After a long Saturday at the U.S. Nationals which was interrupted by several rain delays, Erica Enders didn’t run any better than she did Friday.

And, that was a good thing.

Enders’ GK Racing Chevy Cobalt clocked a 6.624-second on Friday and that left her with the provisional pole heading into Sunday.

“It has been a really long day,” Enders said. “We have been changing our set-ups back and forth. Every time weather comes in and things change you have to reassess your set-up. Our cars being naturally-aspirated are more susceptible to atmospheric conditions than the other cars. It is tough on a day like (Saturday), but we went out there and made a pretty good run and kept the No. 1 spot.”

Enders clocked a 6.634-second run on her only qualifying lap Saturday. After eight cars ran in the final Pro Stock qualifying session late Saturday night, several cars got loose at the end of the track. That resulted in NHRA officials cancelling the remainder of the Pro Stock session because of dew at the end of the track.

“Our cars are so much different than the nitro cars,” Enders said. “When the dew gets this way with the humidity and vapor pressure it gets pretty dangerous. It is definitely not fun in the seat. You can see it on our windows and you can’t see out of our car. We keep towels on it to the very last second and it is like chasing nothing. Everybody in the right lane was getting over by the center line. The guys in the left lane were shutting off early. (Greg) Stanfield is one of the best drivers in our class and that just goes to show how dangerous the conditions were.”

Thus, Enders didn’t have any problems with NHRA calling off the remainder of the final Pro Stock qualifying session.

“In my opinion, it is better to be safe than sorry,” Enders said. “I’m sure it pissed a lot of people off that weren’t in, but we are hopeful it stays dry (Sunday) and we can get another run. They (NHRA) made the right call (Saturday night).”

Enders remains optimistic about Sunday.

“Hopefully the weather clears out of here and we get our two runs in (Sunday),” Enders said. “I’m confident in my team. You can only do so much at the race track with what the weather gives you. I’m confident that we can stay at the top of the pack and run with the big guys. I’m really proud of my guys. They work really hard and they deserve it.”

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