Erica Enders thinks there will be some fast runs this weekend at Pacific Raceways which hosts the National Hot Rod Association’s 24th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals.

During a pre-race press conference on Thursday at the Space Needle, Enders said she is glad to be in the Northwest, thanks in large part to our cooler conditions — something her pro stock car will like when it’s going down the quarter-mile drag strip, too.

“You’ll probably see some records fall,” she said. “I enjoy coming here. The weather is great. The fans pack the place. It’s really cool.”

Thanks to a sea-level track surrounded by trees and temperatures forecasted for the mid to upper 70s during the event, it wouldn’t be surprising to see national speed and elapsed time records fall in any of the pro categories — pro stock as well as the nitro-methane fueled funny car and dragsters.

And fast runs down the drag strip will make for a good experience for fans, as well.

Speed is the name of the game in this sport, especially for the nitro cars, which fly down the track in under four seconds and at speeds topping 300 MPH while generating thousands upon thousands of horsepower.

And Del Worsham, the points leader in top fuel, said that is something you can really notice driving a dragster which is something he hadn’t done since the 1990s. This is his first year back in a dragster as he pilots a top fueler for Al-Anabi racing.

“This season I definitely prefer the dragster,” Worsham said. “The biggest difference I notice is the speed and acceleration of the dragster. You can really feel the speed in a top fuel dragster.”

Worsham explained that because he sits lower than he did in a funny car and has better visibility, he sees more as he’s flying down the track, so those visual cues give him a better idea of how fast the car is going.

And though he’s the points leader, that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be hoisting the world championship trophy in Pomona, Calif., in November at the end of the season.

The points race is intense, Worsham said, and “in 20 years of racing I’ve never experienced competition that was this tight. The fans need to enjoy what they’re seeing (in top fuel) because it’s something special.”

Meanwhile, Jack Beckman, who drives a funny car for Don Schumacher Racing, is just planning to go rounds this weekend and stay solidly in the top half of the class in points to stay in contention in the Countdown to the Championship, the playoffs that begins after the race set for Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis.

As Beckman prepares for the third stop on the Western Swing at Pacific Raceways he hopes to stop a trend that started in Denver two weeks ago.

“It’s unusual for us to have two first round losses two weeks in a row,” Beckman said. “That’s not quite the sweep we were going for.”

Meanwhile, this weekend as part of its season-long celebration of its 60th anniversary, Gary Beck will be one of the NHRA Legends saluted this weekend.

Beck was at the first race ever hosted by Pacific Raceways in 1960 and among his racing career highlights was a win at the sport’s most prestigious race, the Big Go in Indianapolis in 1972, and was selected as No. 24 on the NHRA’s top racers list during its 50th Anniversary in 2001.

“It’s 51 years ago that Pacific Raceways opened,” Beck said. “So, this is kind of full circle here. To be honored with the legend role … it’s very special.”