Like any competitor, Erica Enders enjoyed the view from the top of the mountain. 

After a season when every aspect of her team was tested, Enders isn’t all the way back up, but the view is starting to get a whole lot better again.

The two-time Pro Stock world champion appears to have fully recovered from a miserable 2016 that included no victories and the Elite Motorsports team’s frustrating year trying to run a Mopar. 

Back in her familiar Chevrolet roots, Enders is starting to surge, winning in Epping last month to break a 33-race winless and advancing to the final round at the most recent race in Chicago. It’s a welcome return back to the top of the pack in Pro Stock, where Enders emphatically proved and reinforced she belonged with back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.

“We’re certainly not where we want to be, but we’re thankful where we’re at, especially after the year we had last year,” said Enders, who is currently sixth in points. “The Chevy program is a proven combination here. It’s what we won with and we know the power was there. With EFI and the new rules, it’s been interesting and nothing short of a challenge, but everything we’re doing is a positive for me. We’re climbing our way back up.”

The class is certainly better off with Enders playing a prominent role, and that’s become the case over the last seven races. 

She has advanced to three final rounds in that span, but that stretch also reveals just why Enders knows there is work to be done. 

There are three first-round losses in the same span, which means while the car is showing big MPH at nearly every race, consistency remains a question mark.
Heading into this weekend’s Mile-High Nationals in Denver to kick off the Western Swing, there’s only one thing on Enders’ mind.

“We have to get more consistent and especially our gameday consistency,” said Enders, who has 22 career wins. “We’ve got great race cars, awesome power, we just have to manage it properly. I look forward to more success but we have to get more consistent. I definitely feel like we’re onto something and we’re all excited.”

That glimmer of hope is more than Enders had a year ago, when she knew that an opponent going red or their run going awry was about the only way for success.

That’s no way to go through the season, especially as the defending world champion, but Enders learned a great deal in the process.

What stood out was an Elite Motorsports team that stayed together, didn’t point fingers and continued to push forward. 

It’s turned into Enders often saying, “If it comes down to it, my money’s on us,” in regards to her team, in part because everyone never wavered a year ago.
“Last year was an unfortunate situation because we certainly have the talent pool, we work hard and we have great race cars, but it made us stronger,” Enders said. 
Adversity is nothing new for Pro Stock’s first female event winner and world champion, and neither is overcoming it. 

That’s what made the Epping win so special, delivering a massive wave of confidence in the process.

“Epping was so huge for us,” Enders said. “We definitely needed that boost. To go through those struggles, it just made it that much sweeter. To go through that and to come out on the good side, it’s definitely extremely exciting.”

But standing pat would mean Enders is satisfied with where she is and that’s clearly not the case. 

The goal is to be back competing for championships in the Countdown to the Championship, a stark contrast to 2016 when she was simply trying to get into the top 10. But the struggles of a year ago seem long behind her, leaving Enders anxious to see what can be accomplished during the last half of 2017.

“The field is tight and that makes it competitive,” Enders said. “Having nine different winners backs this year back that up. That’s pretty crazy. But I’m optimistic about the rest of the year and the Countdown. I do this because I love the challenge and because I love to win races and championships. In my opinion, I’ve got the best guys on the planet, and I am really excited to see where we can go the rest of the year.”