INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Joining the Elite Motorsports team at this weekend’s Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals will be two lucky sweepstake winners. Thanks to Melling Performance, Mike Wendt and his guest Ken Stenger will be honorary crew members for the day on Saturday, August 31.

Wendt, from Midland, Michigan, is a former racer himself who hasn’t been to an event in 25 years. He entered Melling’s contest for the crew member experience from an ad on enginelabs.com. Melling’s contest was in conjunction with their efforts to spread the word of the CARS ACT H.R. 4468, the bill limits the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to regulating emissions standards for new motor vehicles.

“Melling is proud to have two crew members for a day that showed they care about car culture and keeping an option for driving a hot rod with horsepower,” said Mark Melling, President and CEO of Melling. “In spreading the word about the CARS ACT, we wanted to find a way to provide our customers with the pertinent information while giving them an experience they won’t forget. What better way than the experience of a lifetime at the NHRA U.S. Nationals? Thank you to Elite Motorsports and Mike and Ken for making the Melling Supports CARS ACT promotion a success.” Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Elite Motorsports, NHRA’s largest professional team, certainly has history on their side as they head into this weekend’s Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP), NHRA’s most prestigious drag race and the final event of the regular season.

Six-time world champions Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin Jr., have plenty of experience heading to the winners circle at the historical event. Enders has three professional wins in 2015, 2020, 2021 and reached the finals in 2019 and in 2012 when she was also No.1 qualifier. Coughlin has three professional event wins at the U.S. Nationals four at Indianapolis Raceway Park but the Coughlin family as a whole has secured eight total victories at IRP.

For Enders, her history at IRP goes back to her Jr. Dragster days. She was part of the Jr. Dragster League’s inaugural Jr. Dragster Nationals held at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1994. Enders raced her way to the finals before finishing runner-up. Fast forward to her rookie season of the Lucas Oil Sportsman Series, Enders, driving in Super Comp, got down to the final three cars in a field of 164. Then, in 2015, Enders landed her first professional U.S. Nationals victory. It was her 18th national event win and at the time, tied Shirley Muldowney for most female wins. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – The three Cuadra brothers, Fernando Jr. and twins Cristian and David, made history on Sunday afternoon when they all three raced their Corral Boots / Cuadra / Columbia Impex hot rods to first-round wins at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

While it was the first time the three Cuadra brothers had all made it out of the first round together, it was also the first time in NHRA history that three brothers all had first-round victories in a professional category. Their father, Fernando Cuadra Sr., who retired from Pro Stock racing after running the four-wide with his family in Charlotte earlier this season, was onsite to witness his sons’ best weekend of racing.

“The first time ever they’ve all gotten to the quarterfinals together. I’ve been dreaming about it. They’ve made some history, the first time it’s been done in the history of the U.S. in a pro category. I have to say thank you to Elite Motorsports and everyone who put in so much effort on these race cars,” Fernando Sr. said. “Richard [Freeman] said let’s change the springs and oil because it’s going to be a long day, and it was a long day. Unfortunately, luck was against us in the semifinals, but we have cars that are going to be very competitive for the rest of the season. There are no easy rounds anymore and whoever cuts the better light is going to win. It’s going to be fun to watch.” Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – Jerry Tucker and the Mile Hi Light Beer / SCAG Power Equipment team earned their second No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Tucker, who picked up the first No. 1 position of his Pro Stock career earlier this season at the Las Vegas Four-Wide event, handled his Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer machine to a 6.612-second pass at 207.78 mph during the second session on Saturday.

“We knew we had this type of performance in us. We went to Sonoma, and we were probably the fastest car, but I let the team down,” said Tucker who is looking for his first Pro Stock victory on Sunday. “We went over to Rock Falls and did some testing, and we were faster than Jeg [Coughlin Jr.] and TJ [Troy Coughlin Jr.] and Erica [Enders]. When the car is that fast, it’s a lot of pressure on a guy not to mess up a good deal.”

Tucker stayed consistent throughout qualifying opening the weekend with a 6.619-second pass at 206.76 mph on Friday afternoon before inclement weather postponed the second session to Saturday and Tucker laid down his No. 1 pass. In the third qualifying session, Tucker would run a 6.626 pass at 207.40 before closing out the night with a 6.619 run at 206.73. Tucker will start his race day with a matchup against Mason McGaha. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – Elite Motorsports enters this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) motivated to keep the team’s six-race win streak alive. The team put their two-week break from the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season to good use with an exhibition event at Rockfalls Raceway in Minnesota.

Six-time and reigning world champion Erica Enders, three-time 2024 national event winner Aaron Stanfield, six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., New England Nationals champion Troy Coughlin Jr., second year pro Jerry Tucker, and brothers David Cuadra and Fernando Cuadra Jr. competed at the NHRA Division 5 National Open Double Header in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Enders, who is looking for her second victory of the 2024 NHRA season (which would be her 50th national event win, 49th in Pro Stock) and third at BIR (2015, 2012), defeated Fernando Cuadra Jr. in the finals. Cuadra Jr. would leave the starting line first with a .016 reaction time but Enders’ 6.550 at 209.36 was enough to run down his 6.572 at 209.91. Continue reading →

EAU CLAIRE, WI – Seven Elite Motorsports drivers will make a special appearance at the NHRA Division 5 National Open Double Header this weekend at Rock Falls Raceway.

Taking to the track on Friday and Saturday will be six-time and reigning world champion Erica Enders, three-time 2024 national event winner Aaron Stanfield, six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr., New England Nationals champion Troy Coughlin Jr., second year pro Jerry Tucker, and brothers David Cuadra and Fernando Cuadra Jr. While nine different NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes compete for cash prizes on both Saturday and Sunday, each Pro Stock hot rod will make two qualifying runs on Friday with three rounds of eliminations on Saturday.

“Getting to race at Rockfalls is always a good time. It gives us a chance to show a market we don’t usually race in what Elite Motorsports is all about. It’s really perfect timing for us too,” Enders said. “With just two races left before we start the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, getting some extra runs is helpful. The guys always have a blast too.”

Rock Falls Raceway is owned by Wisconsin businessman and Competition Eliminator Champion Jim Greenheck who is also the owner of Elite Motorsports’ partner CTech Manufacturing. CTech provides Elite with all their custom aluminum cabinets and toolboxes both at their headquarters in Wynnewood, Oklahoma and on the road at 20 different Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series events. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers team earned their third win in four races Sunday at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Stanfield rallied to his 28th career national event victory, 11th in Pro Stock and second at Sonoma Raceway, by taking down Pro Stock rookie Cory Reed in the finals. Stanfield would have the starting line advantage and never trail for a 6.540-second pass at 209.98 mph to Reed’s 6.557 at 209.65.

“This is a great win, but I want to shout out to Cory Reed for going to the final in his second race. I wish I could have done that. Also, we lost a good friend, Tim “the Iceman” Kelly to cancer and I wanted to get it done for him,” Stanfield said. “This is a great win. I just did my normal routine. I think I’m driving better this year and I’d love to continue that. We made some good runs this weekend. Unfortunately, our ladder stacked up that a lot of the heavy hitters were on one side. I knew we had a tough road to get here. So, it feels good, ultimately a really good day. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Tory Coughlin Jr. and the JEGS.com / White Castle team rallied to their first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory of the season Saturday at the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Troy Jr. picked up the win against his uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer team on a holeshot. With a .024 reaction time and 6.529 second pass at 211.63 mph Troy Jr. bettered Jeg Jr.’s .052 and 6.552 at 211.26.

“This was tons of fun. It’s fantastic facing uncle Jeg especially at this majestic facility in front of these awesome fans. Our team has worked their tails off to make these cars competitive. We’ve struggled a bit on race day but it’s coming together,” Troy Jr. said. “I didn’t think that .024 reaction time would be enough but it was, this time. I’ve thought about racing against Jeg for about 28 years. It doesn’t matter if it’s a local race or a big bracket race or NHRA Pro Stock. It is great to race against him. To do this is a dream fulfilled.”

Troy Jr. reached the final round after first defeating Dallas Glenn in a rematch of the NHRA Northwest Nationals semifinals. Troy Jr. would have another hole shot victory with his .018 reaction time and 6.518-second run at 210.54 mph to Glenn’s .072 reaction time with a 6.497 run at 211.00. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – The NHRA’s largest professional team enters this weekend’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway on a five-race win streak and with seven wins in the first 11 events on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series 20-race schedule.

Three of those seven wins and two in the streak of five belong to six-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Beer team. Jeg Jr. came out of retirement to return to Pro Stock competition at the beginning of this season after three years away. “The Natural,” as he’s been nicknamed, has indeed made the return look natural picking up his first win of the season at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. Jeg Jr. then won the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee and enters this weekend with a chance to sweep the “Western Swing” after racing to victory from the No. 10 position at Pacific Raceways near Seattle.

“Elite Motorsports has done well as a whole. It’s a testament to our team, our stamina, our abilities, our people and our crew chiefs. The cars have become efficient, consistent and have been printing better time slips so a tip of the hat to our crew chief bank for making this happen. They’re really working hard and trying to keep us upfront,” Jeg Jr. said. “Mark Ingersoll, Tim Freeman, Chase Freeman, Kyle Bates, Anthony Lum, Jake Hariston, Richard Freeman, our entire team really gets a big high five. They made fine tune changes in Seattle and when the car should have been slowing down in those second and third rounds, we were pecking at it and making it quicker. Hopefully we can carry that over and keep the streak going in Sonoma.” Continue reading →

KENT, WA – Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer machine rallied to their third win of the season Sunday at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle.

Jeg Jr.’s 68th Pro Stock win was also the fifth consecutive victory from the Elite Motorsports camp. The largest team in NHRA Drag Racing began their streak with Jeg Jr.’s second victory of the season at Bristol Dragway before his nephew Tory Coughlin Jr. landed the JEGS.com / White Castle car in the winners circle in Epping, New Hampshire and then Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers team earned back-to-back victories in Virginia and Ohio.

“It feels fantastic. It’s just kind of a corny statement, but the Elite team, as a whole has obviously done very well. We’ve won all but three of the events this year, which is a real testament to our stamina and our abilities,” Jeg Jr. said. “We’ve been struggling with some consistency, and we really feel like we’ve made the corner in multiple ways in the last two or three weeks, not because we’ve won the events, but because the cars have become more efficient, they’re accelerating better, and printing better time slips. So, you know, a real tip of the hat to our whole crew chief bank in the Elite pits.” Continue reading →