MADISON, IL – Aaron Stanfield and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team raced to their ninth final round appearance of the season Sunday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Stanfield has now made final round appearances at the last four consecutive events, visiting the winners circle twice. He’ll leave the St. Louis area sitting second in points by only 31 with three events left in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship.

In the finals, Stanfield and the JHG / Melling boys took on season rival Dallas Glenn. Stanfield would have a solid 6.586-second pass at 206.01 mph down World Wide Technology Raceway but it wouldn’t be enough for Glenn’s 6.577 at 207.82.

“It’s been a good three-in-a-row, really it’s been a good second-half of the season for us. Of course, today, not the result we wanted, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes, that’s racing. Dallas and I are both really hungry to win right now. Today he made the better run but it’s far from over,” Stanfield said. “There’s still three races left, and I just might as well win all three of them.” Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment Pro Stock team secured their seventh No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis.

After rain washed out qualifying on Friday, Enders earned her No. 1 position with a 6.565-second pass at 208.01 mph during Saturday’s first session, getting her three bonus qualifying points. The JHG / Melling team followed it up with a 6.573 run at 208.46 mph that was second quickest of the second session and earned them another two bonus points.

“The baby points always add up, I’ve said that since the beginning of our career when we started running really well, and they made a huge difference in both of our 2014 and 2015 championship chases. I imagine it will be the same this year,” Enders said. “To come off the trailer after a long rain cancellation yesterday and go to the No. 1 spot, you know you only have two runs, so you want to run quick enough to be great but conservative enough to be sure to get down. Thankfully Mark Ingersoll and my guys are really great at that. We threw up a decent number first session and made a huge error second session but we were still second low for the round and collected five points. We’ll take that into Sunday and see what we can do with it.” Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – Elite Motorsports will field eight Pro Stock teams at this weekend’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, race three of six in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Aaron Stanfield and Erica Enders lead the pack of six Elite drivers that have a chance to claim the 2024 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Championship.

Enjoying a career-best season, Stanfield and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team enter this weekend’s Midwest Nationals sitting just eight points out of the lead. Stanfield has been a dominant competitor through the last eight races collecting five wins in six final round appearances. He most recently finished runner-up at zMAX Dragway outside of Charlotte.

“We definitely have momentum. We didn’t get the win last weekend in Charlotte, but we kept the momentum going with a runner-up finish. We’ve been consistent, the car, the Elite guys, and the guy behind the wheel,” Stanfield said. “Having three race weekends in a row contributes to that. I’m looking forward to racing at World Wide Technology Raceway. Hopefully the weather holds out for us but whatever runs we do get, we’ll take advantage of them and try to collect as many points as possible. It’s all about taking advantage of the opportunity in front of us and being grateful it’s there. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re definitely going to give it our best shot.”

Stanfield will be looking for his first win at World Wide Technology Raceway, he came close in 2023 with a runner-up finish to rival Greg Anderson after qualifying only seventh. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team rallied to their eighth final round of the season Sunday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

In the finals, Stanfield lined up against rival and fellow young Pro Stock rising star, Dallas Glenn. Glenn would leave the starting line first, but Stanfield would lead until the thousand-foot mark. Stanfield and the JHG / Melling machine would come up short by .0103 seconds with a 6.630 second pass at 207.75 to Glenn’s 6.626 at 207.18.

Stanfield, who is having a career best season, has now raced in six of the last eight final rounds and leaves sitting second in the points standings, just eight behind Glenn in the lead.

“We’ve had a great weekend here at zMAX. I talked about keeping momentum going, and I feel like we did that. Qualifying went really well, and every round today, we had good passes,” Stanfield said. “It’s disappointing we came up short in the finals, but we knew this wasn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be a dog fight, and that’s what it was today. Wish we could have gotten it done with Jason and Nikki from JHG in the house, but we just need to come out next race and be ready to do it again. This team is hungry, all my guys, this Elite Motorsports crew, they want it, and that just makes me want it more. Really thankful to JHG, Melling, Joe Janac, this Elite Motorsports team and all our partners, it’s a privilege to be out here representing them.” Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment Pro Stock team earned their sixth No.1. qualifier of the season Saturday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Enders laid down a stout 6.557-second pass at 208.20 mph on Friday night that held up for her 40th career No.1 qualifying position. Enders earned a total of 12 qualifying bonus points for her team’s performance, being quickest of each of the qualifying sessions. Enders started the weekend with a 6.564 at 206.13 and came out on Saturday to go 6.562 at 208.39 and wrapped up qualifying with a 6.573 at 209.10.

“I’m a numbers girl so it is definitely cool to secure our 40th No. 1. It seems like a big number but after doing this for 20 years, I guess it’s really not,” Enders said. “We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, hopefully getting that 50th win. But I have a great race car, the JHG / Melling / SCAG car, we were low every session earning us 12 points which is more than half a round. So, I’m stoked to have a fast race car, now I have to go to work. My confidence is very strong in my equipment and in my team.” Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing Pro Stock team enter this weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway with a target on their backs thanks to a nine point lead in the Pro Stock world championship battle.

Stanfield, whose previous best season was 2022 when he won three races and finished fourth in points, is having a breakout year. With 15 of 20 races contested and one of six races completed in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, Stanfield already has five wins in seven final round appearances. All five victories have come in the last seven races beginning with the Virginia Nationals, Summit Nationals is Norwalk, Ohio, Sonoma Nationals out in Northern California, the prestigious U.S. Nationals and the most recent event, the Pep Boys Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania.

“It’s all about momentum, and we’ve got it right now. It’s all about keeping it rolling. It’s full throttle now. We have to keep going out there, pulling up and doing what we’ve been doing,” Stanfield said. “I know the equipment I have, and I know how hungry my guys are to win. We have a shot. I am incredibly grateful to Elite Motorsports, JHG, Melling, Joe Janac and all of our partners. It’s an incredible opportunity I have in front of me, and I hope I can take advantage of it well.” Continue reading →

READING, PA – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team dominated raceday at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway to secure their fifth win of the season and take over the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series Pro Stock points lead.

Stanfield battled against teammate and six-time reigning world champion Erica Enders in the final round. Stanfield got the win, his fifth in seven races and 13th in his Pro Stock career, on a holeshot with a .017 second reaction time and 6.569-second pass at 209.26 mph bettering Enders’ .059 reaction time and 6.557 pass at 210.47. Stanfield now leads the points by nine over Dallas Glenn.

“This feels great. Momentum is real. Things have been rolling our way and we’ve been getting those round wins when we need them to go our way,” Stanfield said. “We did our job today, Erica and I and all our guys. We put both of our JHG, Melling cars in the final round here, and that was the goal. Continue reading →

READING, PA – Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer team enter this weekend’s Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, the first of six races in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship, sitting fifth in the championship points standings.

Returning to Pro Stock after retiring in 2020, Jeg Jr. and the SCAG team ended their 2024 regular Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season with wins at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee and the Northwest Nationals in Seattle and they most recently had a runner-up finish to teammate Aaron Stanfield at the U.S. Nationals. Their efforts landed them just 55 points back from the points lead and a potential seventh world championship title.

“This year, 2024 marks my return to NHRA racing after a brief three-year retirement. So starting this Countdown with three race wins during the regular season and a recent runner-up finish at the US Nationals has me yearning to add a fifth Reading win to my resume,” Jeg Jr. said. Continue reading →

WYNNEWOOD, OK – After a 14-race regular season in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoffs, is officially here. Over the final races of the 2024 season, six Elite Motorsports drivers will have a chance to win the NHRA Pro Stock world championship.

As a team, Elite has won six of the last eight races and visited the winners circle a total of nine times in the regular season.
Leading the Elite Motorsports team into the Countdown to the Championship is Aaron Stanfield and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team. Stanfield has won four of the last six races and is coming off his first U.S. Nationals victory where he doubled up in Factory X, making him the first racer to double in the 70-year running of ‘The Big Go’.

With his latest performance, Stanfield moved into second in the points standings, just 25 behind Dallas Glenn after the playoff reset. This is Stanfield’s fourth playoff appearance. His best finish was fourth in 2023. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Aaron Stanfield and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brother’s Racing team dominated raceday at the 70th running of the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals to pick up their fourth Pro Stock victory of the season Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

On his way to winning the 12th Pro Stock victory of his career, Stanfield also picked up the win the Factory X category making him the first driver in the 70 years of the U.S. Nationals to double-up on raceday. His two wins count for his 29th and 30th career NHRA national event wins.

“This is what dreams are made of, right here. Indy is always a busy week for me. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions the whole entire time. I knew I had two good hot rods and a good chance to win in both categories, but this race has kicked my butt in the past. So, this feels great,” Stanfield said. “I’ve been close to doubling a couple of times and had both cars in the final round a few times this year. It’s eluded me, but I’m okay with not being able to get it done at those past races because this is the place to do it if you’re going to do it. Man, there’s just so much history at this racetrack. It’s special to me to not only win Indy in Pro Stock and Factory X but to win them both in the same day and put my name down on the history books.” Continue reading →