Story By: SARA SLAUGHTER / ELITE MOTORSPORTS – BRADENTON, FL – Six-time world champion Erica Enders and her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment Pro Stock team landed the No. 1 qualifying position Friday at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage at Brandenton Motorsports Park.
In the final qualifying session, Enders laid down an impressive 6.505-second pass at 210.21 mph to jump from the No. 12 qualifying position to the top spot earning the $10,000 cash bonus provided by Lucas Oil.
“We got here a week ago, and we did some testing and my race car performed awesome. Then we got to qualifying and we struggled. So I was a little nervous but I have a lot of confidence in my guys,” Enders said. “Going up there on that last run sitting No. 12, I asked my crew chief Mark Ingersoll, how do we look, and I could hear the confidence in his voice and then Jake Hairston, my tuner, came over and said we were fixing to go to the top. That gives me confidence behind the wheel.
“I’m super proud of my team,” Enders continued. “To be part of this, seeing the hard work, being part of the hard work, it gives me so much pride being here at the inaugural SCAG Pro Superstar Shootout. I just keep thinking, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ All the baddest drag racers on the planet are here, it’s packed and I’m having a ball. I’m stoked about it. This is a new beginning for the world of drag racing and I’m excited to be part of it.”
Race opponents for all rounds of eliminations at the PRO Superstar Shootout will be determined on a chip draw format. With her No. 1 performance, Enders earned the first draw picking the number two that matched with teammate David Cuadra as her first round opponent.
“The chip draw is a different format, I’ve been part of a few before. I was first to pick tonight and I just grabbed one and looked real quick and saw the number two. I thought I had Dallas Glenn because he was qualified No. 2 but it’s whoever else drew the number two,” Enders said. “When you occupy more than half of the field your odds of drawing a teammate are pretty substantial. I can’t say enough about the Cuadra family. We’ll just have to put our heads down and go to work tomorrow and we’ll see what happens. I hope for a really great outcome.”
With a 16-car ladder, Pro Stock eliminations at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage begin Saturday at 12:45 p.m. while the eight-car nitro eliminations begin at 2:30 p.m.