Erica Enders clinches playoffs spot, will battle for another Pro Stock championship

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Erica Enders and her Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge team secured their chance to race for a third consecutive championship during the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Enders, who won the 2014 and 2015 NHRA Pro Stock titles, wrapped up a spot in the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs when teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. lost in the first round. Coughlin got some good news in the second round when Alex Laughlin lost, landing Coughlin in the Countdown as well.

“This is pretty amazing,” said Enders. “We’ve had our fair share of challenges, but now to have both of our Elite Performance/Mopar Dodge Darts in the Countdown to the Championship is huge. I hate it for Alex because he’s one of the nicest guys out here, but I’m excited for Team Mopar. The championship is a tall order, but we’re prepared to dig deep.”

Enders, Coughlin, and Laughlin battled for the final two spots in the top 10 of the Pro Stock points standings, as only the top 10 are eligible for the championship when the Countdown begins in two weeks in Charlotte.

Enders had rallied from 11th in points after the race in Sonoma to ninth two races later. She won on holeshots in the first round in the last two races to help her cause, beating Laughlin in E1 in Seattle and Shane Gray in E1 in Brainerd, Minn.

Enders, the defending U.S. Nationals champion, displayed her driving skill again in the first round at Indy on Monday. Against the higher-qualified Gray, Enders left first with .014-second reaction time, but her pass of 6.680 seconds at 207.02 mph wasn’t enough to hold off Gray. He had a .029 light and then made a pass of 6.644 seconds at 208.14 mph to reach the second round.

“It’s no secret we’ve had some struggles this year, but I believe in my team,” Enders said. “They’ve proven time and again that when the pressure is on, they rise up and perform. I have no doubt that we’ll be able to do that again come Charlotte and beyond.”

The points will be reset heading into the Countdown, with Enders starting in ninth place, 100 points behind the leader.