Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Get to Know 6-Time NHRA Champion Erica Enders!

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Get to Know 6-Time NHRA Champion Erica Enders! · Kenny Wallace Media

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation, brought
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to you by Jags, the leader in high performance aftermarket car
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parts. Remember to go to jags.com to
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fix your hot rod or your everyday vehicle right up, deep
0:18
breath, deep breath. Because as my dear friend Kenny
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Schrader would say, he would point to a person and he'd say
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hero. Hero.
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And there she is. You're looking at her the sixth
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time NHRA Pro Stock Champion Erica enters Erica.
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Welcome to Kenny Conversation. Hey, Kenny.
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Thanks for having me. Man, look at my smile.
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You are just so badass. I've been able to be around you,
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and as badass as you are, you're so normal.
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We went to the car. We went to the Cardinal game
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together. We did.
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So there's a lot to talk about. But.
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But I know you got off the plane late last night, you won the
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Gator Nationals. What's it feel like a day after?
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Finally, we've been trying to get it done for 20 years.
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It was one of the last remaining NHRA tracks that we hadn't won
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at and it was just an awesome weekend.
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From the time we rolled off the trailer, we made some really
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good runs. We went to the number one spot
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Friday night, improved on Saturday to to hold the number
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one spot and then ended up winning the race on Sunday.
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So it was, it was crazy, kind of like one of those pinch me
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moments and you know, you're exhausted and then you wake up
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and you're like for real. It happened.
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The trophy's right there. So it's a it was a pretty cool
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accomplishment for our entire organization.
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I think you're pretty incredible.
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So I kind of compare you a little bit to the great Dale
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Senior. He had won everything.
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He had won seven championships, but he had never won the Daytona
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500. And you would think because of
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Dale senior and NASCAR winning everything there ever was.
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But he never won the Daytona 500.
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It was like it was like his career started all over again.
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I kind of see that in you, 'cause I follow your social
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media here, you've done it all. But I mean, is that the way it
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felt for you like it felt for Earnhardt winning the Gator
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Nationals? I mean, kind of.
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I remember watching Dale win the Daytona 500.
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I remember how everyone came off of pit row and lined up and they
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all high fived him as he went by.
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And I was a fan of his from the time I was a little girl all the
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way through the end. But yeah, I mean, the media
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always asks like, what's what's next, What are your goals?
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And for the longest time, you know, every New Year's we always
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write out our goals for the year.
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And every single stinking year, I put the Gator Nationals on
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there along with winning the championship, obviously.
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And it eluded us for so long and being able to get it done was
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definitely extremely satisfying. And you know, I I got to race my
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team mate Chris Christian Quadra in the finals, which, had he
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beat us, it would have been his first national event when.
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So I was like, so rooting for him, but at the same time,
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selfishly, I wanted to win. And it was just just kind of one
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of those dream days, I guess. What do you have that all the
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other drivers don't have because you just brought it up?
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You outrun your own teammates. You've been doing this since
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you've been eight years old. What I mean is, you've been
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winning since you've been eight years old.
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You outrun your own teammates, you outrun everybody, and this
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is me bragging on you. What do you think you have that
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the other drivers don't have? That's a really good and tough
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question because you don't want to sound arrogant, but at the
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same time, I mean, I don't really know what sets me aside
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from the other ones. You know, for the most part you
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can go through any sort of racing, but especially drag
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racing and see the family affiliation.
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And most of us grew up watching our dads and grandpa's race and
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the the passion for it runs thick in our blood.
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But you know, from the time I was a little kid, you know,
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doing those projects in elementary school, like what do
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you want to be when you grow up and your friends are saying like
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doctors and lawyers and astronauts and whatever.
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And and I always have wanted to be a race car driver.
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So it has been my main focus since I can remember.
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I'm super fortunate to have had parents that sacrificed a lot.
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I was at the track every single weekend and you know going from
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junior dragsters to sportsman racing, I Remember Remember
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trying to get my name and face out there and get the local
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newspaper and the local news station to cover us so we could
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go out and find sponsors. And you know, even when I was in
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college I went for marketing and business management.
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So marketing obviously for the sponsorship side and and instead
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of taking like chemistry as my science elective, I took
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meteorology because weather played such a big part in tuning
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the race car. So this is what it's always been
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for me and I have literally like a lot of people given up
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everything to be great at it. But every single chance I get,
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I'm in that car. You know, we have I have eight
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other teammates and they, a lot of them have real jobs.
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So when they can't test, I do. It's seat time.
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It's, you know, I'm able to practice and fine tune, you
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know, my game. And then on the other side of
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it, it my dad always says it's the six inches between your
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ears. It's 90% mental.
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So being, you know, mentally tough and having a positive
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mental attitude, all of those things are super important.
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As lame as they might sound from the outside, but visualizing
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exactly what you want to happen and then just believing it and
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making it come to fruition. So I guess the mental side of it
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maybe if I had to pick one thing, but just always, always
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focusing on racing. It's never, ever, ever been
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anything else. First of all, you have great
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reaction time, you make minimal mistakes, you're very
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consistent. It's like when Erica comes to
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the line, she's robotic, she's going to be the same all the
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time and and I believe that builds confidence within your
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team because they're going to work hard for you.
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I think this is a case where the boys on the team or the ladies
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on the team, they they don't want to let you down.
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When I was with you at the Cardinal Ball game, it looked
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like your team was very close. Yeah, we're we're definitely
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close. We're a big family.
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We spend more time together than we do with our own families.
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And you know, when we went, I went to the NASCAR race in Saint
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Louis and met up with a couple of people that are affiliated
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with the Cardinals and they allowed us to buy tickets.
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I bought like 55 tickets to the Cardinals game and every single
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person on the team went, you were obviously able to join us
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with Woody, which was really awesome.
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And then a cool side of that story.
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The Quadra family from Leon, Mexico had never been to a Major
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League Baseball game. And they were, like, so excited.
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They were like they wore their team shirts to the game and they
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had a ball. So yeah, every city we go to,
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I'm responsible for booking all of our travel, like hotels and
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commercial flights for the guys that don't fly on the team plane
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and making sure everybody's taken care of.
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They call me mom. I guess I'm team mom.
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But I try to plan something fun, you know, everywhere we go.
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And and it it means a lot. And that that's what I think is
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so special about our team. You you can't by what we have.
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We have such great team chemistry and it's extremely
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coveted and I love that aspect of it.
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I've raced for a number of different really large teams in
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NHRA and they don't, they don't touch what we have here at Elite
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Motorsports. So this blows my mind and I want
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everybody out there, all the racers in in every form.
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You're telling me that you you drive the race car and you book
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the team travel, Is that right? I do, yeah.
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That is so awesome. You know, after the after the US
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Nationals on like a Tuesday, I think I was up at Jags and I
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seen Jaggy, you know, working like a normal person and and he
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was a winner. He won a lot.
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Oh yeah, does booking travel and and working inside the team does
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that. Do you think that that helps out
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with stress Level two kind of keeps your mind fresh?
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In other words, you're just not always in the car.
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Sometimes people look for an escape.
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I guess you enjoy it. I do.
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I definitely enjoy having something to do all of the time
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and I also love taking care of people.
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That's like my most favorite thing ever is to try to make
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others really happy and have fun.
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And so I take a lot of pride in that role.
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But also on the marketing side, you know, Richard and I along
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with Pete Merkel, our sponsor acquisitions guy, we're we work
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really hard on securing our partners.
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I'm at the shop here every day when I'm not at the racetrack.
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So we leave Thursdays and we usually fly home Sunday night or
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Monday and then we're back at work.
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I saw our rigs just rolling in outside the window while we're
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talking. But yeah, it's always all hands
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on deck here. But I do.
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I do enjoy doing other things and you know in between rounds
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I'm not just sitting up in my lounge eating bonbons like I'm
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I'm servicing the car with my guys.
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I'm responsible for firewall forward with Richard.
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We run the valves, check spring pressure, we leak the engine,
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obviously fuel and change oil, all of those things.
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So I'm I'm pretty involved and I I like that part of it.
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I feel like the more involved I am, the more I love it and the
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better I get. Yeah, I know the fans that are
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listening right now, if they're anything like me, I'm, I'm, I'm
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pleasantly surprised. Now I know why you're a champion
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and now I know why you win so much because you grew up in it.
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You are basically engrossed in it.
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You do it all. And my brother Rusty taught me
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years ago Get your head in the carburetor and and that that's a
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that's a phrase of speech. Get your head in in the whole
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thing and wow, we all just learned a lot.
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So let's go back. Let's go back to the Gator
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Nationals. I watched.
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To me, it did not look like your normal drag race if we're if
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we're standing behind the left lane, When they showed an aerial
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shot, every car looked like it was stage crooked.
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Everybody in the right lane looked straight the left lane.
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Everybody looked crooked, like they were doing it on purpose.
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Was the track at the Gator Nationals?
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Was it tricky or was I seen wrong?
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No, you didn't see wrong. The track is very tricky.
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It's always tricky at the Gators because the atmospheric
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conditions this early in the season usually are pretty great.
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Like our race cars are naturally aspirated so they like the cool
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dry air. So you you have all of that
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extra horsepower, right? And then the racetrack
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aesthetically looks good, but it becomes tricky because of the
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way the rubber's on it and whatnot.
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So like in the right lane, for instance, the the starting line
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was really great. So you hit the tire right and
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you're going through low gear. And as you got out just shy of a
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second into the run, the rubber became really thin.
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And that's why you would see a lot of our cars.
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I can't speak for Top Fuel and Funny Car, but you would see
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that, see it take the tire off, like right at the 1-2 gear
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change mark. Now what he saw in the left lane
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you're absolutely right Like we would be rolling forward and and
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kind of just knows the car to the right a little bit because
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when you unclutch it it typically like wants to pull the
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car to the left. So the track is very tricky you
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know it it essentially becomes A1 lane race track as the day
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goes on which is unfortunate but that they obviously do the best
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they can. I'm not.
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I'm not talking crap about them. But yes, very tricky.
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So you're what you saw was absolutely accurate.
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I'm impressed with what you've done.
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All right. This is the part of the show
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where we remind everybody how great these people are that I
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get lucky to have conversations with.
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So, Erica, let let me brag on you for a little bit.
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I want you to listen to this and then I'm going to ask you what
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you thinking. And I want to throw a disclaimer
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out there. There's way more, and I know
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there is, but it's impossible to name it all because you've done
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so much. But I want to hit the
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highlights. So starting at age 8, you want
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the Division 4 championship? 8 years old Now feel free to
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interrupt me. In 1995, Erica was named Junior
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Dragster Driver of the Year. In those eight years of Junior
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Dragster competition, she won 37 races.
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In 2000, at 16 years old, you advanced to your first national
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final, become the youngest ever to advance to a final.
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She was named Sportsman Rookie of the Year.
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Erica achieved more round wins in 2005 than any other woman in
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NHRA Pro Stock history. Now I want to stop right there
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for a minute when I was checking your stats out.
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You are the first woman in NHRA Pro Stock history, and at
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everything you are, you are the greatest lady racer in NHRA Pro
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Stock history. I That's my stat.
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OK, so I want to make sure I put that in.
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You are the first of everything in Pro Stock.
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In 2006, error became the Erica became the first woman to
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qualify #1 in Pro Stock history at Heartland Park in Topeka, KS.
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I like that name. Heartland Park 2011 broke the
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national speed record in pro stock at that time, 2000 and
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11213.57, we're going to, we're going to wrap it up in a little
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bit in 2011. I like this stat.
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We're going to stop after this one.
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We're going to talk about this one in 2011.
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Erica Outrun in the first round, the 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt
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Busch in the first round at the Gator nationals.
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Now I saw that one and I on on purpose put that there I want
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because we have a big crowd. We we interview everybody here.
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Tell me about that moment we're in the first round.
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You had to know you were going up against the 2004 NASCAR
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champion night. This was 2011, This was 2011,
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and you're going up against the 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch.
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Tell me about that moment. What was it like around the
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racetrack when you saw this NASCAR champion come in and want
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to try drag racing? I thought it was pretty cool.
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It's obviously awesome for our sport and the the notoriety and
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the media that surrounded it was very intense.
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It was a lot of extra eyeballs on you, so that was a lot of
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extra pressure. But yeah, it was, it was really
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cool and we were stoked to have a NASCAR driver out there drag
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racing with us. But I'm super good friends with
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Alan Johnson, who's the team owner of the car that he drove.
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So we got to hang out and chat and whatnot throughout the
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weekend. But as God would have it, we had
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to race each other first round and he did an awesome job.
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These cars are not easy to drive as I'm sure NASCAR cars aren't
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either but he did a great job and we were fortunate enough to
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turn the wind light on. So I don't know it was it was
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definitely a cool experience and and I had started with Cagnazzi
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as you mentioned in 2005 and six.
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Then I went to Don Schumacher Racing and then we purchased my
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dad and I purchased the assets from him and ran our own
16:09
operation in 07. And I drove for Jim Cunningham
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in a Ford that didn't very often qualify for three years.
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So 11 was my first year back in a competitive race car with
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Victor Cagnazzi. So I felt like like I had a lot
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to prove and I had gained a bunch of seat time in those
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years in between my 2 stints at Cagnazzi.
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So I was like gung ho like ready to show the world like what I
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was made of. And so that was really neat that
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I I was able to race her. Thank you for filling those
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years in and I'm going to call an audible right now.
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Can I see that ring? Can we all look at that?
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Oh my five time baby I. Haven't got my new one yet.
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I got my new one at Gainesville, but I I keep sporting this one.
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So I saw that. So let's finish up this, OK,
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We'll end like this. Like I said, there's way more,
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but I thought we'd end like this because this is so bad ass.
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July 2nd, 2012, the first woman to win in Pro Stock outrunning
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Greg Anderson and Joliet IL OK, I just said all that.
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What did your mind think when I was reminding you everything
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that you've accomplished? It's it's pretty cool.
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I mean, I'm very fortunate to have a very long and stout
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resume, but also also have dedicated my entire life to it,
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you know, nonetheless with so many people's help.
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But winning that first national event against Greg Anderson was
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awesome. You know we're probably arch
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nemesis, him and I. And from the very very get go he
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was the only one. I'm not being mean but he was
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the only one that made me out to be any different.
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He was the only one that was vocal about saying.
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The others may have thought it, but he was the one that said it
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in the in the media that I do not want to be the first one to
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lose to a girl. And having the sense of humor
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that God has it lined up that way.
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And we were able to load him up in in Chicago for my first win
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and that kind of. And he said that too, that that
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moment opened, opened the floodgates and that was where
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our success truly started. So my first seven years in Pro
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Stock we went, we went winless. And you know from 2012 until now
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we've won 49 national events and six world titles.
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So we've we've packed a lot of success into the last eleven
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seasons and we're very thankful for it.
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But that that day stands out to me and always will, obviously.
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I have goosebumps that that takes a moment of pause and and
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I'm going there before I go there about you being the first.
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Hey, let me ask you this. I'm a girl, dad.
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I have three daughters and I always put up for the ladies.
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I've made a lot about it. About 3 weeks ago talked about
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the ladies. What?
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What is proper to you, lady or woman?
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I'm confused because I, I, I I'm married and three daughters.
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What? What is proper?
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Lady or woman? I don't care.
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I'm not. I'm not one that's sensitive
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about stuff like that. I mean, usually when they say
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the winningest woman in Motorsports, I think being
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called a lady is a compliment because it's in, in addition to
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being a woman, because you act ladylike.
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But I don't. I don't care.
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Woman, girl, whoever, whatever you want to call me.
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Yeah. And and I, but you know what?
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You mentioned something that I I didn't recognize.
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Yes, you're very ladylike. OK, let's call this audible and
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you mentioned it and I heard it 15 years ago and I know that the
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Pro stocks just as long, you know, top Fuel, Funny Car,
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everything is advanced. I always heard that the Pro
20:09
stock was the hardest vehicle to drive.
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Is that still true or or is it not?
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I've driven everything under the sun, including Twin Turbo Pro
20:22
Mod Car, Nitrous Pro Mod Car, and Alcohol Funny Car.
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I've driven it all except for Nitro Funny Car and Top Field
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Dragster. And in my opinion Pro Stock is
20:33
the most challenging because it's it's very fine-tuned.
20:39
We leave with a clutch. The only other class that's like
20:42
that is Pro Stock motorcycle and then we are responsible for
20:46
shifting. We have a 5 speed Liberty, so
20:48
you have to shift four times going down the racetrack.
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We have a 10,500 RPM limiter. That rule was implemented in
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2016. It used to be whatever you
20:58
wanted to shift at and they were getting closer to 12,000 RPM.
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But now we're limited to 10/5 and it's very crucial to hit
21:05
your shifts because as you know, if you run it up on the limiter,
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you know your G meter falls off your face, hits the steering
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wheel, you lose time. If you pull it too early, you're
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kind of gutting the run and knocking the clutch out of it.
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So I think it's very challenging to drive and that's what keeps
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me coming back for more as because you can never, you can
21:24
never say I have a full handle on this because I'm always
21:27
learning, I'm always experiencing new things.
21:30
I'm always making new mistakes and trying to be a better race
21:33
car driver. But yeah, it's it's super hard
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and and that's what I love about.
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It And this went right where I wanted it to go.
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You're a lady. NHRA Prostock, Prostock, drag
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racer. There's a lot for you to do in
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the car and you outrun the men. So with that being said, we will
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address the elephant in the room.
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At what point do you remember once you made it to the big
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time, which I would consider prostoc?
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Do you remember the boys? You talked about Greg Anderson,
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and you know, I'm a girl, Dad, I've said it 100 times, but this
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is what the fans want to keep talking about.
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Tell me the moment. Tell me some moments that the
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boys had a problem with the ladies out running them.
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What were what were some of your moments that every once in a
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while you think about? Man, like at the very, very
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beginning when I was licensing in Pro Stock I remember that was
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that was before like social media really took off.
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Thank God. But people, people are ugly and
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when they're given a platform to spew hate with 0 consequence
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like because where we come from like if you're mean to somebody,
22:52
you get hit in the mouth. But that doesn't happen to these
22:55
naysayers and people online. So it was challenging at 1st and
23:00
and a lot of people don't know because there wasn't social
23:04
media. But during testing and when I
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was getting my license in 2004 before my pro debut, I crashed a
23:10
car. I crashed a pro stock car and
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the things that were said after that were just like Oh my God,
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like there's a reason why girls don't do this.
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This is a good old boys club and and at that time it was
23:21
middle-aged and older men that that compiled the pro stock
23:24
category from Oren and Kurt Johnson to Mike Edwards to I
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mean the the heavy hitters of of real pro stock and and I get it.
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I mean I also try to I always try to be rational about things
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and and weigh both sides before I I form an opinion and I can't
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imagine what these middle-aged and older men thought about a 19
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year old girl coming into their class trying to do what they do.
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She, you know, the the things that were said like she'll be a
23:55
flash in the pan and oh, it's just because she has her daddy's
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money. And you know, my dad's a girl
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dad too. He's got my sister and I.
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So we were it was pounded into our heads that gender plays no
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role if you want to do something.
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I mean, you work hard and you surround yourself with good
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people. There's no reason why you can't.
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There's not going to be a limit on what you can do because of
24:15
your gender and and that definitely helped on the home
24:19
front. But after that crash, and I know
24:21
I'm rambling, I'm sorry. No you.
24:23
You keep going. Please keep.
24:26
Going after that crash, you know, it's anybody that's
24:29
crashed a race car. Like that's a kind of a real gut
24:31
check moment. And it's not exactly fun and
24:34
it's a little bit scary. And I was 19 and I was going to
24:37
school at Texas A&M at the time and you know, I was, I was
24:40
pretty sore the next day. And Victor Pagnasi, my team
24:43
owner at the time, we were testing in Bradenton, FL and he
24:47
brought a backup car in from Charlotte.
24:49
And the next day I had the opportunity to get in it.
24:52
And obviously, like I was like sick to my stomach, right.
24:55
I was really nervous and my dad pulled me aside because he was
24:58
there and he was like, look, you don't, you don't have to do
25:01
this. This is your decision.
25:02
If you if you want to do this, then I'm standing right here.
25:05
And if you don't, we'll go get on the airplane and go home and
25:07
you can go back to school. And that's all.
25:09
That's all it took. And I was like, give me my
25:11
helmet, I'm going back. So that was one of those those
25:14
gut check moments. But people from the at the very
25:17
beginning and even in junior drag racing and and the Lucas
25:20
Oil series when I raised super comp and super gas it wasn't
25:25
like super common back then through the through the late 90s
25:29
and early 2000s and now look at our sport where we're extremely
25:32
diverse and I think it's really awesome.
25:35
But people suck and you have to remember that no matter what you
25:39
do for a living, whether you drive a race car or you work
25:42
behind a desk or you're a welder or a soccer player, whatever it
25:47
is my dad always told me this there's going to be a pile of
25:49
crap at every corner. You just have to pick your pile.
25:52
Like people are going to be ugly and and you have the opportunity
25:55
to to prove them wrong. And that's what That's what
25:58
makes me keep going like I I love more than anything in the
26:01
world proving people wrong and making them shut up.
26:04
That was very heartfelt. And I I I feel it now.
26:08
Listen, I know you're a badass, OK?
26:11
Don't, don't, don't even feel a little bit of anything for
26:16
telling your truth because I just had Brian Deegan on and and
26:19
he's one of the greatest. And he talked, he his mother
26:22
left him. So I really like what you just
26:26
said. And that leads me to this.
26:29
You know, I don't know you very well, but I know you and I see
26:33
your sister Courtney and you. I don't know anything about you
26:37
2. But it appears that you two
26:40
should be twins. It's like you're grown at the
26:42
hip. You know?
26:45
We see her out there. She is so proud of you.
26:51
You don't see many sisters that would do what she does.
26:55
It appears that she loves you so much.
26:58
Did she help you get through some of these growing pennies
27:02
early in your career? Absolutely.
27:04
I'm I'm very fortunate to have a sister and a best friend like
27:08
Courtney. While we're similar in a lot of
27:12
ways, we're extremely different. She's very outgoing and fun and
27:16
she says and does all the things that I can't.
27:22
But she's she's the most awesome, most loyal, most
27:25
amazing person on the planet. And you know you think about
27:29
different scenarios that could have happened and whenever I
27:33
went pro racing and and she didn't, she could have kind of
27:36
veered off and went the other way or had animosity about it
27:40
and she didn't. She like joined me and she was
27:43
she's been there every single step of the way from the from
27:46
the very very get go from junior drag racing back in the early
27:49
90s. So and now she's she's obviously
27:52
got a really badass job at Flow Sports and I feel like she does
27:56
a tremendous job with content creation and being there on air
28:00
talent for drag racing. And so she's kind of made her
28:04
own way and and she she loves it when we're at the racetrack and
28:07
people yell her name or say like shake and bake which is a
28:10
podcast that she does or ask for her autograph and not ask for
28:14
mine And she like you know beats her chest and she thinks that
28:17
she thinks that's really cool. But I'm I'm extremely fortunate
28:21
to have her by my side and yes she she has helped me through a
28:25
lot of that stuff. She's a lot tougher than I am
28:27
and she has a lot of good advice to offer but she'll also like
28:30
offer to throw down with these idiots that are mean to me too.
28:34
So she's she's feisty, but I'm I'm extremely blessed to have
28:38
her in my corner. I have my brother Rusty, so I'm.
28:42
I'm Courtney. You're the Courtney.
28:44
I'm the Courtney and I was at the the indoor Dome race in
28:51
Saint Louis. Every year we race on the
28:54
football field, a little dirt tracking, you know, we get about
28:57
30,000 people in there and the event was over and I had done
29:02
really good and it was on a Saturday night and I'm walking
29:06
out of the Dome, downtown Saint Louis and and this lady and I
29:12
catch eyes and it was Courtney and she says I'm Erica, Ender's
29:17
sister. I said, whoa, wait a minute,
29:18
Stop. You know, you know, when the
29:20
race is over, everybody kind of speeds up, like we're going to
29:23
get on the airplane, we're leaving.
29:26
I said stop, hold on. You and your sister are so
29:31
badass. Thank you for telling me this.
29:33
I follow your Instagram. My favorite part is when you and
29:39
your sister win and you drive back and you turn the camera on
29:44
that moment. Do you know that that's kind of
29:48
a a popular moment for you and your sister when you win and the
29:52
trophy and the wally's all done and you drive back?
29:55
Do you know that's a good deal on on Instagram?
29:58
Absolutely. Yeah, I and it the way that it
30:01
came about was really like we didn't mean for it to happen.
30:05
We were in Charlotte in 2018 and and 16 was like an awful year
30:10
for us. We had zero wins.
30:11
We only had one win and 17. So we felt like we're making our
30:14
comeback in 18, right? It's our first winner circle of
30:17
the year. And we were in Charlotte, NC and
30:20
and we were fixing to leave and you know, pro Stock with a
30:23
clutch and everything and we're very like cautious about
30:25
everything and oh, don't don't leave it running too long and
30:29
don't drive too much, blah, blah, blah.
30:30
Well, my my lead engine builder, Jake Harrison, he's like F it
30:34
drive this thing back to the pit and I'm like what?
30:37
And he's like, yeah, just do it. I was like OK so we got in the
30:41
car Courtney got in the passenger side and we drove it
30:43
back to the pit and I get you know back over there and I'm
30:46
whacking the throttle and we shut it off and she goes what'd
30:49
you just do And not planned not scripted.
30:52
I'm like we just drove this bitch back and and it's and she
30:57
like we got out of the car she's like that's a freaking T-shirt
31:00
and and it and it took off like wildfire and now every time we
31:03
win you know people are you know yelling in the in the winter so
31:07
in the crowd like drive the pitch back and I even have
31:09
little kids they're like my mom said I could say it and they
31:12
come and I'm like oh God Dang. I'm like I'm bad it but I'm a
31:15
bad role model. But they they love it.
31:18
They cheer for it. It gets thousands and thousands
31:21
of views on on social media and it just it's kind of stuck over
31:25
the years. So it's become really fun.
31:26
But going back to when you ran into Courtney at that race, she
31:30
sent me a video that you like said, hey Erica, Kenny Wallace
31:35
here, blah blah blah, you're a bad you're a bad ass.
31:37
I haven't saved on my phone, but I'm like holy cow that's so cool
31:41
Kenny Wallace. But anyway, she's she's awesome
31:44
and she's a huge asset to our whole operation that.
31:46
Means a lot to me. OK, this is where we do a
31:50
audible. I tell everybody this and
31:54
everybody's, you know, we're so honest here.
31:58
You know, I I show the notes and we're this one I really like.
32:05
Just for the girls, your original dragster is on display
32:10
at Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, Is that right?
32:15
That's correct. Yep, in Pomona, CA.
32:17
OK, yeah, that. That's everything.
32:19
Tell me a little bit about Wally Parks, NHRA Motorsports Museum.
32:25
If the fans go there to see your original dragster and listen,
32:29
everybody, the reason it's there is she's a she's a six time,
32:31
she's done it all. Tell me about that.
32:34
What can the fans expect to see with your little set up there at
32:37
the museum? There's so many really great
32:41
race cars and articles from the entire history of NHRA drag
32:46
racing. So it was a huge honor when they
32:48
asked for us to put our first junior dragster in the museum.
32:52
And it's the museum is on site at at the Pomona Racetrack in
32:57
Southern California. And every single year we race
33:00
there twice a year and Courtney and I go over there and we say
33:04
hi to it. Like, it actually knows we're
33:06
there, but it's a it's a little pink junior next year and you
33:09
can totally tell it was built in like 1992, the way that
33:12
technology has changed, but it's it's kind of like a time
33:16
capsule. You get to go back and and
33:18
remember how many great times. And Courtney actually drove that
33:21
cartoon. Like I started in it and then
33:24
when she turned 8 years old, because she's three years behind
33:26
me, she she got in that car and then I got a new car.
33:30
And so we were both able to drive it and it says Ender's
33:32
racing on the side and where our names go, it says Eric and
33:35
Courtney. So it's pretty neat.
33:37
So if any of any of the fans are ever going to Pomona, they
33:40
should definitely check out the museum.
33:41
Not just for our car, but for a ton of other really cool.
33:44
Stuff. So we want to remind everybody
33:47
up to date. We talked about when you were
33:49
eight years old, Erica Enders, sixth time NHRA Pro Stock
33:54
Champion, back-to-back championship 2020, two 2023
34:00
going for a three peat, 48 career wins now or where we at?
34:06
We're at 49, but 48 Prostock wins, so we're we're closing in
34:10
on 50. The way you look at it, I won a
34:13
national event in Supergas in 2004, right before I started my
34:16
Prostock career. Ten wins in 2022.
34:22
Four wins in 2023. So the reason I bring these this
34:27
subject matter up, that one caught me off card.
34:33
Here I am being a kid brother again Rusty Wallace and my
34:37
brother won 10 races when he first went to Ford and did not
34:44
win the championship. You win 10 races in 2022, win
34:49
the championship, but you won four in 2023 last year and still
34:56
won the championship. Educate us all how you were able
35:01
to win it. Win the championship with four
35:03
wins. Yeah, so 22 was a dream season.
35:08
We had ten wins and 13 final round appearances in a total of
35:11
18 races, so we kind of dominated the season.
35:15
But the way the points are structured and it kind of went
35:18
on the heels of NASCAR when they made the change.
35:21
Like for the Countdown, we did that as well.
35:24
And the way that the points are structured in the regular
35:28
season? Go ahead, no?
35:30
You're right. You reminded me this is good.
35:33
Yeah, in the regular season you're you accumulate as many
35:38
points as possible. India is the final race of the
35:41
regular season. It's worth points and 1/2 and
35:46
that is the end game of where you're positioned in the point
35:49
standing. So one through 10 gets to go on
35:52
for the final six races, which is the countdown to the
35:54
championship. The points reset after Indy and
35:57
if you are in the top ten you get to compete for the world
36:00
title. And last year we sucked, for
36:06
lack of a better word, for the majority of the regular season
36:10
and we were able to position ourselves.
36:12
Not great, but we we went in. I think before Indy we were like
36:17
we fell to as low as 15th in points.
36:20
That year we made our way into the top ten and went into the
36:23
Countdown in the #3 Hole because we we we made a run at the final
36:28
couple of races in the regular season, but we won the majority
36:34
of our four within those Countdown races.
36:37
So it's kind of crazy like, you know, before.
36:41
It's like winner take all. Whoever leads the points, the
36:43
whole season wins at the end and we've done that well.
36:46
We've also done it where the points, the Countdown works to
36:49
our favor and last year was one of one of those times.
36:52
Like we we were not good. We probably did not deserve to
36:55
win the championship, but but everybody operates under the
36:58
same rules and the way that it went down, we were we were on
37:01
top when the when the fat lady sang.
37:03
So yeah, champions peak at the right time and you did so this a
37:11
lot of, a lot of questions I don't have wrote down and I
37:15
build my own race cars. The fans want to know just like
37:20
I do when you have a tough time all year long and we see this in
37:26
all sports. It heck it could be baseball
37:30
with a pro stock. When you find something like you
37:35
did is it in the motor? Is it always in the motor in pro
37:39
stock? Is it in the drivetrain?
37:42
And and I know you cannot tell us because you came out smoking
37:46
already this year you won the Gator Nationals is what you
37:50
found last year. Did that pick up for the Gator
37:53
Nationals? And without telling us, because
37:56
I know it's secret, what area did you find all the speed in
38:00
lately? So our our problem last year
38:04
started at the Gator Nationals. The first race of the year we
38:07
were qualified on the pole and then my teammate TJ Coughlin
38:11
ended up getting around us by speed.
38:12
So we're we had a fast race car. We went into Sunday in the
38:15
number two spot and when I went to hit the starter button on my
38:18
car, my car did not fire. And from that point forward, for
38:23
seven races, we went in this downward spiral.
38:27
And you know that when you are struggling and you're trying to
38:31
figure out your problems, there becomes a point when you start
38:35
grasping at straws, trying to figure things out.
38:37
And in essence, because of that situation, we made a lot of
38:43
careless mistakes that we wouldn't have had we not been
38:46
grasping at straws. So it was a, it was a very, a
38:50
very good learning experience for us, but it was tough to go
38:54
through. But what got us through it was
38:55
that nobody pointed fingers. We just put our heads down and
38:58
went to work. But for seven events, like, I
39:00
mean, we tried everything. We even, we even tried switching
39:03
race cars like the pipe doesn't go bad, but we're like, well,
39:06
crap, what else is there to change?
39:08
We changed two and three and four engines a weekend.
39:11
It's not a horsepower problem. We changed clutch units, rear
39:16
gear, I mean the the entire car came apart, it was rewired.
39:19
Was it an electrical issue like we were just like trying to
39:22
figure it out and when we when we located our issue like an
39:27
engine is, is an air pump right. So we just we went to work and
39:32
my my lead engine builder Jake Harrison who's also a double
39:35
engineer, he's the he's the one that identified the problem.
39:38
We figured it out after Q4 at Joliet and E1 for elimination
39:45
round one on Sunday. We were low ET.
39:47
Unfortunately I lost on a whole shot, but that's where we fixed
39:50
our problem and what was cool about finding our problem.
39:53
I know I'm not answering your question, but it applied across
39:56
the board for all of our race cars and it was just the problem
40:00
was maximized in my race car. For whatever reason that was.
40:04
But when we found it and we figured it out, it it across the
40:07
board made us better. Now, it wasn't a horsepower
40:11
issue, but throughout the offseason or the end of the
40:14
season and this entire offseason, my guys have been
40:17
doing a ton of R&D. And you know with a with a Rev
40:21
limiter and the rules that are in place, it's very hard to to
40:24
keep finding more horsepower. We're finding two and three and
40:27
four here and there. It's not like we're oh man we
40:29
found 20 horsepower today. That doesn't happen in an HR pro
40:32
stock racing. So a lot of R&D goes into it and
40:36
yes we work a lot in the engine and intake manifold that the
40:40
manifolds are our our proprietary big money spender on
40:44
this, on this team and I think for a lot of teams in pro stock.
40:47
So I've rambled a lot about that.
40:49
But yes, we found our problem and we fixed it and and we just
40:53
keep getting better because of it.
40:55
You did not ramble. I'm the one that rambles.
40:58
I've rambled my whole life. That was a great story because
41:02
back in the day before heads and intakes kind of came to you
41:08
ready to go. My gosh, you know, we were
41:10
digging aluminum splinters out of our bodies.
41:13
You know, you'd see somebody go in and and and grind the ports
41:16
of the heads and intakes. You know, you guys are much more
41:21
polished than us. You know, NASCAR drivers are.
41:24
But I'm saying back in the day, you know we had Gene Haas, all
41:28
the CNC machinery, Things are much more cleaned up.
41:31
But I liked hearing that story because I'm 60 years old and I
41:36
know how important, you know intake and and heads are and
41:40
like you're saying, it is air pump.
41:42
And my gosh, we've worked for days at Daytona with, you know,
41:48
our air, air intake. So I get it.
41:51
And I liked hearing that story. Want to move on to something
41:55
that caught my eye at the Gator Nationals.
41:59
It appears that pro stock is getting stronger.
42:02
You had 22 cars for 16 starting positions.
42:08
When was the last time? And listen, I maybe I've
42:11
embarrassed myself just now, but I just seem like it seems like
42:14
that's a pretty strong field on that.
42:17
Yeah, you know I get sick of here and everybody stay pro
42:21
stocks dead. It's not dead.
42:23
I think it's in the the best state that it's been in in a
42:26
number of years. But I'm going to rewind a little
42:28
bit like we used to run 24 barrel carburetors on on top of
42:32
our engines and we had a major rule change in 2016.
42:37
We went to electronic fuel injection with that.
42:40
There was also a fuel change. We went from VP to Sunoco SR18,
42:45
which is a heavier, slower burning fuel.
42:48
If you spill it on the ground, you can almost slip in it
42:50
because it's like diesel fuel. But we had a lot of things to
42:54
figure out and on top of that we switched manufacturers, we went
42:57
from Chevrolets to Mopars. So we we definitely struggled in
43:01
2016. But that rule change, just just
43:06
modifying the front end of your race car was like 30 grand.
43:09
So I think that weeded out a lot of the lower budget teams to
43:13
make those changes. Where it turned around was with
43:17
my team owner, Richard Freeman. He got together with Jason Line
43:21
and Greg Anderson at KB Racing and we're like, look, we got to
43:25
do something for the greater good of our class.
43:28
Despite that, we want to rip each other's throats out and
43:30
kill each other on Sunday. Like if we don't join forces and
43:35
figure out how to make this more cost effective for everyone
43:39
involved, the class is going to die.
43:41
And so from that point we started working together on
43:46
lowering the cost of engine rental programs.
43:50
And then also when there weren't 16 car fields entered for an HRA
43:54
event, Greg and Jason or Elite would bring an extra car and a
43:59
trailer and fly in another driver and you know just so we
44:02
had like full field. So that's kind of where it
44:05
changed was 2016 with those rule changes and also that's where
44:09
that 10,500 RPM revlimiter was implemented.
44:13
So lots of changes for Post doc that were very substantial in
44:18
the cost department. And then it took us working
44:22
together with the rest of the Pro Stock field to collectively
44:25
lower the cost of engine rental programs.
44:27
And now it's. I'm not going to say it's cheap
44:29
because there's nothing cheap about any form of racing, but
44:32
it's more affordable than it than it has ever been.
44:35
When I raced at Victor Cagnazzi's that I had to bring
44:38
$100,000 per race to the table. So with 24 events that was $2.4
44:44
million a year and that's a lot for me to go out and find.
44:47
Well leaving Victor's and coming to Richard's in 2014 we went out
44:54
for half of the cost and won the world championship.
44:56
So you just have to be more frugal.
44:59
You can't have these like high paid big ego guys like and
45:04
you're wasting a ton of money. So anyway, Long story short, we
45:07
worked together to lower the cost of this and now now people
45:10
can come in and race for probably less than $1,000,000 a
45:13
year, which is crazy and awesome.
45:15
So I think that's why you see the higher numbers and I think
45:18
you're going to continue to see it grow.
45:21
And going back to what we talked about how it was like the good
45:23
old boys Country Club type deal. Well now it's it's a whole bunch
45:28
of young kids which there's there's been an influx of it and
45:31
I think it's awesome for for Pro Stock like Greg Anderson is 60
45:36
something. I just turned 40 and we're the
45:39
we're the older guys of the class and there's like a whole
45:42
bunch of 20 some year old kids which I think is awesome.
45:44
So they'll be able to carry our class on when when we're old and
45:48
retired. That is a great story and I can
45:51
add on to it. In 2015, I ran my last NASCAR
45:57
race. Now you know I still race a lot,
45:59
but I race dirt cars. I I enjoy it.
46:02
But I gave up. My sponsor was US Cellular and I
46:06
drove my last NASCAR race for Joe Gibbs and I wrote him a
46:11
check for $125,000 for one race. So for the fans and for the
46:17
people that are watching it, this right now, I want to add on
46:21
that this is reality, OK? You got to you got to pay the
46:27
play. No matter who you are, the
46:30
money's going to come from somewhere.
46:33
I always hear in NASCAR, you hear these people that are
46:36
jealous. Well, you, your daddy's got
46:40
money. I'm like, Buddy, somebody's got
46:42
to drive the race car, whether it's me or Erica.
46:46
And the money's going to come from somewhere.
46:48
If it's Kyle Larson, if Kyle Larson's driving Rick for Rick
46:52
Hendrick, the money's going to come from somewhere.
46:55
And in other words, we have a funnel.
46:57
You put the driver in it, you put the money in and it's all
46:59
going to come spitting out. So it's nobody's fault.
47:03
This is what it cost. No matter who's in the car, I
47:08
like you telling me the price. I think that's awesome because
47:13
it educates people because a lot of people are dumb.
47:17
Erica and they piss and they piss us off.
47:20
They do, yes. You cannot fix stupid.
47:24
No, you can't because because sometimes people think that
47:28
racing's free. Well, they got well, they got
47:30
money. I'm like, what does that even
47:34
mean? You got to have money for
47:36
anything, so. Yeah, and the money part of it,
47:39
it, it's great. And it sucks because like as
47:43
somebody that, you know, we were OK, we weren't extremely wealthy
47:47
and my dad funded our program for a long time.
47:49
But like at some point we had to go out and find sponsorship.
47:52
But the people thought that I was doing it because, oh, she
47:57
has a rich daddy. Well, regardless of if you have
47:59
a rich daddy or not or whatever your sponsors are, like you said
48:03
you still have to drive the race car.
48:04
Now that gives some people with money false hope that they can
48:08
get in the car and drive it. I think Pro MoD's a very good
48:10
example of that, that it's a bunch of rich guys that a lot of
48:14
them probably shouldn't be driving, but they do.
48:17
But either way, the cream always rises to the top.
48:19
Like you have to be able to wheel the car regardless of
48:22
where your funding comes from. And if your daddy's rich, good
48:25
for you, but you still got to be a good race car driver.
48:27
You've been bullshit at all that with your great, great driving
48:31
talent and you've done it all. I want to want listen, we're
48:36
already at an hour. I always tell for all the fans
48:39
that are listening to Kenny conversation, this is about our
48:42
50th, 1:00. I did it for John Force.
48:46
I did it for Ron Capps. I always remind the people that
48:50
I'm having a conversation with, we're at an hour and they're
48:54
like Oh my gosh, we're at an hour.
48:56
It's just kind of like 2 minute warning in football and this is
48:59
where we kind of start slowing down and I want to end like
49:02
this. It warmed my heart that John
49:07
Force told me that he told some of the boys what you don't like
49:13
getting beat by my daughters that have nail Polish.
49:17
Yeah, exactly. What up?
49:19
Your nails look good and my my wife, for therapeutic reasons
49:23
gets her nails done all the time.
49:25
And I say honey, go get a manicure.
49:27
Go get a pedicure. I like massages.
49:30
But anyway, getting back to John, has John Force ever said
49:36
hi to you because he recognizes you because of what his
49:41
daughters are doing now? Yeah, yeah, for sure.
49:46
As a little girl and growing up in in drag racing, John Force is
49:50
the man, right? He's the greatest of all time
49:52
and he is our sport. He's a great spokesperson.
49:56
He's funny. He has stories for days, but my
49:59
most memorable moment with him was in 2014 and it was my first
50:04
year here here at Elite Motorsports and we were in the
50:07
staging lanes about to race the final round Winner take All, me
50:11
and Jason line for our first world title and I could have
50:15
thrown up honestly. Like, I was very nervous but
50:18
also very positive and thankful for the opportunity.
50:20
But he rode up on his on his scooter in the staging lanes and
50:24
he's like, hey kid and I went over and and he started talking
50:28
to me and he's like, I know basically I know the gravity of
50:31
this situation. I've been there a lot of times
50:34
but just find your happy place, he said.
50:36
For me, when I get nervous in the car he said my happy place
50:39
is is my grandkids and my daughters and he's like and
50:42
that's just where I take my mind and it and it takes the weight
50:45
off of my shoulders. It makes my heartbeat slow down
50:48
and it just it's my happy spot So just find your happy and go
50:52
out and do the best that you can but I'm proud of you and and
50:55
that like as a fan first like I was like Oh my gosh.
51:00
But as a as a race car driver like how cool is that that
51:03
somebody that's accomplished so much took the time to come over
51:06
there and try to help me calm down for for going out to run my
51:10
first final round for our first world championship and it it
51:14
definitely meant a lot and you know he'll always stay in the
51:18
winner's circle. I was able to win with him in
51:20
Norwalk in 2014 and he came in our winner's circle and
51:23
congratulated our team and I mean he's just he's the man
51:26
right. And it's so cool and and he's a
51:28
girl dad too and he knows the importance of of women in our
51:31
sport and all of his daughters you know with the exception to
51:35
his oldest daughter have driven and I think it's really neat but
51:39
he he is the man. And yes just this weekend we're
51:42
working behind the scenes on some stuff for women and in our
51:45
in our sport and he came up to me on the starting line and said
51:48
hey I think it's great what you're doing for for girls in
51:51
the sport. So he, he and his opinion mean a
51:54
lot to me and I'm I'm definitely thankful for.
51:57
Him My common moment is a song of the day.
52:00
And sometimes I'll I'll get my race car for a big race and I'll
52:04
go in my helmet. I'm like Mustang Sally.
52:09
Yeah. So songs, sometimes a little
52:14
prayer. And.
52:16
I take my my heart down. I I have a a go to prayer.
52:20
It just calms me down. I wanted to I wanted to say that
52:24
I'm with you on that and that's pretty cool John Force telling
52:29
you that. Well Erica, listen, this is it.
52:33
You are the greatest lady racer in NHRA Pro Stock history.
52:41
What you have done is incredible because the Pro Stock is hard to
52:45
drive. You put your time in.
52:48
You've done it all and I want to thank you so much for being on
52:53
Kenny conversation. Before we say goodbye, want to
52:57
remind everybody that this is in podcast form?
53:00
You can listen to Erica on the way to work and listen to her on
53:04
the way back home. We are on iTunes and Spotify.
53:08
Besides being able to see her pretty face right here on the
53:12
YouTube show, you can check us out on iTunes and Spotify.
53:17
Erica, thank you so much. Thank you, Kenny.
53:21
It's been fun. This is the quickest hour ever
53:23
and it's amazing how QuickTime goes by when you're having a
53:26
good time. But I appreciate you very, very
53:29
much and thanks for always being so great to my sister and I.
53:33
Kenny conversations become therapeutic for us all,
53:36
absolutely. I'll see you at Worldwide
53:39
Technology Raceway, you know my friends on the track over there
53:43
and I'll see you later in the year here in 2024.
53:48
Until then, everybody, we have more ladies coming up, Natalie
53:52
Decker and we have all the boys and we have every type of racer
53:56
there is in racing. See you later everyone.
54:01
Bye, Kenny.