Enders began racing in 1992 at age eight, competing in junior dragster competition. Her original car is on display at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. She won the Division 4 Jr. Dragster championship in the eight-to-nine-year-old class in 1993 and was named Junior Dragster Driver of the Year in 1995. In eight years of junior dragster competition she accumulated 37 career wins.
Her older sister Courtney also competed as a junior dragster driver, and in 2003 their story was turned into a Disney Channel Original Movie, Right on Track — Erica was portrayed by Beverley Mitchell and Courtney by Brie Larson.
In 2000, at age 16, Enders advanced to her first national event final in Houston, becoming the youngest NHRA national event finalist. She was named NHRA Sportsman Rookie of the Year that season. In 2004, she became the 35th woman in NHRA history to earn a national event victory, winning in the Super Gas class at Houston.
Enders made her Pro Stock debut in 2005, becoming the first woman to compete in the NHRA's Pro Stock category since 1993, the first woman to qualify in the top half of a Pro Stock field, and the first woman to reach a final round in Pro Stock (at Chicago). She achieved more round wins in 2005 than all other female drivers in NHRA Pro Stock history combined.
In 2006, she became the first woman to qualify number one in Pro Stock, at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas. After returning to Cagnazzi Racing in 2011, she broke the Pro Stock national speed record at 213.57 mph at the Gainesville round.
On July 2, 2012, Enders became the first woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock national event, defeating four-time champion Greg Anderson in the finals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. Her winning pass was 6.627 seconds.
Joining Elite Motorsports for the 2014 season driving a Chevrolet Camaro, Enders won six races including the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals to claim her first Pro Stock World Championship — becoming the first woman to win the NHRA Pro Stock title. She also set both sides of the NHRA National Record that year: 6.464 seconds and 215.55 mph at Englishtown, New Jersey.
She repeated as champion in 2015, breaking further records along the way. At Charlotte's zMax Dragway in September, she scored her 19th career win to surpass Shirley Muldowney's record for the most NHRA national event wins by a female driver. At the Texas Motorplex in October, her eighth win of the season broke Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angelle Sampey's single-season record of seven wins (set in 2001).
In 2018, Enders expanded her competition program to include Pro Modified, driving a twin-turbo Chevrolet Camaro for Elite Motorsports. She holds the Pro Mod class record for fastest speed at 261 mph. During a 2019 qualifying run in the NHRA Pro Mod class in Ohio, her Camaro caught fire and she narrowly escaped serious injury.
First woman to compete in NHRA Pro Stock since 1993 (2005)
First woman to qualify number one in Pro Stock (2006)
First woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock national event (2012)
First woman to win the NHRA Pro Stock World Championship (2014)
Most NHRA national event wins by a female driver, surpassing Shirley Muldowney's record (2015)
Six Pro Stock World Championships
Enders' career transformed expectations for women in professional drag racing. Her progression from junior dragster champion to multi-time Pro Stock champion — achieved against the sport's best drivers in open competition — reshaped the historical narrative of the class. Her six championships place her in the company of the greatest Pro Stock competitors of any era, and her continued full-time competition ensures her record of groundbreaking firsts is backed by sustained excellence on the track.
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