| 
Enders thought “I would want to head to Top Fuel at
first when I was growing up. It seemed like the logical progression.
But the more I heard about Pro Stock, and how it was a true
driver’s class, the more I thought that would be the
way to go.”
After a brief stint in an Alcohol Funny Car, she went the
Sportsman route (Super Comp, Super Gas), and won her first
NHRA national event in Houston last year. Her post-race comments
in print and on ESPN2 led Johns to tell Cagnazzi to look hard
at the kid who would eventually send Johns from the driver’s
seat to the engine bench.
“The first thing that impressed me was her demeanor.
She’s a mature, humble, nice young woman who presents
herself extremely well and has a more extensive background
in racing (because of her years in juniors),” Cagnazzi
said.
That will no doubt be a big factor as the team works to gain
permanent sponsorship. “There’s lots of activity,
but nothing final and we won’t have anything to announce
before Pomona,” Cagnazzi said. “But we feel good
about where we stand, looking at the long-term.”
Signing autographs and doing promotional appearances is nice,
but NHRA fans want to see results as well, and Cagnazzi believes
those will come. “She got behind the wheel and impressed
me with her focus and her ability to absorb and apply what
we were teaching her,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
 |
Enders
has said that shifting gears “is a blast – but
there are times I think I need a third leg or arm in the cockpit
there’s so much going on.”
Did that translate into trouble? “Shifting is critically
important in Pro Stock – and it was kind of embarrassing
to see her climb in and hit the shift points right off. It
took me years, and she was doing it in days,” Cagnazzi
said.
There will be other challenges as well. Her father jokes
that she’ll have to really work the weights to strengthen
her left leg. “You need to put 620 pounds of pressure
on that clutch. We joke that she’ll have to build the
leg up so much she’ll walk around in circles,”
said Gregg Enders – who then might have a candidate
for one of his old sprint cars.”
She’s had to pretty much sidetrack her studies this
season to get ready for the challenge ahead (she’s three
semesters away from a marketing degree at Texas A&M). She
also spent much of December and January in Florida testing,
and was happy for the week home to spend some time with her
family and her boyfriend Brant Hall (an A&M student who
is an expert judge of prize livestock).
“It was like I was away forever,” she said, “but
that’s part of racing, and I love every part of it.
I’ve loved it since I was 4 years old watching my dad
fix his racecars. It’s a fever with no known cure.”
|
