With this article we will conclude our look at the women drivers who have helped make the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) the most diverse motorsports organization in the world.
We will accomplish this by profiling the most successful of these female racers and one who, interestingly enough, has operated for several years out of a racing enterprise located in Oklahoma.
As we saw previously, Shirley Muldowney was for years the most successful female driver in the NHRA, collecting wins in 18 races while garnering three year-end championships.
In the early years of the 20th century, however, Angelle Sampey, competing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, also enjoyed three championship seasons while zooming past Muldowney with 46 wins.
Then, in 2023, Erica Enders, driving in the Pro Stock category, won her 47th race on her way to a sixth year-end championship. In doing so, she became the most successful female driver in motorsports history.
Like many other race car drivers, Enders had a long struggle to reach the top of her profession. She started out in 1992 as an 8 year-old in drag racing’s “junior” ranks. Her success there boded well for the future.
In 2003 the Disney Corporation made a television movie about Enders and her sister, Courtney (who also raced on the junior circuit), entitled “Right on Track.”
But it took Erica Enders several years to become successful in the NHRA’s professional ranks, finally winning her first Pro Stock race in 2012. In 2014 she set the record for the fastest time in NHRA history in her class at 215.55 miles per hour.
By that time, she was accumulating numerous victories (often several per year), culminating in her being crowned as the Pro Stock champion at the end of 2023 for the sixth time.
Enders (who is from Texas) has been driving for a team headquartered in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. That will change in 2024, however, when she leaves Pro Stock to compete in a faster class, Funny Car, hoping that more success will come at even greater speeds.
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