BRISTOL, TN – Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer team powered to victory Sunday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Jeg Jr. earned his 67th career victory with a win against rival and fellow Pro Stock veteran Greg Anderson in the final round. Jeg Jr. would have a solid pass at 6.707 seconds and 204.94 mph while Anderson, who had been the No. 1 qualifier and quickest all day, struggled down the track squaring the tires and crawling to a 20.530 pass at just 37.09.

“Greg and I have been in so many elimination-rounds side-by-side. To see them make a mistake and have a hiccup after the stellar runs they’ve put down was amazing,” Jeg Jr. said. “I put it in fourth gear and kind of peeked over a little bit, it was spinning and shaking, got it into fifth gear and I peeked over again and I’m like, you’ve got to be kidding me. Surely, he’s going to be coming on like a freight train. Bottom line, what a great win for us today.” Continue reading →

BRISTOL, TN – Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment team rallied to their third Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the season Saturday at Bristol Dragway during qualifying for the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

In a rematch of the semifinals from the New England Nationals, Enders started her Saturday with a win over teammate Jerry Tucker. Enders would lay down a 6.643-second pass at 207.62 mph to defeat Tucker and the Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer / SCAG team’s 6.685 at 205.54.

In the finals, Enders would take on rival Dallas Glenn who reached the final round by defeating the JEGS.com / White Castle car of Troy Coughlin Jr. The JHG / Melling machine had 6.644-second run at 207.30 mph to defeat Glenn’s 6.663 at 205.32.

“We wanted to get a handle on our hot raceday setup so we just put our heads down and did our own thing and had two pretty good runs today,” Enders said. “It’s always fun to have a race within a race, going back we had the K&N Horsepower Challenge, before that, the Holley Dominator Duel, and now this Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, it is definitely a fun specialty race. It’s really neat that you have to earn your way into each week by at least advancing to the semifinals. It adds some extra fun and a little extra pressure on Saturday, it makes you stay on your toes for race day.” Continue reading →

BRISTOL, TN – Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment team enter this weekend’s Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway looking to pick up their fourth win at the fan favorite facility.

Six-time defending world champion Enders has reached the final round of the Thunder Valley Nationals for two consecutive years, winning the 2023 event against rival Greg Anderson from the No. 1 qualifying position and finishing runner-up to teammate Aaron Stanfield in 2022. Her two other victories have come in 2015, also from No. 1, and 2014 with runner-up accolades in 2013 and 2011.

“I absolutely love racing at Thunder Valley,” Enders said. “We have so many great memories at this facility and we are looking forward to adding to that list this weekend.”

Enders victory in 2023 was the first of her season, acting as a catalyst for four more victories including three in the Countdown to the Championship that would lead her to her sixth Pro Stock world championship. Continue reading →

EPPING, NH – In the fourth of 10 races in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, Mason Wright picked up his first career victory in front of a sold-out crowd Sunday at New England Dragway during the NHRA New England Nationals.

Wright, who started eliminations from the No. 4 qualifying position thanks to a 5.738 second run at 248.39 mph in the fourth session, defeated Jordan Lazic on a hole shot in his first career final round appearance. Wright would have a .047 reaction time and 5.740-second pass at 249.72 mph that would be enough to take down Lazic’s .079 and 5.733 pass at 254.47 for the Wally. Wright’s first win comes in just his 12th Pro Mod start.

“Coming into the final qualifying session we were way down at No. 17 and we were able to move ourselves up to No. 5. That’s a direct result of the program the team has been working on. They’ve been working hard and it paid off,” Wright said. “It’s tough in the Pro Mod class, it really is. It’s definitely a team effort and they’ve all pulled together to give us a great race car. Getting to double up for Elite with Troy, that’s pretty exciting. I’m not going to lie, my first win, I’m still in shock. These fans have been awesome, I love it. We’ll take a couple days to rest, celebrate with the family and then head straight to Bristol and try to carry on the momentum.” Continue reading →

EPPING, NH – Troy Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com. / White Castle team defeated six-time champion and teammate Erica Enders in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment machine for their first win of the season Sunday in front of a sold-out crowd at New England Dragway for the NHRA New England Nationals.

Troy Jr.’s victory would be his 13th national event win, fifth in Pro Stock and his second against Enders. The teammates have raced each other in a total of four final rounds. It was Troy Jr.’s first final round of the season, 11th in his Pro Stock career.

The Pro Stock final round was a tight side-by-side drag race. Troy Jr. would leave the starting line first with a .013 reaction time to Enders’ .038. At the finish line, Troy Jr.’s 6.584-second pass at 210.05 mph would defeat Enders’ 6.563 at 210.54 on a hole shot by four thousandths of a second. Continue reading →

EPPING, NH – In front of a sold-out crowd Saturday at New England Dragway, Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage /Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment team and Troy Coughlin Jr. in the JEGS.com / White Castle machine secured the No. 1 and No. 2 qualifying positions for the second consecutive race weekend.

With her 6.488-second pass at 211.79 mph from Friday night, Enders earned the 37th No. 1 of her career, third of the season and first at New England Dragway. Enders started qualifying with the quickest pass of the first session at 6.510 seconds and 211.63 mph earning her six bonus points on Friday.

Securely qualified in the field, Enders and the JHG / Melling team pushed in the first session on Saturday but found the edge smoking the tires to coast to a 16.055 second pass. The six-time world champion closed qualifying efforts Saturday afternoon with a 6.564 run at 211.89. Continue reading →

EPPING, NH – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers team have been on a steady incline as they head into this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the seventh of 20 events on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season schedule.

Stanfield, who also drives in the Factory X class, is coming off two consecutive final round appearances in his JHG / Melling Pro Stock hot rod. At the Charlotte Four-Wide event, Stanfield advanced to the final quad ultimately finishing with runner-up points for being second to the finish-line behind rival Greg Anderson but ahead of Dallas Glenn and teammate Cristian Cuadra. Most recently in Chicago at Route 66 Raceway, Stanfield raced past teammates Fernando Cuadra Jr., Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Jerry Tucker before coming up short to Dallas Glenn for the ninth runner-up finish of his career.

“So far this season this JHG / Melling / Janac Brothers team has had some decent days at the racetrack, but we have not turned on that last win light of the day,” Stanfield said. “New England Dragway has been good to us in the past. It’s a perfect place to get our first win representing the JHG brand. A win is coming, we just need to keep at it.” Continue reading →

JOLIET, IL – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team powered their way to their second consecutive runner-up finish Sunday at the Gerber Glass & Collision NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Stanfield, who was also runner-up in the Factory X class when he came up short to his dad Greg Stanfield, would have to make his way past three Elite Motorsports teammates before facing Dallas Glenn in the finals.

Stanfield started his race day against Fernando Cuadra Jr. Stanfield would get the win at the starting line when F. Cuadra Jr. and the Corral Boots / Cuadra / Columbia Impex car red-lit. Stanfield crossed the finish line in 6.610-seconds at 206.86 mph but sacrificed an engine in the process.

In the second round, Stanfield would line up against veteran and five-time Pro Stock champ, Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer cats-eye gold hot rod. Stanfield would outrun Jeg Jr. with a 6.594 second pass at 208.75 mph to his 6.638 at 207.53. The semifinals would match Stanfield with driver of the Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer / SCAG car, Jerry Tucker. Tucker, who missed Saturday qualifying to see his son graduate from high school, would hand Stanfield the win on the starting line after he left too soon and turned on the red light. Continue reading →

JOLIET, IL – Erica Enders and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment team landed their second No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Gerber Glass & Collision Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Enders, who had her first Pro Stock win at the facility in 2012, had a solid 6.548-second pass at 209.69 mph on Friday evening that would hold through Saturday’s sessions to pick up her 36th overall No. 1 and first at Route 66 Raceway. With the top spot, Enders will face John DeFlorian Jr. in the first round of eliminations. She’ll roll into race day looking for her 50th national event victory, 49th in Pro Stock.

On Saturday, after calling out Greg Anderson in the Gettrx All-Star Callout, Enders’ hotrod ran into trouble to go only 7.096 seconds at 203.09 mph falling short to Anderson’s 6.566 at 208.46. Enders would recover in the final qualifying session for a 6.595 pass at 209.01 in the heat of the day. Continue reading →

JOLIET, IL – Six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders will be returning to the site of her first Pro Stock victory when she and her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment Camaro head into this weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago.

Enders’ first professional victory came on July 1, 2012 when she battled her way through Kurt Johnson, Vincent Nobile and V. Gaines before beating Greg Anderson in the finals. She’d finish that season with four victories and pick up two more in 2013 before joining the Elite Motorsports camp later that year. Now, Enders is on the heels of her 50th career victory, 49th in the professional class of Pro Stock

“It was one of the better days of my life. It took seven years and seven final rounds to make it happen. I had six wins prior to joining Elite Motorsports, now, we’re chasing 50 wins and we have six world championships. We’ve packed a lot of success into these past 10 or 11 years and it’s something that we’re really proud of,” Enders said. “I always like those storybook weekends. We had our first win in Chicago it would be really meaningful to get our 50th there as well. It’s a tall order, there’s going to be a lot of fun racing and we’re going to work.” Continue reading →