BRAINERD, Minn. (August 16, 2023) – After back-to-back victories at the past two Pro Stock events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, Elite Motorsports, the largest professional team in drag racing, is ready to ride that wave of winning momentum into Minnesota this week for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. This marks the first time since 2019 that Pro Stock will compete at Brainerd International Raceway and the team is keen to put on a great performance for the fans.
After nabbing her second victory of the season and the 45th of her Pro Stock career in Topeka last week, five-time world champion Erica Enders is on the verge of becoming the winningest woman in motorsports. In addition to her 45 national event wins in Pro Stock, she has one national event win in Super Gas, tying her with Pro Stock Motorcycle star Angelle Sampey, who currently holds the distinction of being the woman with the most national event wins. Enders has two wins to her credit at Brainerd International Raceway, earned in 2012 and 2015. In addition to regular competition, she will also be participating in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Troy Coughlin Jr. earned his second victory of the season at Bandimere Speedway in Denver just a few weeks ago. This will be the first time for the talented young driver to compete in Pro Stock at Brainerd International Raceway. He is currently third in the points standings and will be focused on keeping his strong position as there are only two events left in the regular season before the Top Ten drivers will compete in the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs. Elite Motorsports drivers Aaron Stanfield and Cristian Cuadra are also vying to keep their spots in the Top Ten.
Former Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner and Pro Stock rookie Jerry Tucker are both looking forward to making some big moves this weekend as they are in the 11th and 12th spots (respectively) in the points standings.
The Cuadra Boys are primed and ready to capture their first win for their home country of Mexico. Patriarch Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons, Fernando Jr., Cristian and David, have been fine-tuning their fleet of Corral Boots Mustangs all season. With consistent improvement all season long, they feel positive going into the penultimate event of the regular season.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 2:45 and 6 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 18 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 12:45 and 3:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 20. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, 1:00 p.m. on Sunday on FS1, and then eliminations on FOX at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.
Erica Enders
“It has been four years since Pro Stock got to race in Brainerd and we are super excited to try our hand in front of some of the coolest fans on tour. As in most sports, momentum is huge and we are riding the wave from our win in Topeka. We went toe to toe with some of our toughest competitors and were able to come out on top. We plan to execute the same way this weekend. As the regular season winds down, these round points are crucial. I absolutely love the pressure and excitement and I can’t wait to show the world why we are Team Elite.”
Aaron Stanfield
“Brainerd is such a cool stop on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour and I’m glad we get to compete there in Pro Stock this year. We plan to stay focused so we can make every pass count, especially since there are only two races left in the regular season. I would love nothing more than to land this Elite-powered machine in the winners circle this weekend.”
Troy Coughlin Jr.
“The group of guys I get to race with have so much focus, drive, passion, work ethic and grit. I have all the faith in the world. I just need to do my part and get up on the wheel and drive it!”
Bo Butner
“We’re heading to one of our favorite racetracks up there in Brainerd this week, and that’s been a good track for both Randi Lyn and me. She’ll be in her Stocker, of course, and I’m going to run Top Dragster along with Pro Stock. It was cool to see a red JHG car in the Pro Stock winner’s circle last weekend, and we’re really looking forward to seeing ours go rounds and get there, too. We’ve got a couple of wins in Brainerd [Bo won Comp in 2005; Randi Lyn won Stock in 2015], but to have a Pro Stock win there would be very special.”
Fernando Cuadra Sr.
“The Cuadra Boys keep getting better and better! The fans in Brainerd are wonderful. After four years without any Pro Stock action at this facility, we are eager to give them a great show!”
Fernando Cuadra Jr.
“We continue to learn more and I’m confident that all of these small improvements we’ve been making are going to start paying off in big ways. This team has been working so hard all season and we know that first win is close.”
Cristian Cuadra
“It’s going to take a lot of focus to keep our Top Ten position through the next two events but I know we can do it! This is a great crew and we’ve got a fast hot rod. I’m looking forward to turning up the heat this weekend.”
David Cuadra
“I’m very excited to compete in Pro Stock in Brainerd this week. The fans at this track are so enthusiastic and passionate. It will be great to get more time behind the wheel of the Corral Boots Mustang!”
Jerry Tucker
“We are just 23 points out of the Top Ten, so we’ve got to focus on making every pass count in Brainerd. The Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer Camaro just keeps getting better. And we’ve all heard how much the fans in Brainerd love Pro Stock. I’m looking forward to giving them a great show and taking my first trip to The Zoo!”
Pre-Race Notes
Elite Motorsports: Pre-race notes
Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor
Heartland Motorsports Park
Topeka, Kansas (August 11-13)
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 Menards NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Kan. At this event, the Elite Pro Stock team will feature nine 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., Cristian, and David, 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 Erica Enders’ 10 wins, Aaron Stanfield collected three victories while Troy Coughlin Jr. earned his first two professional victories.
In 2022, Enders had the most dominant season of her career with 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 Mark Stockseth.
During her professional career, Enders has accumulated 44 wins in 75 final rounds and has a round-win record of 448-248 for a .644 win percentage. Enders also has a win in Super Gas (2004 Houston) bringing her career total to 45 national event victories.
This season, Enders won 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. She is currently ranked No. 6 following a semifinal finish at the most recent Pro Stock event in Denver.
Enders has won at least one Pro Stock event at 17 different NHRA venues including Heartland Motorsports Park. In 2015, she defeated Greg Anderson in the final round. Enders was also a runner-up to Deric Kramer at the 2018 Topeka event.
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.
Following an impressive fourth-place finish in 2022, Troy Coughlin Jr. is in 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 Topeka as the No. 3 ranked driver in the championship after posting wins at the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and the recent Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver to go with a a runner-up at the Four-Wide event in Las Vegas. Coughlin has a 14-7 record in elimination rounds this season.
Coughlin and his Elite teammate Enders will also take part in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Topeka. The special event will be held on Saturday and features a race between the semifinalists of the previous Pro Stock event in Denver. Coughlin and Enders will be joined by Dallas Glenn and Camrie Caruso.
Earlier this season at the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix, Coughlin became the first winner of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. He 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 season, Stanfield collected victories 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 three 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.
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. 11 in the Pro Stock standings, but is just 17 points out of the Top Ten.
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 but has not won in Topeka. At the 2022 Topeka event, he was a runner-up in the Super Gas class to Don Nichols.
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., Cristian and David. The Cuadra family is backed by Corral Handcrafted Boots and 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 and he was a semifinalist at the recent Bristol race. He comes into this weekend as the No. 9 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.
David Cuadra has raced in both Pro Stock and Top Sportsman this season. He made his Pro Stock debut in Charlotte and has also competed in Chicago and Bristol.
The Cuadra family has career-best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.), 6.527 (Cristian) and 6.578 (David). Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), 210.73 (Fernando Jr.) and 209.39 (David).
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 recent Chicago race and is No. 12 in the standings, just 22 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 one of the leading contenders for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award.
Collectively, the nine current team Elite drivers have combined to win 107 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 66 in the Pro Stock class.