Chandler, Ariz. (March 24-26)
The Elite Motorsports team, the largest team in professional drag racing, has expanded for 2023 and will field a total of eight entries for this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix. The Elite Pro Stock team features eight drivers including reigning and five-time world champ Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra and his two sons, Fernando Jr. and Cristian, as well as newcomer Jerry Tucker.
In the 19 Pro Stock events contested last season, Team Elite won 15 times and appeared in 26 of 38 possible final rounds. In addition to Enders 10 wins, Aaron Stanfield collected three victories while Troy Coughlin Jr. earned his first two professional victories.
Enders is coming off the most dominant season of her career that produced ten wins in 13 final round appearances and an astounding 55-9 record in elimination rounds. This season, Enders impressive roster of supporters includes Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, Melling Performance, SCAG Mowers, PeopleLease, and Gallagher Global.
Erica Enders
During her professional career, Enders has accumulated 43 wins in 74 final rounds and has a round win record of 439-240 for a .646 win percentage. Enders also has a win in Super Gas (2004 Houston) bringing her career total to 44 victories.
Enders has won at least one event at 17 different venues including Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Enders won the Phoenix event in 2013 and 2020 beating Mike Edwards and then-teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Enders currently holds both the elapsed time and speed record for the NHRA Pro Stock class with best of 6.450-seconds and 215.55 mph. The elapsed time record was set at the 2022 Gatornationals last March.
If Enders can win four events this season, she will surpass three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey as the sport’s winningest female driver. Sampey currently has 46 wins while Enders has 43.
Enders was the No. 2 qualifier at the season-opening event in Gainesville but suffered a mechanical problem in round one. She enters the Phoenix event as the No. 9 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
Troy Coughlin Jr.
Following an impressive fourth place finish in 2022, Troy Coughlin Jr., will begin his fourth full season behind the wheel of the familiar yellow and black JEGS.com Camaro. Coughlin enjoyed a breakout season last year with back-to-back victories in Seattle and Topeka. Coughlin also went to final rounds in Phoenix, Reading and Las Vegas.
Coughlin heads to Phoenix as the championship leader after a dominating win at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals two weeks ago. Coughlin qualified his JEGS.com / Elite Chevy in the No. 1 spot and defeated Mason McGaha in the final round. He currently has a 24-point lead over McGaha.
In addition to his three career Pro Stock victories, the multi-faceted Coughlin has additional wins in Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, and Super Gas.
Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., is a 15-time national event winner in Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas. Including his uncles, John, Mike, and Jeg Jr., the Coughlin family has combined to win 131 national event titles.
Coughlin’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.521-seconds and 211.93 mph, set last year in Sonoma and Gainesville, respectively.
Aaron Stanfield
Aaron Stanfield has also returned to the Elite team for another season behind the wheel of the Janac Bros/J3 Energy Camaro. Stanfield, the son of five-time Super Stock world champ Greg Stanfield, is coming off a season where he was the third-ranked driver in Pro Stock.
Stanfield is the defending event champion at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. He defeated teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in an all-Elite final round.
Last year, Stanfield earned Pro Stock wins in Phoenix, Bristol and the Fall Charlotte race to go with four runner-up finishes in Pomona, Epping, Norwalk, and Denver. Stanfield finished the season with a 38-16 record in elimination rounds.
Stanfield qualified solidly in the No. 4 spot in Gainesville but suffered a rare round one loss against Matt Hartford. He enters the Phoenix event as the No. 11 ranked driver in the class.
Stanfield won back-to-back titles in the FlexJetFactory Stock Showdown class in 2020-21. He will continue to drive his Janac Bros. owned COPO Camaro in that class and will also continue to race in the Wright Trailers Top Dragster class.
All told, Stanfield has 21 career wins in Pro Stock, Factory Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster. Stanfield is also a previous winner in Gainesville, having claimed back-to-back Factory Stock wins in 2020-21.
Stanfield’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.457-seconds and 213.47 mph, both set in Gainesville 2022.
Bo Butner
Bo Butner is a two-time NHRA world champion in Pro Stock (2017) and Comp Eliminator (2006). He joined the Elite team last season as the driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro.
Last season, Butner drove to a ninth place finish in the Camping World NHRA Pro Stock standings.
Butner kicked off the 2023 season in Gainesville with a solid eighth-place qualifying effort. He enters the Phoenix event as the No. 10 ranked driver in the Pro Stock class.
While he did not win a Pro Stock event last year, the multi-talented Butner did earn a pair of victories in the Super Gas class in Indy and Reading.
Butner has 29 career national event victories including 11 in Pro Stock. He also has wins in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas, and Super Street. Butner has also enjoyed success as a big money bracket racer with a victory at the K&N Spring Fling Million in Las Vegas in 2021.
Butner won the Super Stock title in Phoenix in 2002, defeating Mark Faul in the final round.
Butner’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.475-seconds and 214.28 mph, set in Dallas (2015) and Gainesville (2017), respectively.
The Cuadra Family
The Cuadra family including Fernando Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian, joined Elite Motorsports this season with their three-car Corral Handcrafted Boots team. The Cuadra family will continue to race Ford Mustangs under the Elite banner.
Fernando Sr. is a two-time national event runner-up with final round appearances at the 2019 races in Reading and Pomona. Cristian Cuadra was also the runner-up to Enders at the 2022 Four-Wide event in Las Vegas.
The Cuadra family has career best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.) and 6.528 (Cristian) all of them recorded at the 2022 Gainesville event. Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), and 210.73 (Fernando Jr.).
Cristian Cuadra went to the final round of the Four Wide event in Las Vegas last season where he finished second to teammate Enders. He finished the season as the sport’s No. 8 ranked driver in Pro Stock.
Jerry Tucker
New to the Elite Pro Stock team this year is Jerry Tucker, who enjoyed a memorable debut in Gainesville. Tucker qualified his Elite Camaro in the No. 15 spot with a 6.573 and won the first round after teammate Enders encountered a mechanical issue. Tucker heads to Phoenix tied with Matt Hartford for No. 8 in the standings.
Tucker, of Lindsay, Okla., has spent the last 30 years racing everything from Sprint cars to Midgets and has also enjoyed success in drag racing. Tucker previously raced in the Top Sportsman class.
Tucker is expected to be one of the leading contenders for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award.
Team Elite
Collectively, the eight current team Elite drivers have combined to win 104 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 64 in the Pro Stock class.
