GAINESVILLE, FL – In her own words, reigning world champion Erica Enders got the gator off her back this weekend after she powered her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment hot rod to the winners circle Sunday at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway for the first time.

Enders would earn her 49th career win, 48th in Pro Stock, against teammate Cristian Cuadra and his Corral Boots/Cuadra/Columbia Impex car. Enders left the starting line first and had a solid 6.494 second pass at 211.93 mph. Cuadra, who was the No. 2 qualifier, would experience tire shake almost immediately coasting to the finish line in 18.386 seconds.

“Two Elite Motorsports cars in the final round, that’s pretty awesome. The Cuadra Boys, they are a huge asset to this team and to our sport. Those boys are going be a force to be reckoned with, I promise,” Enders said. “Cristian and I joked and talked on Thursday that we should meet in the finals and then we qualified one and two and I was like, we can really do this.

Continue reading →

GAINESVILLE, FL – Six-time world champion Erica Enders in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment Pro Stock car held onto the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway after qualifying for Pro Stock was cut short to only three sessions due to inclement weather.

Enders picked up the 35th No. 1 qualifier of her career, her first at the Gatornationals, with a 6.549-second pass at 208.10 mph on Saturday afternoon. Enders, who earned eight bonus points for her qualifying efforts, is hoping the firsts continue into race day as she hunts down her first win at Gainesville Raceway, the only facility on tour she has not yet won at.

“I definitely feel confident. We have a really great JHG/Melling/SCAG race car this weekend. We’re on the heels of winning a pretty big race a few weeks ago and it seems to be translating just fine. But there’s really great cars out there and a lot of really good drivers so we just have to put our heads down and go to work and hope for no crazy parts failures or weird things happen. Keep the Gator in the pond and try to park the car in the winners circle tomorrow,” said Enders who is referencing her first round loss to teammate Jerry Tucker after her car failed to fire up on the starting line. “I would like to do well here in Gainesville. We really haven’t had much luck.”

Continue reading →

WYNNEWOOD, OK – Kelley Murphy, who works on the JEGs.com / White Castle car of Troy Coughlin Jr. for Elite Motorsports, will be fulfilling a 28-year dream when he makes his Pro Stock debut at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 8-10.

Murphy, whose father Tim worked with Pro Stock legends Steve Schmidt and Mark Ingersoll in the 90s, finished his Pro Stock licensing process on Wednesday, February 21st with two full passes of 6.64 seconds at 188 mph and 6.63 at 190 at Tulsa Raceway Park.

“Rolling up there on Friday for the first time I’m definitely going to be excited. Probably going to be nervous as can be,” said Murphy who will have Mark Ingersoll and Tim Freeman tuning his car with Matt Hasara on the engine and Steven Hurley on the clutch. “I know that as long as I do what I did in Tulsa, I’ll be fine. Just need to take a breath and just do what we know how to do. There are a lot of people who would love to get the chance to do this, professionally race, and I have the opportunity. There are going to be a lot of eyeballs on us, its’ the season opener.”

Continue reading →

BRADENTON, FL – Erica Enders and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment rallied to victory Saturday at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout at Brandenton Motorsports Park. Their win at the inaugural event not only earns them bragging rights but a $125,000 pay day.

In the final round, Enders would race to the quarter-mile in a stout 6.531-seconds at 210.05 mph to take down rival Dave Connolly’s 6.577 at 208.11.

“We are so lucky to have partners like JHG and SCAG. They really dove into this event headfirst and supported this race, not just the race cars but the entire PRO Superstar Shootout. There’s such a sense of pride I feel having partners that believe in what we believe in. You can’t compare it to anything. So, it means a lot to be in that final round, to get that win. I would be lying if I told you my heart rate wasn’t a little higher than normal,” said Enders, who entered the day as the No. 1 qualifier and earned the $10,000 bonus from Lucas Oil.

Continue reading →

BRADENTON, FL – Six-time world champion Erica Enders and her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/SCAG Power Equipment Pro Stock team landed the No. 1 qualifying position Friday at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented by Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage at Brandenton Motorsports Park.

In the final qualifying session, Enders laid down an impressive 6.505-second pass at 210.21 mph to jump from the No. 12 qualifying position to the top spot earning the $10,000 cash bonus provided by Lucas Oil.

“We got here a week ago, and we did some testing and my race car performed awesome. Then we got to qualifying and we struggled. So I was a little nervous but I have a lot of confidence in my guys,” Enders said. “Going up there on that last run sitting No. 12, I asked my crew chief Mark Ingersoll, how do we look, and I could hear the confidence in his voice and then Jake Hairston, my tuner, came over and said we were fixing to go to the top. That gives me confidence behind the wheel.

Continue reading →

WYNNEWOOD, OK – Elite Motorsports, LLC announced today that Scott “Woody” Woodruff has been named the company’s Branding and Motorsports Director.

After a successful career at JEGS spanning nearly 25 years, Woodruff is eager to tackle his next challenge at Elite Motorsports, LLC. He’ll work closely with the litany of brands within the organization, including Elite Motorsports, Elite Performance, Elite HP, Patterson-Elite and Elite Cultivation, helping take each brand to a new level.

“I’m really excited about the new role and taking the things I learned the past 24 years and the relationships I’ve forged in the industry, and using a lot of that at Elite Motorsports, LLC,” Woodruff said. “I’m really looking forward to helping organize and streamline everything for all the different brands and companies, and making each program stronger and stronger.”

Woodruff has built an impressive reputation in the drag racing world, helping put the JEGS brand front and center in the sport for nearly a quarter-century. He’ll look to have a similar impact with the Elite Motorsports, LLC brand, which has enjoyed immense success in a number of different areas within motorsports.

Continue reading →

ORLANDO, FL – Erica Enders accomplished a great deal last season, making more history in her incredible Pro Stock career.  But there was one thing missing and it’s something she can rectify right off the bat to open her 2021 season. The four-time Pro Stock world champ will race at this weekend’s second annual CTECH World Doorslammer Nationals presented by JEGS at Orlando Speed World Dragway, with the Pro Stock winner again earning $75,000.

Like last year, it’s the biggest single-race prize in Pro Stock’s illustrious 50-plus year history and something Enders would love to add to her long list of accomplishments in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

She had an uncharacteristic first-round loss at the inaugural race last year, which only adds to her motivation heading into the weekend.

Continue reading →