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ELITE MOTORSPORTS LOOKS TO TURN UP THE COUNTDOWN HEAT IN THE LONE STAR STATE

Enders Aims To Extend Pro Stock Points Lead Amidst Stout Competition
Elite Motorsports Pre-Race Preview
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
ENNIS, Texas. (October 12, 2022) – The Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team is feeling confident as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series rolls into the Dallas area for the 37th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex this weekend. Four-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders continues to lead the points in the heated Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs, with a 120-point lead over her teammate Aaron Stanfield, who is in the second position in points standings. 
“We are really excited to start the second half of the Countdown,” said Enders. “Especially after securing two wins and a semifinal finish in the first three races. We currently have a sizable lead but, of course, it’s still not enough of a cushion. We are heading into Dallas as prepared as possible and ready to fight for our fifth title. The competition is stout and I’m sure they will do everything they can to throw us off our game, but we are Elite for a reason.”
The Texas Motorplex has been very good to Stanfield in his sportsman racing career and he’s eager to add a Pro Stock win at the fan-favorite facility. 
“We are ready to go for Dallas,” said Stanfield. “This is my home track and where I got my first national event win. We are looking for a cowboy hat to add to the collection.” 
Sitting fourth on the Countdown points leaderboard, Elite Motorsports standout Troy Coughlin Jr. is experiencing the best season of his Pro Stock career.
“Our goal as a unit is to make eight awesome runs, one run at a time,” said Coughlin. “The guys have worked hard servicing and cleaning and now it’s time to continue to show how awesome this group is.”
Bo Butner is turning up the heat in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro. The 2017 Pro Stock world champion is currently ninth in the points and has been making a lot of forward progress in the back half of the season.
The Cuadra Boys, Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian, are poised for disruption coming into the lone star state. All three talented drivers are looking for their first Pro Stock win, an outcome that would certainly shake things up in the Countdown points standings.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competition kicks off this Friday, October 14 with the first session of qualifying at 2:30 p.m. central. 
Sportsman Snapshot
In the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon, Elite Motorsports driver Lyle Barnett is looking to add another national event win to his season and defend his title. The talented driver scored his first win last year at this event, a highlight of his rookie season. He is in contention to finish in the top 5 this season. 
David Cuadra will be competing in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Sportsman category. Aydan Patterson will be representing the Patterson-Elite Performance team in Super Stock along with Jay Storey who will be competing in Stock.
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Elite Motorsports Stats And Facts For Countdown Contention
The Elite Motorsports team will field seven Pro Stock entries during this week’s NHRA Texas FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. The Elite team is the largest in professional drag racing and features Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra and his two sons, Fernando Jr. and Cristian.
This week’s event held just outside Dallas marks the fourth round of the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff to determine season champions. All seven Elite cars are in contention for the championship. Four-time world champion Enders is the leader followed by Stanfield (2), Coughlin Jr. (4), Butner (9), Cuadra Jr. (12), C. Cuadra (13), Cuadra Sr. (15).
Two weeks ago in St. Louis, Erica Enders won her eighth event of the season by beating Dallas Glenn in the final round. As a result, Enders has a 120-point lead over teammate Aaron Stanfield in the battle for the championship. Enders has won eight of the 16 events contested so far this season and has appeared in 10 of 16 possible final rounds.
There have been 16 Pro Stock events so far this season and Team Elite has won 13 of them. Enders has eight victories while Stanfield has three and Coughlin has two. Elite cars have also appeared in final rounds 23 times, as more than once, the final round has come down to two Elite-powered machines.
Erica EndersFour-time world champion Enders is off to the best start of her career with a record of 44-8 during eliminations, Enders has the highest winning percentage (.846) of any NHRA pro this season.
Enders won the Dallas race in 2015, beating Jonathan Gray in the final round. She was also a finalist in Dallas in 2012.
During her professional career, Enders has competed in 331 races and has 41 victories in 71 final rounds. Her overall win-loss record is 428-239.
Enders currently holds both the elapsed time and speed record for the NHRA Pro Stock class with career bests of 6.450-seconds and 215.55 mph.
Aaron StanfieldStanfield, the driver of the Janac Bros/J3 Energy Camaro, finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed behind Enders thanks largely to victories in Phoenix and Bristol and four runner-up finishes in Pomona, Epping, Norwalk, and Denver. Stanfield is currently No. 2 in the Pro Stock class, 120 points out of first place following his most recent win in Charlotte.
Stanfield has a record of 33-13 this season and six of those losses have come against teammate Enders.
Stanfield won the 2020 Dallas event in the Factory Stock Showdown class, beating David Kramer in the final round. He also won in Super Stock here in 2015.
Stanfield has won seven Pro Stock events in 13 career final rounds. He is also a two-time world champion in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. All told, Stanfield has 19 career wins in Pro Stock, Factory Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster.
Stanfield’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.457-seconds and 213.47 mph, both set this year in Gainesville.
Troy Coughlin Jr.Troy Coughlin Jr., the driver of the JEGS.comCamaro, finished the regular season as the No. 6 ranked Pro Stock driver but is currently fourth after his runner-up finish in Reading, semifinal finish in Charlotte, and quarterfinal in St. Louis. Earlier this year, Coughlin scored his first professional wins with back-to-back victories in Seattle and Topeka.
In addition to his two Pro Stock victories this year, the multi-faceted Coughlin has additional wins in Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, and Super Gas.
Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., is a 15-time national event winner in Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas. Including his uncles, John, Mike, and Jeg Jr., the Coughlin family has combined to win 130 national event titles.
Coughlin’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.521-seconds and 211.93 mph, set this year in Sonoma and Gainesville, respectively.
Bo ButnerBo Butner is a two-time NHRA world champion in Pro Stock (2017) and Comp Eliminator (2006). He joined the Elite team this season driving the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro.
So far in 2022, Butner has an 8-16 round win record in Pro Stock competition. He is currently the No. 9 ranked driver in the class but is just eight points out of eighth place.
Butner has 29 career national event victories including 11 in Pro Stock. He also has multiple wins in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas, and Super Street to his name. Recently, Butner won back-to-back events in Indianapolis and Reading in the Super Gas class.
Butner won the Dallas race in 1999, defeating five-time world champ Jimmy DeFrank in the Super Stock final.
Butner’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.475-seconds and 214.28 mph, set in Dallas (2015) and Gainesville (2017), respectively.
The Cuadra BoysThe Cuadra family including Fernando Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian, joined Elite Motorsports this season with their three-car Corral Boots team.
Fernando Sr. is a two-time national event runner-up with final round appearances at 2019 races in Reading and Pomona. Cristian Cuadra was the runner-up to Enders at the 2022 Four-Wide event in Las Vegas.
All three Cuadra entries will contend for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock title during the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The Cuadra family has career-best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.), and 6.528 (Cristian) – all of them recorded at the 2022 Gainesville event. Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), and 210.73 (Fernando Jr.). 
Collectively, the seven Team Elite drivers have combined to win 101 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 61 in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock category.