FERNANDO CUADRA SR.
Name: Fernando Cuadra Sr.
Category: Pro Stock
Hometown: Leon, Guanajupo, Mexico
Drives: Corral Boots Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Elite Motorsports
Top E.T.: 6.524 seconds (Gainesville 2022)
Top Speed: 212.13 mph (Gainesville 2019)
Sponsors: Corral Boots
Pro Stock Career Wins: 0
Pro Stock Career Final Rounds: 2
Pro Stock Career No. 1 Qualifiers: 0
Key Achievements:
Seven Super Pro Championships in Mexico
ABOUT FERNANDO CUADRA SR.
As a successful entrepreneur and NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock driver, Fernando Cuadra Sr. understands how to thrive in times of hardship better than most. He leads with his heart in everything he does in business, with his family, and at the race track. His key to success is simple, “Follow the rules and live by your word.”
Having spent over 15 years growing his company, Corral Boots, into a global empire, Fernando Sr. was excited to pursue his passion – drag racing. In 2003 and 2004, the Leon, Mexico native competed in the NHRA Pro Stock category against some of the world’s best drivers.
Then, in the winter of 2004, Fernando Sr. experienced a tragedy that would have stopped most business owners in their tracks. On the day after Christmas, a devastating tsunami hit Asia, killing more than 200,000 people in 14 Asian countries including the Indonesian island of North Sumatra, where the Corral Boots factory was located. It took the lives of all of Fernando Sr.’s 1,500 employees. In the blink of an eye, his thriving business was destroyed. While Fernando was saddened by the loss of the business he worked hard to build for so many years, it was the loss of so many lives that shattered him. Drag racing was relegated to the recesses of his mind as he dedicated himself fully to the crisis at hand.
Fernando Sr. felt that his first responsibility was not only to rebuild his business (although that was certainly in his plans), but most importantly, to care for the families of his employees, who had lost not only their loved ones but their livelihoods. He sold off as much of his business as he possibly could to help these families rebuild. At the same time, he began to establish manufacturing operations for Corral Boots once again, in the same location.
Many questioned Fernando’s judgment and doubted that the strong-willed business leader could grow a successful operation out of the wreckage. After all, the entire island was essentially wiped out. His competitors left but he stayed put. He was determined to help the entire area rebuild and revitalize the local economy with jobs and opportunities. Thankfully, Fernando Sr. is not afraid of a little hard work. In just three years, he rebuilt Corral Boots to what it had been before the tsunami.
That tragedy brought the Cuadra family together as they all worked hard and made sacrifices to re-establish the once-thriving company. As the company began to thrive once again, Fernando Sr.’s thoughts returned to drag racing. His sons, Fernando Jr., David and Cristian were eager to try their hand at driving as well.
In 2018, Fernando Sr. returned once again to the NHRA Pro Stock racing circuit, part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series at the time. In 2019, Fernando Jr. and Cristian joined him in the Pro Stock ranks. David competes in Top Sportsman in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
In 2022, the Cuadras joined the Elite Motorsports family. Only three races into the partnership, Fernando Sr.’s Corral Boots Ford Mustang made the quickest pass of his career, 6.524 seconds in Gainesville, Fla.