{"id":101176,"date":"2025-06-11T02:18:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T02:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/elite-motorsports-richard-freeman-reacts-to-points-deduction-5000-fine-from-nhra-following-disqualified-run-in-bristol-ridiculous\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T02:18:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T02:18:23","slug":"elite-motorsports-richard-freeman-reacts-to-points-deduction-5000-fine-from-nhra-following-disqualified-run-in-bristol-ridiculous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/elite-motorsports-richard-freeman-reacts-to-points-deduction-5000-fine-from-nhra-following-disqualified-run-in-bristol-ridiculous\/","title":{"rendered":"Elite Motorsports\u2019 Richard Freeman Reacts to Points Deduction, $5,000 Fine from NHRA Following Disqualified Run in Bristol: \u201cRidiculous\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just days after showing signs of a resurgence at the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders finds herself at the center of a brewing controversy in Bristol.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, NHRA officials announced a 100-point deduction and a $5,000 fine for Enders and her Elite Motorsports team following a disqualified qualifying run during the fourth session at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The penalty stems from the use of rear wheels that allegedly did not meet NHRA\u2019s approved specifications for Pro Stock competition.<\/p>\n

Team owner Richard Freeman didn\u2019t hold back in his response to the sanctioning body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely ridiculous,\u201d Freeman told\u00a0Drag Illustrated<\/em>. \u201cWe spoke with Rick [Dodge, NHRA tech official] the week prior in Epping and asked him about that wheel and his opinion. He checked the rule book\u2014as he did Saturday in Bristol. The wheel is a beadlock, the proper width, and exceeds the SFI specification. We would love an explanation how that warrants a 100-point deduction and $5,000 fine. Whomever made that decision is clearly delusional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman also raised concerns over consistency and transparency in the rule enforcement process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rule book does not say a liner is illegal. It is legal in Pro Mod, legal in Alcohol. And it is not a performance advantage\u2014it\u2019s a disadvantage due to the weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The penalty announcement comes as a gut punch for Enders, who was hoping to build on the momentum of a runner-up finish to rival Greg Anderson in Epping just a week ago. Enders, who has 49 national event wins and is the winningest female driver in motorsports history, had expressed confidence that her Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage \/ Melling Performance \/ Scag Power Equipment Camaro was finally trending in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cWe made some substantial changes and spent a lot of time on the dyno,\u201d Enders said in a pre-race statement. \u201cPro Stock is not for the weak. It\u2019s competitive problem-solving and we take a lot of pride in how well we work together. We may be down now, but they will not keep us down forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enders currently sits ninth in points and had entered the Bristol weekend optimistic about gaining ground in both qualifying and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, where she was slated to face teammate Aaron Stanfield in a highly anticipated rematch.<\/p>\n

Instead, the focus now shifts to whether Elite Motorsports will appeal the penalty\u2014a right they retain per NHRA\u2019s official statement. NHRA also confirmed that proceeds from the fine will be used to enhance the Safety Safari\u2019s operational capabilities.<\/p>\n

As the season nears its midpoint, the incident adds more tension to what has already been a turbulent year for one of drag racing\u2019s most dominant dynasties.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on June 10, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Elite Motorsports\u2019 Richard Freeman Reacts to Points Deduction, $5,000 Fine from NHRA Following Disqualified Run in Bristol: \u201cRidiculous\u201d<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just days after showing signs of a resurgence at the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders finds herself at the center of a brewing controversy in Bristol. On Tuesday, NHRA officials announced a 100-point deduction and a $5,000 fine for Enders and her Elite Motorsports team following a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}