NORWALK, Ohio (June 22, 2023) – Elite Motorsports, the largest professional team in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, is primed and ready to defend its Pro Stock title at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend. Five-time world champion Erica Enders triumphed at this event last year and is hoping for a repeat when her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance Camaro takes to the track at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The talented standout recently achieved her first win of the 2023 season at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. and is looking forward to taking that momentum into the rest of the season. She will have her work cut out for her as this year’s field is proving to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. With five drivers in the Pro Stock Top Ten, the entire Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team is looking to make some powerful moves this weekend.
Cristian Cuadra will join his Elite Motorsports teammate Enders in the NHRA Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge, a race-within-a-race taking place on Saturday during qualifying wherein all semifinalists from the previous event compete for extra points and prizes. Aaron Stanfield won the specialty event in Bristol and Elite will be aiming to make it two in a row. Stanfield will be pulling double duty as he competes in both the Pro Stock and Factory Stock Showdown categories. He won the Factory Stock Showdown event in Bristol.
Troy Coughlin Jr. is looking forward to hitting the track in his home state of Ohio in his JEGS.com Camaro. He will be showing the ropes to rookie competitor Jerry Tucker, who will race for the first time at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Bo Butner recently showcased his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro alongside Enders’ car at an open house event hosted by JHG owner Jason Johnson. Butner won the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in 2017.
The Cuadra camp is making some changes this weekend starting with patriarch Fernando Cuadra Sr. who will be driving his son David Cuadra’s Corral Boots Mustang. D. Cuadra is returning to his sportsman roots for this event as he vies for the title in Top Sportsman. Meanwhile, Fernando Cuadra Jr. will be behind the wheel of Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman’s red Ford Mustang built by RJ Race Cars. The crew is working on a few different combinations with power and weight. Changing cars will allow for more flexibility as they determine what will work best for these powerful machines. C. Cuadra will remain in his original car which has been performing well this season.
To kick things off for the weekend, the entire Elite team attended a special event hosted by Elite Motorsports Branding and Motorsports Director Scott “Woody” Woodruff where they enjoyed kickball, bucket golf, food trucks and more.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, June 23 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, June 24 at 1 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 25. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday, and then eliminations on FOX at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.
Erica Enders
“It’s no secret we needed that change of momentum with our first win of the season in Bristol two weeks ago. Momentum is huge in these summer months of NHRA drag racing and my guys and I are ready to ride it out and continue to capitalize. Heading to Norwalk is exciting. The track is incredible, fans are second to none and we’ve traditionally done well there with quite a few ice cream scoop trophies through the years. I’d love to add one more to my shelf!”
Aaron Stanfield
“We had a fast race car and some unfortunate luck on race day in Bristol, but we are ready to get after it in Norwalk!”
Troy Coughlin Jr.
“Nothing beats drag racing in the great state of OHIO! There’s a lot of Pro Stock history that lives in this state! Team Yellow has been working hard keeping the car in good shape and ready for some laps! We’re focused on the summer and going to give it our all to make some nice, solid laps.”
Bo Butner
“Norwalk has been good to us in the past and I’ve got a fast car moving into this weekend. This crew has been working hard leading up to this race. Now it’s time to turn on some win lights!”
Fernando Cuadra Sr.
“I’m going to be behind the wheel of David’s Pro Stock car this weekend as we seek to find ways to improve our program. It’s great to be on the Elite team and have opportunities like this to try new things.”
Fernando Cuadra Jr.
“I’m swapping race cars to try something. Richard Freeman gave me the opportunity to run his Rick Jones Mustang just to try to mimic something from Cristian’s car that is proven to be really fast so I’m really excited to always try something to go faster.”
Cristian Cuadra
“This is going to be a really fun race. Since I made it to the semifinals in Bristol, I get to compete in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge so that’s going to add another layer of intensity to qualifying. I can’t wait!”
David Cuadra
“I’m returning to Top Sportsman this weekend and I’m very excited. I really have a heart for sportsman racing.”
Jerry Tucker
“The race in Norwalk is legendary. From the $1 ice cream to some of the best fans in the country, everyone loves this event. I’m excited to experience it for myself this weekend.”
Pre-Race Notes
Elite Motorsports: Pre-race notes
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio. (June 22-25)
The Elite Motorsports team, the largest team in professional drag racing, has expanded for 2023 and will field a total of nine entries for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The Elite Pro Stock team features eight drivers including reigning and five-time world champion Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons, Fernando Jr. and Cristian, as well as newcomer Jerry Tucker. Mason Wright will also return to action in the Pro Mod class with his Elite Camaro.
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 Erica 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 Power Equipment, PeopleLease and Gallagher Insurance.
During her professional career, Enders has accumulated 44 wins in 75 final rounds and has a round-win record of 445-246 for a .644 win percentage. Enders also has a win in Super Gas (2004 Houston) bringing her career total to 45 national event victories.
Enders won the most recent event in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. After qualifying No. 1, Enders defeated Deric Kramer in the final round. Enders also set the low E.T. and top speed of the event with a best of 6.627 at 206.95. With this victory, Enders moved into the Top 10 for the first time this season.
Last year, Elite teammates Enders and Stanfield met in the Norwalk final with Enders, who was also the low qualifier, taking a victory in one of her most dominant performances of the season. In addition to her win last year, Enders also won the Norwalk event in 2014 and 2021. She was the runner-up at this facility in 2018.
Enders currently holds both the elapsed time and speed records for the NHRA Pro Stock class with bests of 6.450-seconds and 215.55 mph. The elapsed time record was set at the 2022 Gatornationals.
If Enders wins three more 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 44 professional wins.
Enders and her Elite Motorsports teammate C. Cuadra will take part in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Norwalk. This specialty event will take place during qualifying on Saturday and features a race between the semifinalists of the previous Pro Stock race in Bristol. Enders and C. Cuadra will be joined by Greg Anderson and Kramer.
Following an impressive fourth-place finish in 2022, Troy Coughlin Jr. has begun 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 Norwalk as the No. 4 ranked driver in the championship after a dominating win at the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and a runner-up at the Four-Wide event in Las Vegas. He has an 8-6 record in elimination rounds this season.
Previously, Coughlin won the Top Alcohol Dragster title in Norwalk during the 2019 season, defeating Will Smith in the final round.
Earlier this season at the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix, Coughlin became the first winner of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, a special event open to the four semifinal finishers from the previous event. Coughlin defeated Greg Anderson in the final with an elapsed time of 6.57, compared to Anderson’s 6.60, to capture the inaugural event victory.
In addition to his three career Pro Stock victories, the multi-faceted Coughlin has won 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 132 national event titles.
Coughlin’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.515-seconds and 212.29 mph, set earlier this year at the season opener in Gainesville.
Aaron Stanfield has also returned to the Elite team for another season behind the wheel of the Janac Bros/JC3 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.
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.
So far this season, Stanfield has two semifinal and four quarterfinal finishes to his credit and he’s the No. 5 ranked driver in the class. Stanfield has also qualified a season-best of No. 2 at the most recent race in Bristol.
Stanfield won back-to-back titles in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown class in 2020 and 2021. 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.
The Norwalk event marks the fifth race in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown and Stanfield is the incoming points leader following a win in Bristol and runner-up finishes at the first two events in Gainesville and Charlotte. Stanfield defeated Del Holbrook in the Bristol final to extend his championship lead. He currently holds an 81-point lead over No. 2 Lenny Lottig and is 142 points ahead of Joe Welch, who is in third.
All told Stanfield has 22 career wins in Pro Stock, Factory Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster.
Stanfield’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.457-seconds and 213.47 mph, both set in Gainesville 2022.
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 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock standings.
Earlier this season in Phoenix, Butner drove to a runner-up finish in Pro Stock, reaching the final for the first time since the 2019 Richmond event. Butner defeated Erica Enders, Fernando Cuadra Jr. and Kyle Koretsky to reach his 26th career Pro Stock final.
Butner is now ranked No. 10 in the Pro Stock standings, as Elite drivers hold five of the Top Ten spots.
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 has won at least one national event title at 14 different facilities including Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park as he won the Pro Stock title over Greg Anderson in 2017. Butner was also a runner-up to David Rampy in the 2012 Norwalk Competition Eliminator final.
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 includes Fernando Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian. The Cuadra family is backed by Corral Handcrafted Boots and will continue to race Ford Mustangs under the Elite banner. David Cuadra has raced in Pro Stock this season but is entered in the Top Sportsman class this weekend.
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 and he was a semifinalist at the recent Bristol race. He comes into this weekend as the No. 8 ranked driver in Pro Stock.
Earlier this season in Phoenix, Cristian Cuadra became the first Mexican-born NHRA racer to qualify No. 1 in a pro category when he drove his Elite-powered Corral Handcrafted Boots Mustang to a 6.552 pass. C. Cuadra is one of just 11 non-U.S.-born drivers to qualify No. 1 in a professional NHRA class and the only one to accomplish the feat in Pro Stock.
The Cuadra family has career-best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.) and 6.527 (Cristian) – all of them recorded in Gainesville. Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), and 210.73 (Fernando Jr.). David’s career bests are 6.578 and 209.39.
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 is coming off his first semifinal finish at the Chicago race and is No. 12 in the standings, just 46 points out of the Top 10.
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.
Collectively, the eight current team Elite drivers have combined to win 106 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 65 in the Pro Stock class.
Mason Wright will return to action this weekend in the FuelTech Pro Mod class presented by Type A Motorsports following an on-track incident in Chicago. Prior to the incident, Wright qualified solidly for the first two events in Gainesville and Charlotte.
Wright, of Odessa, Texas, is also a graduate of the Top Sportsman class. Justin Elkes of Modern Racing will serve as Wright’s crew chief this season. It was recently announced that Pro Mod the class will be part of the NHRA on Fox Sports television broadcasts for each event.
Sportsman Snapshot
Last weekend in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, racers in Division 5 competed in an intense double header points meet. The Patterson-Elite crew had great showings at both races at Bandimere Speedway. In the first event, Alan Firestone snagged the Wally in Top Sportsman while Ryan Montford reached the semifinals in Super Stock and James Kunkel was the runner-up in Super Stock. In the second event of the weekend, things were heated in Super Stock. Not only did John Harder reach the semifinals, but two Patterson-Elite drivers were in the finals! Ultimately, Montford got the win over Aydan Patterson.