NORWALK, OH — For the first time this season, Elite Motorsports driver Erica Enders couldn’t repeat a 2014 race victory, unexpectedly losing in the first round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.
Enders had repeated wins from Las Vegas, Houston, and Bristol, Tenn., from 2014, and she won this race a year ago en route to the Pro Stock world championship.
But her Chevrolet Camaro encountered problems at the hit in her first-round match with No. 16 qualifier Alan Prusiensky, and she lifted early as Prusiensky took the win light.
“It wasn’t good from the initial hit,” Enders said. “It hooked right on me right away and kinda smoked the tires. We shake but we don’t smoke like a fuel car. The track was tricky: The right lane was bald and the left lane was not in fabulous condition either, but my guys did the best they could with the information they had.”
Enders’ official numbers were 9.776 seconds at 94.97 mph while Prusiensky advanced with the slowest winning pass of the first round, 6.704 at 206.67 mph.
“I did my best to hang on as long as I could,” Enders said. “I pedaled the car, but it got way out of control. It got very crossed up — that’s the most crossed up I’ve ever been without crashing. To be honest, at the end of the day, I’m just thankful to take a shiny race car home.”
Enders is second in the Pro Stock points standings, as she has won four times this season. Her Elite Motorsports team returns next weekend for the Lucas Oil Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.
“We learned from today,” Enders said. “It sucks because we were on the pole and we lost to a guy who was a tenth slower than us. It’s not the best situation, but there’s a plan that’s bigger than mine, and that’s OK with me.”