at legendary Gainesville Raceway.
She’ll have an opportunity to grab that victory at this weekend’s 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and Enders is determined to knock that off her bucket list. It’s the only track on the current NHRA tour where motorsports’ winningest female has not won and Enders would love to change that to kick off the year.
Last year, Enders’ car wouldn’t start before the first round of eliminations, the latest in a string of unfortunate and downright unlucky occurrences in Gainesville. But the back-to-back world champ remains determined to pick up a Gatornationals win in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment car and add another notch to her impressive legacy.
“This is the one that has evaded us for 20 years,” Enders said. “We had a car good enough to win last year and then it wouldn’t fire for the first round. We’ve not had the greatest luck here, but we’re looking to change that. What happens in the past doesn’t dictate the future.
“We know we have a fast car and we’re ready to change things here. That (Golden Gator) trophy looks pretty cool and this is the last (track) we need to get a Wally. I promise this one is high on our to-do list.”
Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won in Gainesville last year. The Gatornationals will be broadcast on FS1 in 2024, including qualifying action, the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, live coverage on Sunday from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and continuing finals coverage at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Last year’s struggles in Gainesville represented an uncharacteristic slow start for Enders and her Elite Motorsports team last year, but it simply made for a memorable turnaround to close the year.
That led Enders to her sixth world championship – tying her with Warren Johnson for the second-most in NHRA Pro Stock history – while a late-season win in Dallas made her the winningest female in all of motorsports.
She added another victory in Las Vegas and heads into 2024 with 47 Pro Stock wins and 48 overall national event…
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