'Wunderkind' Erica Enders in action at Bristol Dragway

It's a safe assumption that women could have a hard time being taken seriously as competitors in the professional auto racing world. If you factor in being on the younger side of the age spectrum, getting respect is probably that much tougher. Well, in today's blog post in this week's salute to women drivers in the car racing world, we take a look at young Erica Enders and her rise to prominence in the auto racing world.

Erica Enders was born in 1983 and began drag racing at the tender age of 8. Erica chalked up 37 wins in her eight years as a Junior Dragster, and in 2000 she made her jump to NHRA, where she was crowned the NHRA Sportsman "Rookie of the Year" and was the youngest ever NHRA National Event Finalist. Hell, this girl even had a Disney TV movie made about her called "Right On Track." Wow. She's experienced all of this success, and she's only in her twenties. That's amazing.

In 2005, Erica graduated to NHRA's Pro Stock Category, the first woman to do so in over a decade. And this video features Erica rockin' her pink Ford "Dragstar" car in a qualifying run against Roger Brogdon at Bristol Dragway earlier this year. I found the loudspeaker commentary to be almost as entertaining as the race itself, but nothing can beat the burning rubber and engine roars that emanate from the drag strip. Regardless, this isn't no little girl playing grown-up; this is a woman and a professional, and damn successful at what she does.