First Texas Motorplex win propels Erica Enders closer to Pro Stock title repeat
The runaway freight train that is Erica Enders rolled out of the Texas Motorplex on Sunday afternoon en route to Las Vegas, where a second consecutive NHRA Pro Stock world championship beckons at the end of the line.
Enders’ victory over Jonathan Gray in the final of the 30th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals padded the Houston native’s points lead to 154 after four of six rounds of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.
Round 5 will play out at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 29-Nov. 1, where the most points any competitor can accumulate is 150. If Enders exits Vegas with a 151-point lead, the only woman to have won one Pro Stock championship will have clinched a historic second.
Emotionally, however, even that championship feeling may not trump Enders’ first victory at The Plex.
“I’ve been racing here at the Motorplex since I was 8 years old in 1992, and prior to that I grew up watching my dad race here and in Houston,” said Enders, a graduate of the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League and Sportsman ranks. “So this place definitely holds a special place in my heart. I’ve wanted a cowboy hat and a brick [signifying a national event win] for a really long time. We were able to finally get it done.”
Del Worsham (Funny Car), Richie Crampton (Top Fuel) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won their respective categories.
On a day when points runner-up and four-time world champion Greg Anderson was eliminated in the first of four rounds, Enders covered the all-concrete quarter-mile in 6.467 seconds at 214.48 mph against Gray and his pass of 6.489 seconds at 213.60 mph.
... This place definitely holds a special place in my heart. I’ve wanted a cowboy hat and a brick [signifying a national event win] for a really long time. We were able to finally get it done.
Pro Stock winner Erica Enders
on winning at Texas MotorplexEnders’ second Countdown victory is a single-season record eighth for a woman competitor and raised her career total to 20. The No. 4 qualifier on the 16-car ladder, Enders defeated V. Gaines, Odessa resident Chris McGaha and Elite Motorsports teammate/pole-sitter Drew Skillman on the way to the final.
Enders said her victory over McGaha, third in points, during Round 2 in a pairing of Chevrolet Camaros was especially gratifying.
“You know, there’s been a lot of talking going on in the pits from those guys,” said Enders, terming the tension “high school” stuff. “I say NHRA is like high school. It’s crazy. You can bet your butt that when I went up there that there was a little bit of extra ‘want’ for that round-win, just because of what’s being said.
“We were able to send them packing, which was a huge round for us. It takes a little bit of the pressure off. It showed in my performance actually.”
Worsham, the Funny Car points leader, capped a sensational weekend of five side-by-side races against runner-up Jack Beckman by beating the 2012 world champ. Worsham covered the 1,000-foot distance in 4.041 seconds and 272.17 mph to “Fast Jack’s” 4.077 seconds and 286.25 mph.
“The final round got a little squirrely,” said Worsham, whose DHL Toyota Camry hooked hard to the right but did not lose traction or cross the center line — which would have been an automatic disqualification.
“I just jerked the wheel to the left, shut it off and got the chutes out. Luckily it all worked out.”
Worsham, of Kalitta Motorsports, has won three of four Countdown races and will take a 38-point lead over his Don Schumacher Racing rival into Vegas.
The final round got a little squirrely.
Funny Car winner Del Worsham
whose Toyota Camry hooked hard right but never lost traction in defeating Jack Beckman.Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown saw his three-race Countdown winning streak snapped in the semifinals by Crampton, a native of Australia who beat Steve Torrence with a 1,000-foot pass in 3.972-seconds at 283.07 mph in his Lucas Oil dragster.
Torrence, a resident of Kilgore, ran 4.074 seconds at 267.32 mph. Brown, the 2012 world champion, still holds a comfortable 132-point lead over Tony Schumacher, the eight-time/reigning world champ.
Pole-sitter Savoie rode his Suzuki to his third win of the season at the expense of three-time world champ Eddie Krawiec and his Harley-Davidson. Savoie’s winning quarter-mile pass was 6.744 seconds at 198.44 mph to Krawiec’s 6.915-second lap at 196.30 mph.
“Man, that is one fast moto-scooter,” Savoie said of his bike. “To ride it is unbelievable. I keep telling everybody, ‘Wish I could see it!’ ”
Savoie is only 31 points behind leader Andrew Hines, Harley’s four-time/reigning world champion, and 10 behind Krawiec headed to Vegas.
John Sturbin is a Senior Writer at RacinToday.com. He can be contacted at jsturbin@racintoday.com.
This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "First Texas Motorplex win propels Erica Enders closer to Pro Stock title repeat."