HOT ROD Pod Episode 3: Erica Enders, NHRA and Female Racing Superstar

MotorTrend

Brain Lohnes

Transcript

00:00:00 (dramatic music)

00:00:02 - Hello everyone and welcome to the Hot Rod Pod,

00:00:09 where it all began.

00:00:10 We are back with more great stories,

00:00:12 more great information, and more great storytelling.

00:00:14 I am Brian Lones, lead broadcaster for the NHRA on Fox,

00:00:17 a guy you might have seen hanging out with David Freiberger

00:00:20 at events like Drag Week and other unfortunate times

00:00:23 in my life, perhaps.

00:00:24 And this guy, John McGinn, the editor of Hot Rod Magazine.

00:00:27 John, the subject of this particular show is Erika Enders.

00:00:30 - I loved her story.

00:00:32 You know, she's got a stellar career, you can't deny that,

00:00:34 but I like the story of what I picked up on,

00:00:38 how driven she is.

00:00:39 Focused, aggressive, how methodical she is,

00:00:42 race to race to race, track to track, year after year.

00:00:45 - Yeah, year after year.

00:00:46 She garnered her sixth NHRA championship

00:00:48 during the end of this 2023 season,

00:00:50 a year that started out with a really bad beginning.

00:00:53 In fact, the worst beginning of her professional career.

00:00:55 We got on some of those roads.

00:00:56 We talked about what motivated her

00:00:58 and how they kind of dug themselves out of a trench.

00:01:00 - And it was impressive to see someone who's been

00:01:04 so successful and then struggled so much,

00:01:07 but then turned it around and what she mentally went through

00:01:10 to turn it around, mentally, physically.

00:01:12 - Yeah, mentally, physically.

00:01:13 And she's had to fight the battles through her career

00:01:15 that you would expect anybody would in her position.

00:01:17 The first female to ever win a national event in pro stock,

00:01:20 the first female to ever win a championship in pro stock,

00:01:23 and now to keep piling them on on top of these guys.

00:01:26 It can be said that she is not the most loved person

00:01:28 in the pits and she knows that.

00:01:29 - Probably not.

00:01:30 And she said she doesn't need to be,

00:01:31 and that's not what she's there for.

00:01:34 She's there to win races and do right by her team.

00:01:37 - And that is exactly what she has done.

00:01:38 David Freiburger joined us for this episode

00:01:40 that was recorded at the 2023 SEMA show.

00:01:43 It's Eric Anders on court.

00:01:45 - And could her ring count as a guest also?

00:01:48 - Her ring, yeah.

00:01:49 Actually, her ring, as you'll notice,

00:01:51 she has a ring, a championship ring on her finger

00:01:53 that I believe she needs to check in at airport security.

00:01:56 (laughing)

00:01:56 When she goes anywhere.

00:01:58 So enjoy this episode.

00:01:59 Eric Anders, now a six-time NHRA pro stock world champion.

00:02:02 Hey everybody, welcome to the 2023 SEMA show.

00:02:05 And more importantly, welcome to Hot Rod the Pod,

00:02:07 where it all began, a brand new merging Hot Rod series,

00:02:11 or podcast series, I should say, from Motor Trend,

00:02:13 built around Hot Rod magazine,

00:02:15 around the great stories of not only hot rodding,

00:02:17 drag racing, the high-performance aftermarket,

00:02:19 motorsports and all.

00:02:20 I am Brian Lownes, the lead broadcaster for the NHRA,

00:02:23 a total dork about cars,

00:02:25 but not as big a dork as these two guys,

00:02:27 David Freiberger and John McGann, the co-hosts on the show.

00:02:29 Fellas, how are you?

00:02:30 - Fantastic.

00:02:31 You know, I'm just getting used to my 34th SEMA show,

00:02:34 I believe, and happy to be doing this.

00:02:37 Brand new deal.

00:02:38 How about you?

00:02:39 - I'm excited.

00:02:39 I can't wait.

00:02:40 I've been wanting to do a podcast for a long time

00:02:42 for Hot Rod, so this is a big step for us.

00:02:44 I'm thrilled to be here.

00:02:45 - So John McGann, the current editor-in-chief

00:02:48 of Hot Rod magazine, and myself having done it

00:02:50 for, I think, a dozen years.

00:02:52 - So we are rolling out the big guns this week in SEMA.

00:02:54 We have the big guests.

00:02:55 We're going full high performance,

00:02:57 and we are leading off here with Miss Eric Enders,

00:02:59 who is a five-time defending world champion

00:03:02 and NHRA Pro Stock Eliminator.

00:03:04 She has won now 48, right?

00:03:05 This was 48 this weekend.

00:03:07 48 national events.

00:03:08 She won in Vegas for the 10th time,

00:03:10 11th if you count big money bracket racing,

00:03:13 and she got to attend a wedding last night.

00:03:15 So all is well.

00:03:16 This is a full Vegas experience.

00:03:17 - Total Vegas experience.

00:03:18 One solid week here, which in dog years

00:03:20 is like a whole year, so.

00:03:22 - Let's also not overlook what two races back,

00:03:25 the most winning woman in all of motor sports, period, right?

00:03:28 - Yes, sir.

00:03:29 - Yeah. - Yep.

00:03:30 - That happened at Dallas.

00:03:31 - It did. - Yeah.

00:03:32 Is that something that you were really going for,

00:03:34 or is it just a thing that happened?

00:03:36 - Well, both, I guess, a little bit,

00:03:38 but the way I tell the story,

00:03:40 in 2015 when we won our first US Nationals,

00:03:43 we tied Shirley Muldowney with 18 victories.

00:03:45 Angel has been the leader of the pack for forever,

00:03:49 and it just seemed like such a distant goal,

00:03:52 and here we are, like just a few years later,

00:03:55 being able to accomplish it.

00:03:56 So I never thought I would race long enough to pass her,

00:03:59 and I said in my World Champs speech last year

00:04:02 that Greg Anderson, you're safe, I'm not racing that long,

00:04:04 so who the hell knows what's gonna happen.

00:04:06 - Well, you've done it in a very compacted schedule,

00:04:08 actually, it's just since you've been at Elite,

00:04:10 you won 43, is that right?

00:04:12 - Yeah. - Yeah.

00:04:13 - I joined Elite at the end of 2013.

00:04:15 2014 was our first year together,

00:04:17 and we ran a limited schedule,

00:04:19 and ended up winning the World Championship

00:04:21 our first year together, backed it up in '15,

00:04:24 and have won five total in 10 years,

00:04:26 so, and that's what the manufacturer debacle, so.

00:04:30 - Yes, which we're gonna touch on all that fun stuff

00:04:32 as we go through this conversation,

00:04:34 but really we have to talk about Erika's background,

00:04:36 we have to talk about what NHRA Pro Stock is,

00:04:39 and for those of you that aren't

00:04:39 super diehard drag racing fans,

00:04:41 there are four professional categories in the NHRA.

00:04:44 You have Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Stock Car,

00:04:46 Nitro Funny Car, and Top Fuel.

00:04:48 Erika races in Pro Stock,

00:04:49 so this is a naturally aspirated engine, 500 cubic inches,

00:04:52 backed by a five-speed manual transmission.

00:04:55 She has to leave off a clutch pedal, make the gear changes,

00:04:58 and for both of you two guys,

00:05:00 as we're all hardcore gearheads at this table,

00:05:03 we talk about a 1,500 horsepower naturally aspirated engine.

00:05:06 Three horsepower per cubic inch, that's insane.

00:05:08 - It is, it's incredible, and I love your in-car footage,

00:05:11 watching you shift and go through the gears.

00:05:13 So it's such an impressive spectacle to see

00:05:17 that you don't get to see just watching the cars

00:05:20 going down the track.

00:05:20 I love the in-car stuff.

00:05:22 - You know, I think there's a lot

00:05:23 of the Hot Rod Magazine audience

00:05:24 that is really old school who says,

00:05:26 oh, it's not what it was back in the heyday, 1970,

00:05:29 it's where it began at the NHRA,

00:05:30 Winter Nationals and everything.

00:05:32 And the class has changed a number of times,

00:05:34 from when it was really an extension of Super Stock,

00:05:37 and then it went into a weight per cubic inch deal,

00:05:39 which is how Grumpy got away with the 331 cubic inch Vega

00:05:42 and all that stuff, and when did it go to 500 cubic inches?

00:05:45 1982? - 1982.

00:05:46 - Okay, I was about to say '84.

00:05:48 And that's what it's been ever since then,

00:05:51 and I think that what people overlook

00:05:53 is the competitiveness of it,

00:05:55 the miraculousness of how the latter could go down

00:05:58 eight or 16 spots within a couple hun

00:06:01 is pretty incredible, and how you're able to do that

00:06:04 and basically kill 'em all on the starting line,

00:06:06 and miraculously have usually the quickest car in the pack,

00:06:09 too, at least in the second half of this season.

00:06:11 - Yeah, to me, it's super fun to drive.

00:06:13 You talked about the in-car camera.

00:06:15 A lot of the weight's on the driver's shoulders,

00:06:17 having to leave with a clutch.

00:06:18 It's a five-speed Liberty, as Lone's mentioned.

00:06:20 With a 10,500 RPM rev limiter,

00:06:24 it's really very, very, very important

00:06:26 to hit your shift points, because if you're early,

00:06:28 you got it, if you hit the chip,

00:06:30 your G meter just, your face hits the steering wheel,

00:06:32 and it's kinda over, but absolutely love Pro Stock.

00:06:35 People always ask me, "Am I gonna move up

00:06:37 "to Top Fuel or Funny Car?"

00:06:38 Which, sure, I'll drive anything,

00:06:40 but I love just the challenge of Pro Stock.

00:06:44 - Well, you've done Pro Mod.

00:06:45 Now you've done Mountain Motor as well, haven't you?

00:06:47 You're the first woman to ever drive Mountain Motor,

00:06:48 I think, but Pro Stock's where you live.

00:06:51 - Yes, I love it.

00:06:52 The Mountain Motor Pro Stock car is pretty fun to drive.

00:06:55 It's 826 cubic inches. - 826, yeah.

00:06:58 - It's really throaty and a lot of torque,

00:07:01 and you're in low gear twice as long

00:07:04 as you are in the 500-inch stuff,

00:07:05 so the shifting pattern is completely off,

00:07:07 and they're kinda just beasts,

00:07:09 but not as impressive, in my opinion, as the 500-inch.

00:07:13 - I just love that screaming.

00:07:15 - The 500-inch Pro Stock is like the violin.

00:07:18 It's perfectly tuned, and the 800-inch Pro Stock car

00:07:21 is like Eddie Van Halen shredding on a guitar.

00:07:24 It's like two totally different things.

00:07:26 And so, we talk about a Mountain Motor Pro Stock car.

00:07:29 Back in the '80s, when NHRA went to this

00:07:31 500-cubic-inch formula, the IHRA decided, "Screw it.

00:07:34 "We'll just let you put it.

00:07:35 "It's gotta be naturally aspirated,

00:07:36 "but you can put as big a motor as you want

00:07:38 "in one of these cars."

00:07:39 And so it started out as 555-inch or 600-inch engines,

00:07:43 and then the bore spacing blocks came out

00:07:45 with this wider bore spacing and deeper skirts.

00:07:48 These things now have, I think, about a six-inch stroke.

00:07:50 The crankshafts weigh about 100 pounds,

00:07:52 and to your point, the torque they make is crazy.

00:07:55 - It's insane.

00:07:56 The valve covers are like this freaking big, too.

00:07:58 - Jean Wilson is one of the,

00:08:00 before the NHRA started having

00:08:02 the Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars in

00:08:03 as a six or eight race season,

00:08:05 a guy named Jean Wilson, years ago in the early 2000s,

00:08:08 you might've known Jean.

00:08:09 - I raced with him at Schumacher.

00:08:10 - Okay, perfect.

00:08:11 - Jean Wilson was like a rock star

00:08:12 in the IHRA Mountain Motor side,

00:08:14 and he made the switch over to the 500-inch cars,

00:08:16 and I remember talking to him in the pits,

00:08:18 and he said, "You know,

00:08:19 "the Mountain Motor car pulls to the finish line."

00:08:21 - It does.

00:08:22 When you put it in high gear, you can feel it.

00:08:23 - It's still pulling.

00:08:24 So it's kind of neat to be able to split your time in both.

00:08:27 - I love it, and you mentioned Pro Mod also.

00:08:29 I drove a twin-turbo Pro Mod car,

00:08:30 and they tried to kill me a couple times in that thing.

00:08:32 - Saw that.

00:08:33 - I love a door car.

00:08:34 I love a short wheelbase suspended race car

00:08:36 with little to no downforce.

00:08:38 It's a lot of fun to drive.

00:08:40 - So we've gone over sort of a quick history of Pro Stock

00:08:43 and where that went.

00:08:44 I think we need to touch on her history

00:08:46 and how she got it.

00:08:47 And there's two movies that you can watch, really.

00:08:49 One's a Disney movie,

00:08:50 one's more recent that you can see on Flow Racing.

00:08:52 - Yes.

00:08:53 - Can you just,

00:08:54 I know you've done this a million times in your life,

00:08:55 can you give us the snapshot of sort of where you came from?

00:08:58 - Sure.

00:08:58 As kids, my sister and I grew up watching our dad race,

00:09:01 not as a professional, just a hobby racer,

00:09:03 NHRA drag racing, of course.

00:09:05 And when I was eight years old,

00:09:07 I was flipping through the National Dragster in the garage

00:09:09 while my dad was working on his car.

00:09:11 And I saw this big article about,

00:09:12 they're going to introduce the Junior Drag Racing League,

00:09:14 where kids from eight to 17 at the time could race.

00:09:17 It's since then been lowered to the age of five.

00:09:19 But I grabbed the magazine and the shop light

00:09:22 and rolled under the car.

00:09:23 I'm like, dad, look, they're going to let kids drive.

00:09:25 Like, do you think I could do it?

00:09:27 And he said, you're a good kid.

00:09:28 You make good grades.

00:09:29 I don't see why not.

00:09:30 And he had some pretty, pretty crazy rules for us.

00:09:32 We had to be straight A students in order to race.

00:09:35 But yeah, so I competed in Junior Drag Racing

00:09:37 for nine years, got my Super Comp license

00:09:40 at Frank Holley School when I turned 16.

00:09:42 That was my birthday present.

00:09:44 And kind of doubled back to Juniors until my 17th birthday

00:09:47 and raced Super Comp and Super Gas

00:09:49 in the Lucas Oil Series for five years.

00:09:51 And in 2004, got my Pro Stock license.

00:09:54 And I've been racing Pro Stock for 19 years now.

00:09:56 So drove a lot of other crap in between, but yeah.

00:10:00 So that's kind of like the drink of water from a fire hose.

00:10:03 - What's the name of the Disney movie

00:10:04 that's about you and your sister, Courtney?

00:10:06 - The Disney movie's called Ride on Track.

00:10:07 It's available on Disney Plus.

00:10:09 And then the one you mentioned about Flow Racing,

00:10:11 it's in front of the paywall.

00:10:12 So you can go to Flow Racing or download their app for free.

00:10:14 And you can watch Speed Queens,

00:10:16 which is about a 45 minute documentary.

00:10:18 Just a one show deal.

00:10:21 - It's a little different in character

00:10:22 than the Disney one.

00:10:23 (laughing)

00:10:24 - It is definitely not okay to play on the Disney Channel.

00:10:27 There are some curse words in there

00:10:29 and some crazy stuff going on.

00:10:30 But it's a behind the scenes look

00:10:32 of what we have to go through in the Pro Stock deal.

00:10:35 And what it takes to make it happen.

00:10:37 And that's what I was so proud to be able to show.

00:10:39 Not super proud about the joking around

00:10:42 about the curse words and whatnot.

00:10:43 But we're drag racers.

00:10:45 - It's real life.

00:10:46 - It is real life.

00:10:47 And it shows the behind the scenes

00:10:48 of how much work it takes

00:10:50 and how passionate we all are about it.

00:10:52 And just how much it means to us.

00:10:54 So it's pretty cool.

00:10:55 - And of course your team is Elite Motorsports,

00:10:57 which is I think the biggest team in Pro Stock.

00:11:00 How could it not be?

00:11:01 - I think it's the biggest team in drag racing period,

00:11:03 honestly.

00:11:03 - Probably in drag racing history.

00:11:04 - It's bigger than DSR ever was

00:11:06 at their highest point, isn't it?

00:11:08 - In terms of raw number of cars, I believe you're right.

00:11:09 I mean, DSR's total peak,

00:11:12 they had a Pro Stock car and a Pro Stock motorcycle,

00:11:14 but they never had, I guess, 10 now.

00:11:16 - That many.

00:11:17 - Is it 10?

00:11:18 - 10.

00:11:19 - Not to mention renting cars,

00:11:20 or renting engines to everybody else.

00:11:23 - Yes.

00:11:24 Johnny Getsem?

00:11:25 - I was just wondering what the experience is like

00:11:27 since you started driving in 2005.

00:11:30 How have the cars changed?

00:11:32 Engines changed, drive trains?

00:11:33 Like, is it kind of the same?

00:11:34 But just more of, like, more power, more?

00:11:37 - There's a lot that's changed,

00:11:39 especially for me.

00:11:40 When I had never raced a clutch car,

00:11:42 I drove one on the street.

00:11:43 I got my license in Alcoa Funny Cars,

00:11:45 so that was like the first race car

00:11:46 that I drove with a clutch in it.

00:11:48 But it's evolved substantially.

00:11:51 Like, I first started in a Chevy Cavalier.

00:11:53 That's how old I am.

00:11:54 - Oh, wow.

00:11:55 - We went from that to the Cobalt,

00:11:57 and obviously now the Camaro.

00:11:59 But what I'm most excited about

00:12:01 is like the safety that has changed with it.

00:12:03 When I first, you know, I was a 19-year-old kid, right?

00:12:06 And a girl at that,

00:12:07 and probably weighed 120 pounds soaking wet,

00:12:10 and there's a, it's just like carbon fiber bucket

00:12:13 that you sat in.

00:12:14 The window net was like very narrow.

00:12:17 Just no Hans device was required.

00:12:19 We wore net collars.

00:12:20 So everything that's come from the bad things

00:12:23 that have happened makes me happy.

00:12:26 Like, we have the seats now,

00:12:27 and I have a right side net,

00:12:28 and my window net's big.

00:12:30 We have tie behind the backs,

00:12:31 like in case something comes through.

00:12:33 It's just, I don't know, it's come a long way.

00:12:36 And then what's so crazy also is I've driven for people

00:12:39 like Victor Cagnazzi and Don Schumacher, Jim Cunningham,

00:12:43 but Cagnazzi was very like protective of all the things.

00:12:47 Like, they would put this like wire through the bolt

00:12:50 on the valve cover.

00:12:52 - Safety wire everywhere.

00:12:53 - Yeah, like grumpy Jenkins.

00:12:54 He's like, "Ah, you know, don't touch me."

00:12:56 (laughing)

00:12:57 But the way that that's changed too,

00:12:59 we used to have a key card to get in the engine shop

00:13:01 at Cagnazzi's, Richard.

00:13:02 You know Richard, he's just the open book.

00:13:04 He invites Fox into our shop.

00:13:06 You can see everything you want,

00:13:08 except for the intake manifolds.

00:13:10 That's still like our proprietary deal,

00:13:11 but it has come a long way.

00:13:13 But the most important part of it has been the safety aspect.

00:13:15 - One of the things to me that gets lost in your career,

00:13:18 because obviously we focus on the present.

00:13:20 Like, we look at what's happening now.

00:13:22 We look at what you have achieved

00:13:23 in the last couple of years.

00:13:24 But what you just mentioned,

00:13:26 like you actually have an incredible bridge

00:13:29 from this old world pro stock to new.

00:13:31 And something that many people don't know about,

00:13:33 it came up at a dinner conversation

00:13:34 Dave and I were having last night,

00:13:36 is talk about your relationship with Bob Glidden.

00:13:38 Because this is something, again,

00:13:39 that kind of gets lost to your history.

00:13:41 But you and Bob were thick as thieves.

00:13:43 - We were.

00:13:44 And growing up as a kid, being a fan of pro stock,

00:13:47 before even wanting to drive one,

00:13:48 like Bob Glidden's the man, right?

00:13:50 And I had the opportunity to work with him

00:13:52 when I drove for Jim Cunningham in the Ford Mustang.

00:13:55 And I was really like nervous and apprehensive

00:13:58 because like Bob Glidden grew up in an era

00:14:00 where it really, I mean, honestly,

00:14:02 it wasn't okay for women to do the same thing that men did.

00:14:05 And so I just was like,

00:14:06 this guy's gonna probably hate me.

00:14:08 It was the exact opposite.

00:14:09 He took me under his wings.

00:14:10 He taught me things that only Bob Glidden could teach me.

00:14:14 He always had my back,

00:14:15 even after we parted ways at Cunningham and he passed away.

00:14:19 But driving for elite,

00:14:20 like I went through this kind of slump in 2014.

00:14:23 I had a great race car and I had like four races

00:14:25 that I lost on whole shots.

00:14:27 And he would call me every Monday morning

00:14:29 and he's like, "Oh, damn it, Erica, what is going on?"

00:14:31 (laughing)

00:14:32 And he would sit on the phone with me for hours.

00:14:34 And then he'd call my crew chief, Rick Jones,

00:14:36 and he just would like try to help us

00:14:37 get to the bottom of it.

00:14:39 And if you're consistent here,

00:14:40 we got to bring the car to her

00:14:41 and just always like super hands-on and super supportive.

00:14:44 And when I won my first race in 2012,

00:14:47 I was in the press room and my phone rang.

00:14:49 He was the first person to call in it.

00:14:51 I picked up my phone and said, "Bob Glidden."

00:14:52 I'm like, I gotta take this.

00:14:54 - Y'all can wait a second.

00:14:54 - Yeah, y'all just hold on.

00:14:56 But I was able to go see him right before he passed away.

00:14:59 And fun fact, this weekend after we won on Sunday,

00:15:03 Billy Glidden reached out and he said,

00:15:04 "I don't ever reach out," but he said,

00:15:06 "I just want you to know how proud my dad would be of you."

00:15:08 So that meant a lot to me.

00:15:10 And Bob was gruff and tough and whatever,

00:15:12 but he had a big heart and just, gosh, so knowledgeable.

00:15:15 - And just, David, I don't have to hell Jeff you,

00:15:18 but what was it about you that he respected?

00:15:20 Like, what was it about you that,

00:15:22 because he didn't treat everybody that way,

00:15:23 not that he was a mean guy,

00:15:24 but he also, if he thought you were an idiot,

00:15:26 you would know in the first 30 seconds.

00:15:27 - Oh, 100%, he would tell you.

00:15:29 - So what was that thing that,

00:15:31 if he can't put your finger on it, that's fine,

00:15:32 but what was that between the two of you?

00:15:34 - He liked, like when he would look at our graphs,

00:15:37 we'd come back with the race pack data

00:15:38 and he just, like, I always shifted really well.

00:15:41 And, you know, I've obviously evolved as a racer.

00:15:44 I sucked horribly when I first started.

00:15:46 I can't imagine what these guys I was competing against

00:15:48 thought, "Jeez Louise,

00:15:50 this is why they don't let women do this."

00:15:51 But, you know, it's a huge learning curve.

00:15:53 It's a hard car to drive.

00:15:54 And even now, 19 years later,

00:15:56 I'm learning something every single pass.

00:15:57 But he told me he loved that I was tenacious,

00:16:00 that I didn't ever quit.

00:16:01 And I just, no matter how many people were horrible to me

00:16:04 and treated me like crap, that I just kept,

00:16:06 I put my head down and I just kept going after it.

00:16:08 Obviously it wasn't easy, but that's what he told me.

00:16:10 He loved that I didn't ever give up.

00:16:13 - So the thing about Glidden reminded me of this.

00:16:16 Last year, when you won your championship,

00:16:17 I had made a post and I had called you, ready for it,

00:16:20 the greatest ProStrike driver of all time.

00:16:22 - Oh God, how many emails did you get?

00:16:24 - People were dogpiling me.

00:16:26 It's like, "Dude, WJ, Glidden, Grumpy,"

00:16:28 and all this stuff.

00:16:29 And the point I made is they were really mechanics.

00:16:32 They weren't pure drivers.

00:16:34 I mean, Ronnie Sox, I guess,

00:16:35 was a straight up driver, hired gun.

00:16:38 But how do you feel that that has really changed?

00:16:40 I mean, this weekend you said

00:16:42 you had the greatest motorsports team

00:16:44 in the history of motorsports, right?

00:16:45 - My opinion, but I believe it.

00:16:46 - That's got to include you, right?

00:16:48 - I mean, I'm a part of the puzzle.

00:16:50 I mean, none of us got here alone, right?

00:16:54 Like Richard was telling the story at dinner

00:16:55 a couple nights ago to a couple of our partners.

00:16:57 Like he said, "I almost went broke

00:16:59 "trying to get people to run my stuff."

00:17:01 He said, "I saw opportunity to hire Erica.

00:17:03 "She's a good driver to showcase the horsepower

00:17:05 "that we have because you put a marginal driver

00:17:08 "in good horsepower, you're still gonna come out

00:17:10 "looking like a turd."

00:17:11 So-- - We see it every week, actually.

00:17:12 - Yeah, we do. - It's still true.

00:17:14 - It is still true.

00:17:15 So he said, you know, and I mentioned

00:17:18 we ran a limited season our first year together,

00:17:20 but he said, "I wouldn't have 10 cars right now

00:17:25 "had you not come to drive, and we wouldn't be here

00:17:27 "without Jake Hairston and Kyle Bates

00:17:29 "and Mark Ingersoll and Rick and Ricky Jones."

00:17:31 Like, it's just like this huge group of people

00:17:33 who have become family, but none of us got here alone, so.

00:17:36 - But the pressure all comes down to you.

00:17:38 All of their work falls apart with one red light.

00:17:41 - It does, one red light, one late reaction time,

00:17:44 one mis-shift, one accidentally wheel-whipping it.

00:17:47 I mean, it doesn't matter.

00:17:48 The human variable is the biggest one of all,

00:17:50 and when they shut that door, it's all on me.

00:17:53 So it wasn't something that I had naturally

00:17:56 to love pressure, right?

00:17:57 I had to learn how to love pressure.

00:17:59 And you mentioned the people that, you know,

00:18:02 the greatest Pro Star driver, I don't think that, you know,

00:18:04 we have a ton of really talented people.

00:18:06 Jake Coughlin's somebody that-- - Oh, sure.

00:18:08 - I'm always thoroughly impressed with him,

00:18:09 but he's been out of the seat for three years.

00:18:11 He came back and tested on Monday,

00:18:13 his first Q1 at Vegas. - Yeah.

00:18:16 - Freaking like double O on the tree.

00:18:18 He could lay a level across his shift points.

00:18:20 I'm like, this guy is unbelievable.

00:18:21 He's a total wheel man.

00:18:23 But I do work on my cars.

00:18:25 I mean, like, I don't just come back

00:18:27 and like go sit in the lounge and drink toddies.

00:18:30 I mean, like, I just, I work, I come back,

00:18:33 I get the Pro Jacks under the car, we get it up.

00:18:35 Richard Freeman and I do the firewall forward.

00:18:38 So I run the valves, check spring pressure,

00:18:39 if we got a swing engine, we got a swing engines.

00:18:41 I go up with the crew chiefs and go over everything.

00:18:44 You know, I'm non-computer data,

00:18:46 but sometimes drivers can tell you things

00:18:47 that computers can't and I'm responsible

00:18:49 for all my clutch linkage and that's

00:18:51 my non-electronic delay box.

00:18:52 So I'm really hands on, I really am.

00:18:54 And I love learning about it, I love working on it.

00:18:56 I got broken fingernails looking like a hobo over here.

00:18:59 But like, I work on my stuff.

00:19:01 I'm not just a driver and that's what I wish

00:19:03 people would understand, like when they spew that crap.

00:19:05 Like, no, I'm not Grumpy Jenkins or Bob Glidden

00:19:08 and I'm never gonna be.

00:19:09 - You're what you claim to be.

00:19:09 - But I'm trying, I really am and I love what I do.

00:19:12 - You mentioned a second ago,

00:19:15 when the door shuts, it's all you.

00:19:16 I think we've all seen it every single race.

00:19:19 Your team owner, Richard Freeman,

00:19:20 what's he saying to you before he shuts the door?

00:19:22 - He's saying something.

00:19:23 - He's saying something.

00:19:24 - I love to say what he says.

00:19:25 - It's one of life's great and grand mysteries

00:19:27 'cause something's getting said there,

00:19:29 but no one's hearing it.

00:19:30 - So what he says is don't F this up.

00:19:33 (laughing)

00:19:34 - That's what you said, you were speculating.

00:19:37 - Like he says he can read my eyes,

00:19:38 like that's all you can see.

00:19:40 Once you've been around somebody long enough,

00:19:42 you can understand what's going on

00:19:43 and he says there's moments like he knows

00:19:45 where I'm having doubt or whatever

00:19:47 and he'll usually just try to lighten the mood

00:19:49 or when he sees the doubt in my eyes,

00:19:52 he'll hit me in my knee and he'll say,

00:19:55 you're the best there ever was, let's show them.

00:19:57 But usually it's don't F this up, for sure.

00:19:59 (laughing)

00:20:01 - You mentioned about dealing with pressure

00:20:03 and that's something you had to learn.

00:20:06 Are there techniques?

00:20:07 Is there stuff you do?

00:20:09 Or is it just like practice, practice,

00:20:12 and you just know the mechanics, the whole process?

00:20:16 - A lot of that, but also I grew up in a house,

00:20:18 my dad before he made his money in business

00:20:20 was a positive mental attitude coach.

00:20:22 He toured the country teaching seminars

00:20:24 so we had it ingrained in us, pounded into our heads.

00:20:28 Before every round I talked to my dad

00:20:30 whether I'm testing or I'm at a national event.

00:20:34 So having him with my neuro program stuff

00:20:37 and then of course having the support of my sister

00:20:39 who's there every weekend and she works her butt off,

00:20:42 but she's my total hype girl.

00:20:45 So having that support definitely helps

00:20:47 because they believe in me when I don't believe in myself

00:20:49 and then they make me believe.

00:20:52 So I'll give a small example.

00:20:55 My first final round was in Chicago against Jason Line

00:20:57 and we had to do an engine swap

00:20:59 after the semifinals, we beat Warren Johnson.

00:21:02 And there was rain moving in so NHRA was rushing us.

00:21:05 Well we went to fire the car, we had a crank trigger issue.

00:21:08 So NHRA's like, get buckled up back here

00:21:10 and drag your stuff up and we'll run.

00:21:13 So I had to get suited up in the pit and we towed up

00:21:16 and I just was like a ball of nerves, right?

00:21:17 My first final round in pro stock against Jason Line

00:21:20 and we go up there and I went red, right?

00:21:23 And there's another situation in Houston

00:21:26 that proves how far I came from that

00:21:28 was we had a pro jack failure, we couldn't get my car down.

00:21:31 AJ was waiting on us, we pulled up and I'm rushing, right?

00:21:34 Like I'm still putting on my stuff

00:21:36 and they're like, fire up, fire up.

00:21:37 And so we go up and I went on a whole shot.

00:21:39 But it's just about being in those high pressure situations

00:21:43 or when you're rushed is remaining calm and remaining

00:21:45 positive and just focusing on the task at hand.

00:21:48 And it's way easier said than done,

00:21:49 but I actually welcome the pressure now.

00:21:52 Like yesterday in the final round,

00:21:54 I knew what was on the line, right?

00:21:55 If Greg Anderson won, it would take the lead way back down

00:21:58 to like 60 points or less.

00:21:59 Basically, yeah.

00:22:00 And then double points, it would take it down to basically two

00:22:02 rounds before qualifying.

00:22:03 Yeah, and so I'm like, this is it right here.

00:22:06 And I tell myself that a lot too when

00:22:07 I raise people like winner take all world championship.

00:22:10 It's like what I used to practice on the Porter

00:22:12 tree with my dad at home.

00:22:14 Make yourself think that, right?

00:22:15 And so I go up there and I try to rip his throat out

00:22:18 and I'm 12 on the tree and we win the race.

00:22:20 But that stuff, I live off of it.

00:22:23 I love it.

00:22:24 Are you in a point situation right now

00:22:25 or basically you just have to stage the car in Pomona?

00:22:28 Not technically.

00:22:29 I mean, really it's 88 right now I think or 96.

00:22:33 What is it?

00:22:34 My lead?

00:22:34 Yeah.

00:22:35 114.

00:22:35 114, I'm sorry.

00:22:36 So 114.

00:22:36 [LAUGHTER]

00:22:37 Well, there's 191 points available.

00:22:39 So basically, you have 191 points available to race.

00:22:42 Somebody would have to pull a miracle.

00:22:44 That means they have to be low every single round

00:22:46 and win the race.

00:22:46 Because it's points and a half.

00:22:47 But that also means the qualifying points

00:22:49 are points and a half.

00:22:49 And we're talking about the NHRA point system.

00:22:51 And with Erica going in with 114 point advantage

00:22:54 into Pomona in the in and out finals,

00:22:57 the reality is she needs to do what she's done all season

00:23:00 or at least after-- since Bristol this season, which

00:23:03 is gain qualifying points and then knock a couple of rounds

00:23:07 off and the job's done.

00:23:08 Now, that's a lot easier said than done.

00:23:10 Because one has to assume that the games will

00:23:14 begin during the first round of qualifying.

00:23:16 So in drag racing, we qualify the cars on ET.

00:23:19 Quickest car is number one.

00:23:20 Slowest car is number 16.

00:23:22 But if you know that you need to stop Erica Anders

00:23:26 in the first round of any shot at a title,

00:23:28 you can shut your car off early.

00:23:30 You can manipulate your own performance

00:23:32 to place yourself into a competitive spot

00:23:34 to maybe stop her, which they did a couple of years ago.

00:23:37 And they tried to.

00:23:38 They tried to.

00:23:38 They positioned themselves right.

00:23:39 Yeah.

00:23:40 I fully expected it to go on this weekend.

00:23:43 Me too.

00:23:43 And I messed around with Greg at the top end

00:23:45 because he was running not well during qualifying.

00:23:48 I'm like, what are you doing over there, sandbagger?

00:23:50 And we have a good rapport.

00:23:52 But yeah, they've done it before.

00:23:54 Dallas Glenn tried to do it last year in Dallas

00:23:56 and ended up DNQing.

00:23:57 So it's kind of a fine line between do you--

00:24:01 Michael Phelps it and focus on what you're doing

00:24:03 while your competitors look at you?

00:24:05 I think that's our strategy.

00:24:06 Like, we're not going to worry about anything on the outside.

00:24:09 But I fully expect something in Pomona.

00:24:11 Greg did it successfully, hooked me first round.

00:24:13 And it was fourth out at the finish line.

00:24:17 We came out on top.

00:24:18 So it was another high pressure situation.

00:24:21 What we're talking about here is basically team drag racing.

00:24:23 Yeah.

00:24:24 In other words, more people than one on each team

00:24:26 working against each other.

00:24:27 That's why these guys would place themselves

00:24:30 on the ladder to specifically try and take her out

00:24:32 early for another teammate.

00:24:34 But it also works the other way.

00:24:35 And I feel I can bring this up because he brought it up

00:24:37 on the show this weekend.

00:24:38 Clearly, Jeg shut the car off early on you, right?

00:24:41 Well, we both got loose.

00:24:43 Did you?

00:24:43 OK.

00:24:44 Very loose.

00:24:45 And they didn't spray the run before it

00:24:47 cost Fernando Jr. the run, being closer

00:24:49 to the front of the pack.

00:24:50 Saw that.

00:24:51 It spun up.

00:24:52 His lateral G was absolutely insane

00:24:54 through third and fourth gear.

00:24:55 And we do this all the time.

00:24:57 We need spray.

00:24:58 I know it's bad for the nitro cars.

00:25:00 But had that been a qualifying run,

00:25:03 I would have absolutely 100% shut off.

00:25:06 There's a fine line between being loose and out of control.

00:25:08 And we were right on the edge of that.

00:25:10 But is there that team conversation?

00:25:12 No.

00:25:13 No?

00:25:13 And if anybody wants to question Jeg Coffin on that,

00:25:16 I don't think that's something that he stands for

00:25:18 or his family.

00:25:18 But that's, of course, what the idiots on the interweb

00:25:22 are talking about.

00:25:22 But that's OK.

00:25:23 And apparently me.

00:25:24 Yeah.

00:25:25 No, no, no, no.

00:25:25 I didn't mean that negatively.

00:25:26 But it's--

00:25:27 No, I understand.

00:25:28 It's absolutely a question, right?

00:25:30 But we were 14 and 18.

00:25:32 And if you look at the incrementals

00:25:34 before Jeg shut off, I was a little bit ahead of him

00:25:36 anyway.

00:25:36 But what a good drag race, I guess.

00:25:39 I mean, he's so badass.

00:25:41 Yeah.

00:25:42 And so we talk about these finals.

00:25:44 And we set this up.

00:25:45 But actually, before we go that way,

00:25:46 I want to dip back on a couple of different things.

00:25:48 Because again, the back story to me

00:25:51 and the evolution of your career is the most fascinating part.

00:25:54 I'm fortunate to have a front row seat

00:25:56 to the current part of it.

00:25:57 And having watched the other part of it from a distance,

00:25:59 I think it's cool.

00:26:00 You mentioned the Dodge year.

00:26:01 And I want to talk about the Dodge year.

00:26:02 And this is not impugned Dodge or Dodge performance

00:26:05 or Mopar people you can save the hate mail.

00:26:07 But for 2016, Elite Motorsports switched from Chevrolets

00:26:11 to Dodges.

00:26:12 And unfortunately for you guys, it

00:26:14 was the exact wrong time for that to happen.

00:26:16 Because the NHRA went to fuel injection for that year.

00:26:20 And they also went to a 10,500 RPM rev limiter.

00:26:23 And once they put that rev limiter in place,

00:26:25 that Dodge engine has not been competitive then to now.

00:26:30 So to make up for the torque they lack down low,

00:26:32 they have to run higher RPM.

00:26:33 And that's why when AJ was crushing it,

00:26:35 they were almost to 12,000 RPM.

00:26:38 So when you take that away from them, you're right.

00:26:40 It hasn't been competitive since.

00:26:42 So it was like the perfect storm.

00:26:44 We've been working on this deal with Dodge and Mopar.

00:26:46 And you wish your whole life for a manufacturer partnership.

00:26:50 That was the biggest deal you could get.

00:26:51 Ever.

00:26:52 And that was me and Jed Coughlin, dream team.

00:26:54 And it just went crash and burn, baby.

00:26:58 We went from number one in the world to number 9 and 10,

00:27:01 is how Jake and I finished that year.

00:27:03 And then coming back from that, in 2017, I only won one race.

00:27:08 Same as '18, when we didn't focus on our Chevy program,

00:27:11 we got behind.

00:27:12 And so really, one year took three years to come back.

00:27:15 So that's why I mentioned that.

00:27:17 And look, the 9 and 10 of the points

00:27:18 was impressive in its own right.

00:27:20 Because it was 9 and 10 of points

00:27:21 basically via hole shots all season long.

00:27:24 It was not outrunning anybody.

00:27:25 And that's the kind of stuff that

00:27:26 makes you a better racer, driving for--

00:27:29 nothing against the Mustang or the Dodge.

00:27:31 But when you drive stuff that isn't as competitive,

00:27:34 that's the only shot you have at winning.

00:27:35 So you have to be good.

00:27:37 And then when you get eliminated early,

00:27:38 I spend all my time up there watching the other drivers

00:27:41 and trying to learn something.

00:27:42 So--

00:27:42 I know.

00:27:42 You stand on the starting line.

00:27:43 You can see your clutch pedal.

00:27:45 [LAUGHTER]

00:27:45 I do.

00:27:46 I practice all the time.

00:27:47 Yeah.

00:27:48 Man, the feeling of a hole shot win

00:27:52 has got to be the most epic thing ever.

00:27:53 That's way better than outrunning somebody, isn't it?

00:27:55 Well, for me.

00:27:56 I mean--

00:27:57 Yeah.

00:27:57 But also, I want to be the fastest car on the property.

00:28:00 So my guys feel the same way about that area of the car.

00:28:03 And I really love winning on hole shots.

00:28:07 But it's all so different now than it

00:28:09 used to be, like everybody's like 00, EE, and 00 Dallas,

00:28:12 and whatnot.

00:28:13 Yeah.

00:28:13 Well, you see that's kind of tapered off a little bit.

00:28:15 And the way that we're having to run the cars now

00:28:17 is so different, it's very, very hard

00:28:19 to be that good on the tree.

00:28:21 We're leaving almost 1,000 RPM lower than we used to.

00:28:24 So that takes a lot away from it.

00:28:26 But we're trying to find more horsepower, right?

00:28:29 And we're making more torque.

00:28:30 So you can't overpower the racetrack.

00:28:33 So all those things come into play.

00:28:35 And people don't necessarily understand that either.

00:28:37 But yes, I love hole shot wins.

00:28:39 Yeah.

00:28:40 How much-- figuring that out, is that all done during the season?

00:28:44 How much preseason testing is available to you guys as a team

00:28:48 or as the sport in general?

00:28:51 How do you figure all that stuff out?

00:28:52 Well, in pro stock, we're allowed to test whenever we want.

00:28:54 I think at some point, the nitro cars were limited.

00:28:56 They used to limit them to like four test days a year.

00:28:59 That's gone out the window.

00:29:00 I think the Coletta guys have four test days this week,

00:29:02 I believe, so far.

00:29:03 So yeah.

00:29:03 That helps.

00:29:04 So they did limit it for them.

00:29:05 I think that had to do with a nitro shortage or something,

00:29:08 or too much money was being spent.

00:29:09 But we're able to test.

00:29:11 We're based out of Winnywood, Oklahoma,

00:29:12 which is the hour south of Oklahoma City.

00:29:14 So we'll run up to Tulsa, which is just a couple hours,

00:29:17 a great quarter mile track.

00:29:18 And we do a lot of testing.

00:29:20 But during the winter, we only do one test session

00:29:23 in Bradenton before we start the year.

00:29:25 So not as much testing as the KB guys, for instance.

00:29:28 They just roll their car out of their shop

00:29:30 and test at Mooresville.

00:29:31 So we're kind of a lower testing team,

00:29:34 but spend a lot of time in Tulsa during the summer months.

00:29:38 Is your routine different track to track?

00:29:41 Do you know Pomona's got the sun in your eyes

00:29:42 so you're going to handle it a little bit differently?

00:29:44 And do you have all those tracks memorized

00:29:46 so the first time you're in the car, you know what to do?

00:29:48 I do.

00:29:48 And I take notes, and I always get out my logbooks

00:29:51 from the year before and kind of see where my clutch linkage

00:29:54 setup is.

00:29:54 And I always write down stuff like at certain times

00:29:56 the sun is here.

00:29:57 And like Pomona, for instance, you've

00:29:59 got to cover the brake because it's downhill.

00:30:02 If you roll up to pre-stage and you're just

00:30:04 sitting there in neutral, right, your car

00:30:06 will roll through the beams.

00:30:07 So training these new drivers, like I have all these notes,

00:30:10 and I try to tell them everything.

00:30:11 But yes, absolutely.

00:30:13 And come like 3 or 4 o'clock in Pomona on Sunday,

00:30:16 like you've got to tape up your shield.

00:30:18 And it's like absolutely blinding,

00:30:19 kind of like in Seattle, we'll shut off,

00:30:21 which I think we're going to start having to do in Charlotte

00:30:23 because--

00:30:24 Oh, that was horrible this year.

00:30:25 It was so--

00:30:26 And last year, or this spring, whatever it was.

00:30:28 It was like a mirror.

00:30:30 You couldn't see if you were pre-stage, staged.

00:30:32 You couldn't see the ambers drop.

00:30:34 So Pro Stock qualifying was bizarre on Saturday

00:30:36 because basically the driver in the right lane

00:30:38 would simply wait for the driver in the left lane to leave

00:30:41 and then leave so they knew the tree was green.

00:30:42 They couldn't see where they were.

00:30:44 Yeah, that was horrible.

00:30:44 Yeah, and then the spring this past year in Charlotte,

00:30:47 I told my crew chiefs, I could only

00:30:49 see just a smidgen of the pre-stage bulb.

00:30:52 And I'm like, I can't see.

00:30:54 So I'm going to let the clutch out.

00:30:55 And you just say stop when I'm staged.

00:30:57 And then so they did that.

00:30:59 And then of course, I like--

00:31:02 then they say, OK, he's staged.

00:31:03 And then I deck it.

00:31:04 You're obviously not trying to cut a light in qualifying.

00:31:06 But it was just craziness.

00:31:08 It's never crossed my mind how that affects lane choice too.

00:31:10 Absolutely.

00:31:11 I've always thought that was a track condition.

00:31:12 But the track condition could also

00:31:14 be how the light is on the tree.

00:31:15 Yeah.

00:31:16 But my crew chiefs still ask me that.

00:31:17 And I always tell them, put me where the car is good.

00:31:20 I'll figure it out, unless it's something crazy like Charlotte,

00:31:23 which we're fortunate doesn't happen during eliminations.

00:31:25 But yeah, it was interesting for sure.

00:31:27 But that's when the team communication comes in to play.

00:31:32 Yeah.

00:31:32 You're a fiery competitor.

00:31:34 You race with a lot of intensity.

00:31:36 And it comes across.

00:31:37 And because if you're somebody that races with intensity

00:31:40 and isn't afraid to say stuff, it cuts both ways.

00:31:42 We talk about social media.

00:31:44 There are days when it's like, man, this is great.

00:31:45 I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

00:31:46 This guy says I'm talented at my job.

00:31:48 There are other days where you turn around,

00:31:50 it's like, why did I even bother waking up this morning?

00:31:52 Yeah.

00:31:52 I mean, damn.

00:31:53 Yeah.

00:31:54 But and so to me, what's interesting

00:31:55 is when I first got the job I have with NHRA,

00:31:57 it's like I went from the track announcer.

00:32:00 Everybody loves you.

00:32:00 Hey, man.

00:32:01 And then all of a sudden, I did the first race.

00:32:03 And it's like, God, maybe I'm horrible at this

00:32:05 because everybody says so.

00:32:07 So it took me a couple of years, honestly,

00:32:09 to get past the point of not fixating on it,

00:32:12 but not being wounded by it.

00:32:14 You're on a much bigger stage than I am on that front.

00:32:17 So do you continue to deal with that as a struggle?

00:32:19 I definitely struggle with it because I'm not really

00:32:22 one to let things slide.

00:32:23 My sister's like, just quit looking at it, whatever.

00:32:26 But when they attack me and mine, it makes me mad.

00:32:30 I would rather go down brawling in the street

00:32:32 before I'm going to let somebody slide on something.

00:32:35 And I've also acquired that also.

00:32:38 I used to be a lot more calm, by the way.

00:32:39 But--

00:32:40 [LAUGHTER]

00:32:41 That might be debatable.

00:32:42 And I'm not mean.

00:32:43 I think that's a debatable point.

00:32:44 But I'm really not mean.

00:32:45 But when people send you these emails about something

00:32:49 that you said or something that you did

00:32:51 or have another cheeseburger you fat ass

00:32:52 and your eyes are crossed, I'm like, good lord.

00:32:55 Like you said, I'm going to just go back to bed

00:32:57 and start over again tomorrow.

00:32:58 But it's definitely-- you live your life in a fishbowl,

00:33:01 right?

00:33:01 Everybody is looking in at you.

00:33:03 Everybody's judging.

00:33:04 Your report card is instant with your time slip

00:33:06 and the scoreboards.

00:33:07 And we're all doing the best that we can, right?

00:33:09 We're so blessed to get to do what we love for a living.

00:33:11 You're awesome at your job.

00:33:12 Obviously, the idiots in the beanbag chairs

00:33:15 in their mom's basement, they don't get an opinion,

00:33:18 in my opinion.

00:33:18 But it's just something that comes with the territory.

00:33:21 And 87% of the time, I really try to be graceful.

00:33:25 I've heard you say a bunch of times,

00:33:26 you're best when you're mad, though.

00:33:28 I am.

00:33:28 When people-- he says that, too, on the show.

00:33:30 When I watch the show, when I go home on Mondays,

00:33:33 he's like, when Eric has got a chip on her shoulder,

00:33:35 I'm like, man, I'm not sure I want to be known for that.

00:33:37 But yeah, back me into a corner.

00:33:39 I'm coming out swinging.

00:33:40 And my crew chief's the same way.

00:33:41 So when what went down this weekend,

00:33:44 Mark's like, he just pissed off the wrong two people.

00:33:46 So here we go.

00:33:47 And we parked it in the winner's circle.

00:33:51 I like that mentality.

00:33:52 Because you're right.

00:33:53 And social media, in my opinion, it's

00:33:55 like Brian and I were talking earlier this morning.

00:33:58 It's a great thing.

00:33:59 And it's also a terrible thing.

00:34:00 Because it's just like direct to your--

00:34:02 Yeah, zero consequence.

00:34:03 It's like right to your eyeballs.

00:34:06 It gets real personal.

00:34:07 And being a woman's got to be the worst on that, too.

00:34:10 I have female friends who share me some of the stuff that

00:34:12 gets DMed to them.

00:34:13 And I'm like, this is insane.

00:34:14 I can't even imagine that.

00:34:15 Yeah.

00:34:16 It's not lovely.

00:34:17 No.

00:34:17 But on the same vein, you have a very strong relationship

00:34:20 with Shirley Muldowney.

00:34:21 You've had one for a very long time.

00:34:23 And so we talk about what Shirley dealt with,

00:34:26 which was overt.

00:34:27 Like in Shirley's era, there was no Facebook.

00:34:29 There was no Instagram.

00:34:30 It was like somebody basically spitting in your face.

00:34:33 They didn't have the safety of their home to do it.

00:34:36 And a lot of guys found out that that was the wrong idea.

00:34:38 Because Shirley had no problem answering with her hands

00:34:40 or whatever she needed to answer with.

00:34:42 So is it the same or is it different in that those

00:34:47 pressures still exist?

00:34:48 We love to talk about drag racing as the most inclusive

00:34:50 motorsport, which it is.

00:34:51 There's no denying it.

00:34:52 Like right across the board.

00:34:53 But that doesn't mean it's all just rosy.

00:34:56 It's definitely not rosy.

00:34:57 I'm sure that we don't have to deal with as much as Shirley

00:35:00 did back then.

00:35:01 But people want to dog her for being the way that she is.

00:35:04 But if people knew really what she had to go through,

00:35:08 it's not an excuse.

00:35:09 But that sucks.

00:35:10 And that's why she's tough.

00:35:11 And she's hard.

00:35:12 Yeah.

00:35:13 But she also made it through because there

00:35:15 was that in her to begin with.

00:35:16 I think she had the fight in her.

00:35:18 Yeah.

00:35:18 I think she always did too.

00:35:19 She's an extremely tough and very opinionated lady.

00:35:22 But look what she's done for our sport and the barriers

00:35:26 that she broke down for people like me and Alexis

00:35:28 and Courtney and Brittany and Leah

00:35:31 and every other female driver out there.

00:35:32 Angie Smith, who is such a badass, by the way,

00:35:35 for what she did this weekend.

00:35:36 That was unreal.

00:35:37 Oh, yeah.

00:35:37 Gosh.

00:35:38 I was sick after her crash in St. Louis.

00:35:40 She's a dear friend of mine and also somebody

00:35:43 who has worked her butt off and never given up,

00:35:46 no matter what, the people.

00:35:47 And she's had to work through a lot of stuff.

00:35:49 And she has become a much better rider.

00:35:50 For the sake of the audience, we should clarify.

00:35:52 Angie is a pro stock motorcycle driver.

00:35:54 And she stepped off the bike at 180 miles an hour,

00:35:57 something like that.

00:35:58 Yeah, at 180-some miles an hour in St. Louis,

00:35:59 she had a horrible crash.

00:36:00 Basically broke both her feet, eight out of 10 toes.

00:36:03 And in order to stay in the top 10 in points,

00:36:06 she actually got on a motorcycle last weekend,

00:36:08 staged the motorcycle, and made a complete run.

00:36:11 Now, not a full speed run, but she went down the racetrack,

00:36:15 which allowed her to qualify, which gave her qualifying

00:36:17 points, which ultimately will keep her in the top 10

00:36:19 for the rest of the season.

00:36:20 But yeah, and that's another thing, right?

00:36:23 That's another thing where social media cut both ways.

00:36:25 This is courageous and cool.

00:36:27 These people are morons and idiots that I hate.

00:36:29 And it's like, where is the middle to just--

00:36:32 I don't know what to do.

00:36:33 Yeah.

00:36:34 It's a tough line to walk.

00:36:35 But yeah, Shirley, she made all of this possible for all of us.

00:36:39 And I think the longer that you do it,

00:36:41 and the more crap, for lack of a better word,

00:36:43 that you have to go through, it just toughens you up.

00:36:46 And it makes you less tolerant of ignorance and BS.

00:36:50 As it should.

00:36:51 Yeah.

00:36:51 I'm sure you all deal with the same stuff.

00:36:53 We're going to have three female pro stock races next year,

00:36:56 more than we've ever had.

00:36:57 Two's been the most.

00:36:59 And now Sierra Wild Guest is going to come on.

00:37:01 And Eric is a fan of all of them.

00:37:03 Oh, I'm sure.

00:37:03 Yeah.

00:37:05 Group text is just definitely flying on that one.

00:37:07 But regardless of the personal feeling, that, to me,

00:37:13 is still a big deal.

00:37:15 It's another kind of evolutionary step.

00:37:17 And that is the door that you opened up.

00:37:20 That is the wall that you crashed down for other people.

00:37:23 Well, thanks for saying that.

00:37:24 And yeah, it's definitely cool.

00:37:26 But it's also cool.

00:37:27 You look at when I first started my pro stock career,

00:37:29 I was racing guys like Warren and Curt Johnson, Mike Edwards,

00:37:32 Bob Glidden.

00:37:34 The real big names of the sport.

00:37:36 And it was the gentlemen's club, right?

00:37:37 You go to the golf club where women aren't allowed.

00:37:40 And that was what it was.

00:37:41 And they were 40, 50, 60 years old.

00:37:45 And look at how young it is now.

00:37:47 Greg Anderson and I joke about it, but we're the old guys.

00:37:51 So I'm really proud of where our class has come.

00:37:54 And that was something that, after the rule changes

00:37:57 with EFI and the rev limiter, we were

00:38:00 having very low car counts.

00:38:01 And KB, Greg and Jason at the time,

00:38:04 and my team owner Richard Freeman got together,

00:38:06 tried to collectively lower the cost of engine rental programs.

00:38:09 When we didn't have full fields, we

00:38:10 would bring our extra cars out and fly a driver in just

00:38:14 so we could have 16 cars.

00:38:15 And like, look, this is attainable.

00:38:17 You can come do this.

00:38:18 Nothing about what we do is cheap,

00:38:20 but it's the cheapest it's ever been.

00:38:23 And now pro stock is where it's at.

00:38:25 23 cars last weekend.

00:38:26 I know.

00:38:27 It's so exciting.

00:38:27 I know that the class grew when they cut down

00:38:30 the number of events.

00:38:31 How do you feel about the full schedule?

00:38:34 Being a racer, I just wanted to go racing.

00:38:36 But you look at pro stock as a whole,

00:38:38 they're pretty much just successful business owners.

00:38:41 And this is where they go play.

00:38:42 There's not very many hired drivers in pro stock.

00:38:44 So it's changed a lot.

00:38:47 And I don't know.

00:38:49 I mean, and what Dave is referencing,

00:38:50 for the first time in, I think, five years,

00:38:53 pro stock will be contested at every NHRA national event now.

00:38:56 And the class was brought down to 16, then 18 races.

00:39:00 And now they'll be back at every single race.

00:39:02 Now, I can say that because this show

00:39:03 will air after the NHRA releases that information.

00:39:06 Or this will be my only job anymore.

00:39:08 That's fine.

00:39:09 Did I just fail on that?

00:39:10 We can edit this.

00:39:12 I failed.

00:39:12 I forgot what he asked me.

00:39:13 I pulled a John Forreston star and started

00:39:15 talking about something else.

00:39:17 When they went from 24 to 18, it definitely

00:39:20 freed up a lot of people's time.

00:39:21 Like, you can have more of a life

00:39:23 when you're only on the road 18 weeks as opposed to 24.

00:39:25 And for business owners, that was a big deal.

00:39:28 And it lessened the blow cost-wise to run 18 races.

00:39:32 But next year, we're all at 21, which we're excited about

00:39:34 because also get a lot of hate mail,

00:39:36 even though it's not my decision,

00:39:38 that pro stock wasn't in Seattle and Sonoma this year.

00:39:40 Like, hey, man, I wanted to go.

00:39:41 It's not my fault.

00:39:43 I would have been there.

00:39:44 So let's talk.

00:39:45 I want two distinct stories out of you here.

00:39:48 I want the sweetest win, the most painful loss.

00:39:53 How do you pick that?

00:39:55 I think one of them probably easy to pick.

00:39:57 Yeah.

00:39:57 Probably the sweetest one ever was the World Finals in 2014,

00:40:02 final round winner take all with Jason Line.

00:40:05 You know, you can say my first win in Chicago,

00:40:07 yeah, that was very cool.

00:40:08 And the fact that we beat Greg Anderson was even more awesome

00:40:11 because he was the one guy that said

00:40:13 he didn't want to lose to me.

00:40:14 And with God having the sense of humor he does,

00:40:16 that's the way it worked out.

00:40:16 And it was awesome.

00:40:17 But Pomona, 2014, my first Indy win.

00:40:21 It was super meaningful to me.

00:40:24 Toughest loss would probably--

00:40:26 I have two.

00:40:27 The first one was in Bristol in 2011

00:40:31 when I came back with Victor Cagnazzi.

00:40:32 I got to the final round against Mike Edwards.

00:40:35 I was good on the tree.

00:40:36 He was not.

00:40:37 And we had a transmission failure.

00:40:39 And I remember before I ran that race--

00:40:42 there she is.

00:40:43 Oh, you're just talking about Angie Smith.

00:40:45 Yes, you're talking about her right here.

00:40:47 Before I got to that final, my crew chief

00:40:49 came on my speakers in my helmet.

00:40:52 And he said, it's so hard to get here.

00:40:53 You've got to capitalize.

00:40:55 And it just means so much.

00:40:56 And I remember getting back from that run

00:40:58 and laying in the trailer floor.

00:40:59 And just like my heart was broke.

00:41:02 Like my first boyfriend just broke up with me.

00:41:04 And that was tough.

00:41:06 And then Indy when I was 007 and Alex was 120 on the tree.

00:41:12 And yeah, that one I was physically ill

00:41:15 because it was the US Nationals.

00:41:16 We got out of the car at the top end.

00:41:18 I saw the time slip.

00:41:19 007, he's like 120 something.

00:41:22 Again, had a failure.

00:41:24 I pedaled it and drove through it.

00:41:25 And yeah, it was painful.

00:41:27 I got down at the other end and I puked over the wall.

00:41:30 Like it literally made me sick.

00:41:31 You're getting pissed now.

00:41:32 Yeah, I was pissed.

00:41:33 And he was my teammate too.

00:41:34 So happy for him then, obviously.

00:41:37 But yeah, those are my probably two most painful losses.

00:41:41 You have to put those in different places.

00:41:44 I look at people who have been really

00:41:46 successful in drag racing.

00:41:47 And I think there are people who--

00:41:49 I think there are people who like denied themselves

00:41:51 the joys of wins.

00:41:52 Like I don't necessarily-- I look at some guys

00:41:54 from back in the day, Warren Johnson specifically.

00:41:58 Like when Warren Johnson would win a race,

00:42:00 he'd kind of smirk and be like, oh, well,

00:42:02 that's what we came here to do.

00:42:04 And it's like, I get that.

00:42:06 But like if you're denying yourself that ability

00:42:09 to at least enjoy it for five minutes,

00:42:11 like that was kind of always a strange thing for me.

00:42:13 And then, not going to name any names right now,

00:42:16 but there are people that take way too much joy

00:42:18 into victories.

00:42:19 But it's like there's a middle ground there.

00:42:22 There is.

00:42:23 And I might be on the excessive side of exciting because--

00:42:26 or excited because of what we've been through

00:42:29 and how much it actually means and the sacrifices

00:42:31 that everyone makes.

00:42:32 I'm not saying I'm the only one that did it,

00:42:33 so don't write me that either.

00:42:35 But it's a very fine line.

00:42:38 And now, we had a successful season last year.

00:42:41 We won 10 out of 13 final rounds that we appeared in,

00:42:44 and in 18 or 19 races, and just had a crazy awesome year.

00:42:48 And Richard, my team owner, has a plane.

00:42:50 And he's like, all right, all right, let's go.

00:42:52 We got to get on the plane.

00:42:53 I'm like, hey, we used to just want to qualify.

00:42:56 And now, we're winning.

00:42:57 Don't cut the winner's circle short.

00:42:58 You don't know when this is going to be your last one.

00:43:01 You got to enjoy it.

00:43:02 So yes, there's a fine line.

00:43:03 And then, there's people that get excited for qualifying

00:43:08 or winning first round, which is also cool

00:43:10 because they don't do it often.

00:43:11 But we'll see.

00:43:13 Yeah.

00:43:14 Act like you've been there before.

00:43:15 So this has not gotten boring for you at all.

00:43:17 No.

00:43:17 It's got to be a slog with all the travel and everything.

00:43:20 That part's tough.

00:43:21 I mean, we all do it, right?

00:43:22 That's probably the most exhausting part of it

00:43:24 all is the travel and sleeping in different beds every night

00:43:27 and waking up and walking into the wall because it

00:43:29 wasn't at the last room.

00:43:31 Or going to the room number you had two days ago instead

00:43:34 of the room that you're in.

00:43:35 And you're like, my key doesn't work.

00:43:36 And they rekey it.

00:43:37 And you go up there, and you're like banging on the door.

00:43:40 This is my life as well.

00:43:41 Yeah.

00:43:42 When we kind of look at goals-- and you often

00:43:45 talk about goal setting.

00:43:46 And the goals are very set to show up to win the race.

00:43:49 We talk about winning NHRA professional female race

00:43:53 or really winning as female professional racer

00:43:55 in all global motorsports.

00:43:58 So that joking about the 100 with Greg,

00:44:02 that's actually a goal, right?

00:44:04 You can say it out loud.

00:44:05 Why not?

00:44:06 Why would you not say it out loud?

00:44:09 OK.

00:44:09 I mean, I want to win 10 million of them.

00:44:11 But I don't know how long you want to do it.

00:44:14 I always thought I would have a family.

00:44:16 That's another part of being a girl that sucks,

00:44:18 is you have to pause or quit or take a break.

00:44:21 Obviously, I don't know when that'll happen, but--

00:44:23 or if, because I'm old now.

00:44:27 But yeah, absolutely.

00:44:29 It's a goal.

00:44:29 I mean, as long as I'm going to do it,

00:44:30 we might as well keep trying to win races and win

00:44:33 world championships.

00:44:34 And with the group that I have now, I don't see that stopping.

00:44:38 I questioned that at the beginning of the year.

00:44:40 What are we doing wrong with those first seven races

00:44:42 when we struggled so bad?

00:44:43 But those valleys are--

00:44:45 I use this term all the time.

00:44:46 Those valleys are what makes the peaks so much more enjoyable,

00:44:49 because it shows you, OK, you were here.

00:44:52 Now you're here, and you've got to crawl back out.

00:44:54 And it gives you humility and a goal to reach for.

00:44:58 Have you now won every track on the event?

00:45:01 No, I haven't.

00:45:02 I'm missing out on a couple.

00:45:04 I never won at English Town.

00:45:05 They closed, and same with Atlanta.

00:45:07 So I can't do those.

00:45:08 But I still have not won at Gainesville.

00:45:11 Same last year, or this year, rather.

00:45:13 Yeah.

00:45:13 You know that emoji with the monkey with its eyes shifting

00:45:16 back and forth?

00:45:16 That's kind of what Gainesville-- that was kind

00:45:18 of the Gainesville experience.

00:45:19 It was awful.

00:45:20 We qualified.

00:45:21 We were number one.

00:45:22 My teammate TJ outran us by mile per hour.

00:45:24 So we qualified number two.

00:45:25 We go up for first round.

00:45:27 My car will not start.

00:45:28 Oh, I remember this.

00:45:30 Yeah, with the Leahy system, which took us

00:45:34 down this crazy road.

00:45:35 And here we are.

00:45:37 But yeah, it was Gainesville.

00:45:38 I told my guys after-- because the year before,

00:45:40 I set the world record.

00:45:41 And I lost on a hole shot to Bo Butner, because he was 002.

00:45:44 And I was like 70.

00:45:45 And I just wanted to puke.

00:45:46 And then I got mad, right?

00:45:47 And we won the next five races in a row.

00:45:49 So there was that.

00:45:51 There was that.

00:45:52 But so after what happened in Gaines--

00:45:53 I'm like, Gainesville hates me.

00:45:54 I told my guys, since it's the first race on the tour,

00:45:56 I said, y'all go race.

00:45:57 And I'm going to the beach.

00:45:58 And I'll see you in Phoenix.

00:45:59 Or wherever we're going.

00:46:00 Somebody put a wig on and drive the car.

00:46:03 I'm out.

00:46:04 But yeah, I haven't won in Gainesville.

00:46:05 And I think-- oh, Denver.

00:46:06 I never won in Denver either.

00:46:08 And won't, unfortunately.

00:46:10 Yeah.

00:46:10 I love Denver.

00:46:11 Yeah, I'm glad we got Phoenix back.

00:46:14 Me too.

00:46:14 Phoenix back for the haul, too.

00:46:16 It's not just back for a year to year.

00:46:17 They have a good-- they got a good thing going there.

00:46:19 Andy Trey is going to be announcing a return

00:46:21 to at least one other track we haven't been to in a while.

00:46:23 And then there's a new track being

00:46:25 built outside of Kansas City that we're

00:46:27 planning on racing as well.

00:46:29 In terms of interpersonal rivalries,

00:46:31 one of the ones that got stunted and went away

00:46:32 way too quickly, which would have been frickin' awesome

00:46:35 for a guy like me in my job, was Tanner Gray.

00:46:38 Yeah.

00:46:39 That would have gone on for years.

00:46:41 It would have.

00:46:41 Had Tanner stayed in pro stock.

00:46:43 And I want your story of the top end exchange,

00:46:48 one of the great top end exchanges of all time,

00:46:50 when you shot it right back at him.

00:46:52 This was phenomenal.

00:46:54 So there is some behind the scenes issues

00:46:57 with both of our teams and whatnot.

00:46:59 And Tanner, he's talented.

00:47:01 You cannot take that--

00:47:01 He was a snotty kind of--

00:47:04 He's 17 years old.

00:47:05 Yeah, he was a snotty kid.

00:47:06 He was a super snotty kid.

00:47:08 I've been racing longer than he's been alive.

00:47:10 And he came in to me.

00:47:12 And again, that's how you're brought up, right?

00:47:14 But you have respect for the people

00:47:16 that have done it before you.

00:47:17 And you treat everybody with kindness

00:47:19 until they do otherwise to you.

00:47:21 And he was just-- he was mouthy.

00:47:23 And I'm not being mean.

00:47:24 No, you're not being mean.

00:47:24 I'm cool.

00:47:25 This is not mean.

00:47:25 This is the truth.

00:47:26 And he'd tell you.

00:47:27 Because he was a-- he was a--

00:47:28 he was a--

00:47:29 He's grown up a lot.

00:47:30 --kid.

00:47:30 I might just say it.

00:47:31 He was a snotty kid.

00:47:31 He's grown up a lot since he was a kid.

00:47:33 But he was.

00:47:34 He was mouthy and whatever.

00:47:35 So we're in Topeka.

00:47:36 And I think we were just qualifying.

00:47:39 Yeah.

00:47:39 And we go to exit the track.

00:47:41 There's a flag guy at the top end that holds one flag

00:47:44 and waves the other flag to go.

00:47:45 So I always check up on my competitors,

00:47:47 see where they're at.

00:47:48 I like to know where everything's going on.

00:47:50 And the flag guy waves me.

00:47:51 So I go commit to making the turn.

00:47:53 And Tanner just goes right in front of me

00:47:56 and cuts in the corner.

00:47:57 And I had to slam on my brakes.

00:47:59 And so he gets out of the car at the top end.

00:48:02 Or I do.

00:48:02 And I say, hey, man, what's up?

00:48:05 Why'd you cut me off?

00:48:06 And he's like, what are you talking about?

00:48:08 I'm like, you know what you just did.

00:48:10 And so we had some word exchange or whatever.

00:48:13 And then it goes back and forth.

00:48:14 And he called me sweetheart.

00:48:17 [LAUGHTER]

00:48:17 And that just sent me to the freaking--

00:48:19 [LAUGHTER]

00:48:21 He said, this is NHRA drag racing, sweetheart.

00:48:23 And I'm like, you were still pooping in your pants

00:48:26 when I was driving Pro Stock.

00:48:28 And I'm not your sweetheart.

00:48:29 Yeah.

00:48:29 And I ain't your effing sweetheart.

00:48:31 It was like the beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

00:48:33 Yeah.

00:48:33 It was so awesome.

00:48:34 And then, as God would have it again,

00:48:36 we had to race each other in elimination.

00:48:37 And that was 005 loaded his ass up.

00:48:39 So--

00:48:40 Yeah.

00:48:40 Peace out.

00:48:41 [LAUGHTER]

00:48:42 But the sweetheart thing, man, come on.

00:48:44 I was like-- in my head, I was like, please just push me

00:48:47 or put your finger in my chest so I can knock a demon out.

00:48:49 [LAUGHTER]

00:48:50 He's also a little kid.

00:48:51 See, as a fan, I love that, though.

00:48:53 Yes.

00:48:54 I don't really like the kindler, gentler thing

00:48:56 where you love everybody in the other lane.

00:48:58 And I don't like the we are only racing ourselves thing.

00:49:00 I want you racing that guy.

00:49:02 And I think that you've got that.

00:49:04 Yeah.

00:49:04 And I think there's still great rivalries in the class.

00:49:06 And the one that will live forever is Greg and I.

00:49:09 We went through this phase where we hated each other,

00:49:12 more so than me.

00:49:13 And now we have a mutual respect for one another.

00:49:15 And he ran in front of me in the semis

00:49:18 this past weekend in Vegas.

00:49:19 And then I came.

00:49:19 So it's him and I, right?

00:49:20 And I reach across the car.

00:49:22 And we shake hands or whatever.

00:49:23 He goes, hey, old guys to the front.

00:49:25 So it's kind of cool.

00:49:27 But then there's the deal with Hartford.

00:49:29 And--

00:49:29 Yeah.

00:49:30 To me, there's a maturity that the Greg--

00:49:32 the rivalry to me, the entertainment value of that one

00:49:35 is there's a maturity to it.

00:49:37 It's like the Lakers and the Celtics.

00:49:38 Like, I'm watching these two legacy teams go at it.

00:49:42 And I know that there is competitive spirit.

00:49:44 There's no real ill will.

00:49:45 But there is a competitive spirit there.

00:49:47 And there's a respect.

00:49:49 But then I can see on the racetrack with Hartford.

00:49:51 And I know he's going to go up there and do something kooky

00:49:54 or weird or try to do something kooky or weird.

00:49:56 Also great as being a fan.

00:49:57 Yes.

00:49:58 And so that, yeah, it goes all these different directions.

00:50:01 And I think, for whatever reason, our fans--

00:50:04 it's the weirdest thing in the world.

00:50:05 Drag racing fans are super sensitive to everything.

00:50:09 Everything.

00:50:10 And I don't get it.

00:50:12 Like, our greatest heroes in the sport

00:50:14 are the people that would drag somebody behind a gas station

00:50:16 and beat the daylights out of them.

00:50:18 And it's like-- but now we're like, oh, man.

00:50:21 Like, Matt Hagan-- Matt Hagan was mad

00:50:23 that he thought Bob Taskin might have

00:50:24 been cheating with his header.

00:50:25 Of course he was.

00:50:26 Right.

00:50:26 Yeah.

00:50:27 Like, what are we supposed to do?

00:50:28 Yeah, we want all these rivalries.

00:50:29 And we want people to show their personalities, right?

00:50:32 And then when somebody does, it's like, holy cow.

00:50:35 What is going on?

00:50:37 Bunch of sissies.

00:50:39 So let's look forward to Pomona.

00:50:43 The approach obviously stays the same.

00:50:45 But what's your love level at Pomona as opposed to Vegas?

00:50:49 Because Vegas is unrivaled, right?

00:50:50 Vegas is on top.

00:50:51 But talk to me about what the general feels

00:50:54 you have for Pomona are.

00:50:55 I love racing at Pomona, especially in the fall.

00:50:57 Like, the cool, crisp air, right?

00:50:59 You go out there, and it's just a whole lot of fun.

00:51:01 And then now with points and a half,

00:51:03 I don't know how many years it's been that way, but just a few,

00:51:06 just a handful, it definitely makes things interesting.

00:51:08 So like, stress level, 9 million,

00:51:10 get a family-sized bucket of Tums, and roll into Pomona,

00:51:13 and hope for the best.

00:51:14 And the difference between a dream and a reality

00:51:18 is setting a goal.

00:51:18 So we set our goals really high.

00:51:21 We feel like we win races before we leave

00:51:23 the shop with being prepared.

00:51:25 And that's something that racing with Elite Motorsports

00:51:27 has really taught me, all the organization,

00:51:29 all the being prepared, as much as we can be.

00:51:32 And then just rolling in with our heads down.

00:51:34 Like I mentioned, the Michael Phelps thing.

00:51:36 There's this really cool picture that I have on my phone

00:51:38 that it's Michael Phelps at the Olympics, right?

00:51:41 And he's just like, he's ahead of his competitors.

00:51:43 And he's like, looking at the finish line, right?

00:51:45 Going towards his goal.

00:51:46 And the guy in the lane next to him

00:51:47 is like, looking at him, like, seeing where he's at.

00:51:49 Put our blinders on, worry about us and our team,

00:51:52 and just execute as perfectly as possible.

00:51:54 So that's my plan for Pomona.

00:51:56 I have a goal of parking it in the winner's circle

00:51:59 again there.

00:52:01 I don't know how the points will work.

00:52:02 You said maybe second round or something like that.

00:52:05 And if that's the way it goes, good.

00:52:06 But I still want to win the race.

00:52:07 So balls to the wall.

00:52:09 Here we go.

00:52:10 They always end up giving you your championship

00:52:12 in the middle of either qualifying or eliminations

00:52:15 when you cross that point.

00:52:16 That's what my question was going to be.

00:52:18 Would you rather just wait for it all to the end?

00:52:19 Or do you actually like the celebration

00:52:21 in the middle of the--

00:52:22 I think it's cool that when you clinch to do it,

00:52:24 like we did in Vegas last year, and come back in the truck

00:52:27 in front of the stands, and everybody's cheering.

00:52:29 But also, again, I work on my car.

00:52:30 So that takes a man away from the car.

00:52:33 And somebody has to pick up the slack.

00:52:34 So that part of it, as a competitor, stinks.

00:52:37 But I get the bigger picture.

00:52:38 And I understand it.

00:52:39 But it's also so exciting.

00:52:40 It's a huge adrenaline rush.

00:52:41 And it makes me go after it more.

00:52:44 So when we clinched in Vegas last year,

00:52:46 it was second round, I think, against Kyle Koretsky.

00:52:48 And then we went on to win the race.

00:52:50 So we're able to just kind of go back

00:52:52 to focusing on what we're doing.

00:52:54 Because it's got to take your head in a different place

00:52:56 that you've got to gather up again.

00:52:57 It does.

00:52:58 And don't let up, because it's not over.

00:53:00 Just because it's over, it's not over.

00:53:02 That's something my crew chief's really good at reminding me.

00:53:05 Because depending on if it's a teammate in the other lane,

00:53:08 he's like, don't let up.

00:53:09 Don't let up.

00:53:10 We've got to go out here and give it all that we got.

00:53:13 So it's definitely a challenge, mentally.

00:53:17 I had a quick question, just maybe a non-cycler,

00:53:19 because it's not drag racing related.

00:53:21 But I wonder what you drive, what cars you have,

00:53:23 or have had in your life, that really meant something to you.

00:53:26 Oh, man.

00:53:27 So currently, I drive a Grand Wagoneer.

00:53:30 I drive for Chevrolet.

00:53:31 Sorry, Chevy.

00:53:32 But I drive a Grand Wagoneer.

00:53:34 I love it.

00:53:34 It's my third one.

00:53:35 Before that, I had an Expedition.

00:53:37 Before that, I had a couple Tahoes.

00:53:39 I have no kids and no pets, and really not that many friends.

00:53:41 So I'm not sure why I have an SUV.

00:53:43 You're from Texas.

00:53:44 It's like having a big purse, right?

00:53:46 With no cash.

00:53:48 So I like bigger vehicles.

00:53:50 I want to feel safe on the road.

00:53:51 But my favorite car, my dad and I built a '67 Chevelle

00:53:55 before I started racing--

00:53:56 well, before I started professionally racing.

00:53:59 And I'm going to find that car one of these days

00:54:01 when I make enough money, and I want to give it back to my dad.

00:54:04 But we had that.

00:54:05 We had a '69 Camaro, a boy-cottington car

00:54:08 with big tires on the back, all kinds of hot rods growing up.

00:54:11 So that was really fun for me.

00:54:14 I had a clutch Cobra in high school,

00:54:17 convertible with a roll bar.

00:54:18 That was kind of--

00:54:19 Good.

00:54:19 You know, it was cool.

00:54:20 But I just recently bought a new Corvette

00:54:23 and turned around and sold it because, well,

00:54:25 somebody offered me way more money than I paid for it.

00:54:28 But it was cool.

00:54:29 It was like the Stingray.

00:54:30 It was white with red interior, black accents, carbon wing

00:54:34 package, all of that.

00:54:36 I love cars.

00:54:37 I love them, obviously.

00:54:39 That's great.

00:54:39 And I think, to me, that's kind of a great almost closing note.

00:54:43 And I think when--

00:54:46 for me and my job as a broadcaster and just someone

00:54:48 who loves drag racing, I love the fact

00:54:51 that it's beyond a passing fancy for you.

00:54:54 I love the fact that you had to prove

00:54:57 through a course of a lot longer than people realized

00:55:00 that this was not something you're willing to give up on.

00:55:03 And I think one of the things that crushes me at times

00:55:06 about this sport is that there are people that

00:55:08 kind of blow in with the wind and have a little success

00:55:12 and get way too much attention for it.

00:55:14 And they're frickin' gone when the wind changes direction.

00:55:17 So between the hot rods you had growing up,

00:55:20 the junior dragster racing, and now we're

00:55:23 talking about potentially a sixth championship,

00:55:25 I think it's a truly interesting human story beyond just what

00:55:32 the statistics say.

00:55:33 Well, thanks.

00:55:34 And I think it's a lesson to myself and to everyone else

00:55:38 that if you don't quit and you surround yourself

00:55:40 with the right people, anything's possible.

00:55:42 You just can't give up.

00:55:43 You can't ever give up.

00:55:44 And it's been a challenge, right?

00:55:46 It's not been easy.

00:55:46 We all know this.

00:55:47 We've all talked about it.

00:55:48 But the people that come in and they're

00:55:51 able to just hop in state-of-the-art equipment,

00:55:54 be able to qualify in the top half without much effort,

00:55:58 it's not like a jealousy thing.

00:56:02 But it's just like--

00:56:03 Greg and I talked about this at the Champions

00:56:04 Dinner in Dallas a couple of weeks ago.

00:56:06 It's just like he said that to me.

00:56:08 He's like, I love that you've never quit.

00:56:09 And he goes, what I hate about now

00:56:11 is that all these kids come in and they

00:56:13 want instant gratification, right?

00:56:14 Like, my dad wrote a check, and I'm going to win.

00:56:17 And I'm going to be the best.

00:56:18 And I'm going to win the championship this year.

00:56:19 And that's cool, because you have to believe in yourself.

00:56:22 And you have to speak things into existence.

00:56:24 But also have respect for what you're getting into.

00:56:27 And put your head down, and maybe be quiet

00:56:30 until you accomplish something.

00:56:31 That's basically it.

00:56:32 But I love what I do.

00:56:34 And you're doing it in the most cutthroat class, too.

00:56:37 It's tough.

00:56:38 It is.

00:56:38 It's definitely tough.

00:56:39 And that's another thing I love about it.

00:56:41 You can be 10 or 12 on the tree and get loaded.

00:56:45 But you go out there, you make the best run you possibly

00:56:48 can for your crew chiefs.

00:56:49 You do the best you can driving.

00:56:51 And if they can get in that window,

00:56:52 they deserved it that day.

00:56:53 And Dallas, the top half of the field

00:56:56 was separated by just a few thousandths of a second,

00:56:59 not hundreds, thousands.

00:57:00 It was 500s top to bottom, 1 to 16.

00:57:03 And just for reference, the tightest pro stock

00:57:06 field of all time is 23 thousandths, 1 to 16.

00:57:09 Wow.

00:57:09 That's crazy.

00:57:10 It is bonkers.

00:57:11 Wow.

00:57:11 So thank you.

00:57:13 Thank you.

00:57:14 You always have a busy seam.

00:57:15 I'm glad you were able to join us.

00:57:17 I'm glad you're one of our very first episodes of Hot Rod,

00:57:20 the pod where it all began, or the Hot Rod pod where it all

00:57:23 began, because we're going to be telling stories like this

00:57:25 really throughout the course of this series.

00:57:27 And will you guys have any closing remarks or thoughts?

00:57:30 I will see you in Pomona.

00:57:31 I expect you'll be in a great mood at the end of the day.

00:57:33 I hope I am.

00:57:34 I think I will be anyways.

00:57:35 But I do want to add one more thing.

00:57:37 As a kid, my favorite magazine to buy was Hot Rod magazine.

00:57:40 I'm not just saying that.

00:57:41 So just recently, Kevin McKenna wrote a story about us.

00:57:46 And it was on hotrod.com.

00:57:48 And I was like, can you tell me if it's in the magazine?

00:57:50 Can you tell me if it's in the magazine?

00:57:51 Because I'm going to frame it and hang it on my wall.

00:57:52 Here's your guy, John McKenna.

00:57:53 I'll have to make that happen.

00:57:54 And Kevin's like, it would be a dream of mine, too.

00:57:56 But I told him, I was like, if you

00:57:58 hear what issue it's going to be in, please let me know.

00:58:00 But dude, most favorite magazine of all--

00:58:03 like, I had it in my backpack at school.

00:58:04 Totally normal for a third grade girl.

00:58:06 I know.

00:58:07 Nice.

00:58:08 But I loved it.

00:58:09 And I really appreciate you guys having me on.

00:58:11 It's been fun.

00:58:12 Super cool.

00:58:12 Thank you.

00:58:13 I just like the "Drive the Bitch Back" videos.

00:58:16 "Drive the Bitch Back."

00:58:17 I love those videos.

00:58:18 DTBB.

00:58:19 DTBB.

00:58:19 I love it.

00:58:20 And that was a total accident.

00:58:21 It happened in Charlotte in 2018.

00:58:24 My engine guy, Jake, he's like, drive it back to the pit.

00:58:27 We ain't towing it.

00:58:28 I'm like, are you serious?

00:58:29 Because you know Pro Stock, right?

00:58:30 With a clutch, everything's so intricate and important.

00:58:33 And he's like, yeah, drive it back.

00:58:34 And so I pulled back in the pit and whacked the throttle

00:58:37 and shut it off.

00:58:37 My sister's like, what did you just do?

00:58:38 I said, I just drove that bitch back.

00:58:40 And I didn't even mean it.

00:58:41 I just drove that.

00:58:42 That's just what it said.

00:58:43 And now it's a t-shirt and whatever.

00:58:44 So fans look forward to the video and all in good fun.

00:58:48 So we enjoy doing it.

00:58:49 Yeah.

00:58:50 Well, thanks very much for tuning in.

00:58:52 It's been a great, informative conversation with Erica.

00:58:54 We're going to be having a slew of those

00:58:56 throughout the SEMA show and at other great locations

00:58:58 around the country and eventually around the world

00:59:00 when we achieve world podcast domination here

00:59:03 on "Where it All Began."

00:59:04 But no, thanks.

00:59:05 I'm Brian Lones, David Freiburger, John McGann,

00:59:07 and of course, Eric Anders.

00:59:08 Thank you for your time today.

00:59:09 We'll be back soon with the next episode of the show.

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