Elite Motorsports has announced the addition of NHRA Rookie of the Year Award candidate, Sienna Wildgust, to their team roster. Wildgust will make her debut with the Elite Motorsports team during the NHRA’s famed “Western Swing” beginning with the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways July 19-21.
Wildgust, a third generation drag racer, will continue Elite Motorsports’ commitment to fostering the next generation of drag racers with six-time world champion Erica Enders’ mentorship. Though they are a generation apart, Wildgust and Enders both came up through the NHRA Jr. Dragster Racing ranks along with their sisters, Avery Wildgust and Courtney Enders.
“My family has known Richard Freeman for a long time, and I have always looked up to Erica as a driver and as a person. She came up through the Jr. Dragster racing with her sister Courtney same as I did with my sister. I believe I can learn a lot from her. I’m excited to have her as a mentor and have her help me further my career,” said Wildgust. “Elite Motorsports is a family. Racing for me has always been a family sport. I feel, and my family, feels like this is going to be a good fit. With the culture of the team and all the experience, I believe I can learn a lot. I’ve always wanted a career in drag racing, in Pro Stock, joining Elite is going to move my career path forward.”
Enders is no stranger to mentoring the next generation in her sport. The six-time world champion and 20-year Pro Stock veteran has had a heavy hand in helping her fellow teammates and racers.
“I have had the privilege of teaching a lot of racers how to drive Pro Stock. From Drew Skillman, Bruno Massel, Marty Robertson, Brandon Foster to my teammate Jerry Don Tucker and I’ve helped mentor and advance the skills of the Cuadra brothers, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Aaron Stanfield. I take as much pride in that, as I do driving,” Enders said. “When I really get to thinking about the legacy I want to leave behind when I am done with this sport, it boils down to embracing those next in line. It’s our job to help others. It’s my job to make their journey to the top, shorter and much more enjoyable.
“I look forward to mentoring Sienna. I’ll tell you what, for being so young, she is beyond her years in identifying what’s right and wrong, what’s good and bad. She has a clean slate and doesn’t have a lot of bad habits yet and most importantly, she hasn’t been negatively tainted by the sport yet,” Enders continued. “I have always said that people are the most important part of the puzzle, and she nailed that by choosing Elite. We operate differently, here at Elite Motorsports. It is about family. It’s about being a team and operating as one. We don’t have dissension; it is not tolerated. We swim in the same direction; we don’t point fingers. We are a big, dysfunctional family. We work hard and we play hard! I am so proud of what we have built.
Wildgust, who is the daughter of Pro Mod racer Scott Wildgust and granddaughter of Sportsman racer Paul Martin, makes her move to Elite Motorsports after competing in the first six races of the 2024 Mission Foods NHRA season. She has qualified for race day at the Winternationals, both Four-Wide events in Las Vegas and Charlotte. Wildgust’s last Pro Stock National event was the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago.
This story was originally published on June 22, 2024. 
