Erica Enders picked up her first No. 1 qualifier of the season this weekend, as she looks to turn around a tough start to the 2025 season. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
JOLIET, Ill. – Erica Enders is looking to turn around a season of struggles, and what better place to do it than the track where she picked up her first Pro Stock win back in 2012. On Saturday, Enders looked poised to do just that at Route 66 Raceway, as she locked in the No. 1 qualifier spot in Pro Stock, as well as picked up a win in the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty competition.
“I think it’s kind of serendipitous,” Enders said of her strong showing at the track. “It’s super exciting. I love racing here at Joliet. I started racing super comp dragsters here back in high school. So I’ve been coming here an awful long time. Then (I secured my) first Pro Stock win here back in 2012, and it’s been a special place since that time. It would be fitting if this is the place where the tide starts to turn, and so far it has been.”
Enders went to the top with a 6.542 second pass, edging teammate Greg Stanfield by just 0.001 seconds. Not only did Enders claim her first No. 1 qualifier of the season, but she backed that up with a victoryin the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge. She credited her comfort level and confidence at the track with her strong start to the weekend. She said she would love to pick up her 50th Pro Stock win at the same track where she got her first.
“Tomorrow, to be able to get our 50th Pro Stock win in the place where we got our first win would be serendipitous,” she said. “I love racing here. There are certain properties that once you get on them, you have a different feeling, a different mindset, and a different feeling about you.”
Doug Kalitta continued his hot start to the 2025 season by earning the No. 1 qualifier for Sunday’s Route 66 Nationals. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Kalitta, Langdon Split Top Qualifier and 2 Fast, 2 Tasty Honors
Enders was not the only familiar face atop qualifying at the Route 66 Nationals, as reigning Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta took a 3.720-second pass at 338 miles per hour to the top spot, while his teammate Shawn Langdon pinned down the win in the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge.
“Happy to get that number one qualifier today,” Kalitta said. “Tomorrow is going to be a good day for racing, so we’ll see what it’s got for us.”
Langdon said the win in the 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge was important not only for bonus points, but also because he had struggled to get down the track during qualifying.
“We smoked the tires three runs in a row,” Langdon said. “We needed to make a good run to get some information for tomorrow. So, now we’ve got something to go off of tomorrow. It was a good run. It responded to what we did.”
Jack Beckman picked up the No. 1 qualified position for Sunday’s Route 66 Nationals. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Beckman, Dejoria Kick Off Strong Weekend for John Force Racing
Teammates split the top qualifier and 2 Fast, 2 Tasty wins in the Funny Car class as well, with Jack Beckman taking his John Force Racing Chevrolet to the number one qualifying spot with a 3.913 second pass, while teammate Alexis Dejoria reigned victorious in the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge.
Beckman said he hopes to back up last year’s win in Chicago with a return engagement this weekend, and he is heading into race day with a lot of confidence after strong qualifying efforts all weekend long.
“To roll into race day with what we did and get 16 points out of qualifying, when 20 is the best you can do, that is a huge deal,” Beckman said. “That’s almost a round of points to make up. More importantly, I think we’re starting to get our Peak Chevy back. Last year, even when we missed it, we were top three. That margin has narrowed a little bit and hopefully we’re widening it back up again.”
For Dejoria, picking up the Saturday win in a pedal fest with teammate Jordan Vandergriff, was a pick-me-up for a team that started strong, but has not been able to take home a win yet in 2026.
“Finally, back in a winner’s area,” Dejoria said. “Back to winning is good. I just had a feeling we were going to win it. I didn’t expect it to end like that (in a pedalfest), but I still feel really good about it.”
Alexis Dejoria continued a strong first season with John Force Racing with a win in the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Angie Smith and Herrera Look to Build Off Strong Saturday
The team sweeps of top qualifier and 2 Fast, 2 Tasty wins did not continue into Pro Stock Motorcycle, where Angie Smith used a 6.726 second pass at 201 miles per hour to take the top qualifying spot, but she came up short in the final round of the 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge against rival Gage Herrera. While she was disappointed to lose the challenge at the starting line, Smith knew that the bigger race is Sunday.
“I didn’t even know how fast I went because I was so mad going down the track,” Smith said. “I knew I was late when I let the clutch out. I’m disappointed for my team. I’m disappointed for myself. But, it’s Saturday. We race on Sunday. I’d rather have a Wally. I’d rather have a diamond Wally.”
Smith thinks that she and her team are ready to pick up the first win of the 2026 season on Sunday, and she is confident after having a great bike on Friday and Saturday.
“My bike has gone straight down the track every time and it has been absolutely flawless,” she said. “The machine has been flawless. My crew chief has done a great job. My mechanic has done a great job. My entire team has done a great job. But every single one of them has come up to me, and hugged me and said, ‘You know what? We race on Sunday, not Saturday.’”
Angie Smith came up short in the Mission Foods 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge this weekend, but she earned her second No. 1 qualifier of the season in Pro Stock Motorcycle. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Herrera, who ended up in the third qualified spot, said it was nice to get the win in the 2 Fast, 2 Tasty challenge, but he knows he will need to be on his game on Sunday if he wants to back it up.
“That was a good final there,” he said. “I knew I had to get any advantage I could at the starting line. She’s got the bike to beat this weekend. My hat’s off to her. She’s been doing great all year. Her and Matt and that entire team. They’re making the class a lot more fun, more interesting. So it’s going to be a good day of racing tomorrow, for sure.”
