Whilst there may have been a two-week break in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, there was no rest for Elite Motorsports as the largest professional team in drag racing worked nonstop to improve performance in all areas of its robust racing program. 

To prepare for the Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance, the team utilized an AVL system to monitor engine behavior in real-time during testing. The system provided additional data that will contribute to tuning decisions made at the track. Armed with this additional information, the Elite Pro Stock fleet is primed for competition at the iconic Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago. The series returns to traditional side-by-side racing after having completed back-to-back four-wide races. 

This race will be a pinnacle event this season as four Elite Motorsports Pro Stock drivers will compete in the Pro Stock All-Star Callout, a race-within-a-race that will take place during qualifying on Saturday. Current Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders will compete in the Callout with her teammates Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Cristian Cuadra. Additionally, four KB-powered Pro Stock drivers - Dallas Glenn, Matt Hartford, Kyle Koretsky and Camrie Caruso - will vie for victory in this specialty race. Drivers will have the opportunity to call out their competitors and, if similar competitions in Top Fuel and Funny Car are to serve as any indicators, there will likely be several side bets increasing the level of heated competition. The Pro Stock All-Star Callout will be televised in a specially dedicated broadcast on NHRA on FOX.

The Elite Motorsports team has a solid history at Route 66 Raceway. Enders achieved one of the most memorable milestones in the sport during the 2012 season when she defeated Greg Anderson in the final round to become NHRA’s first female Pro Stock winner. She also appeared in final rounds in Joliet in 2005, 2011, 2017, and 2019, the last time NHRA held a national event at the facility. Coughlin is looking forward to continuing his family’s legacy of success in Chicago. His uncle, Jeg Coughlin Jr., has won more than any other professional driver at Route 66 Raceway. 

Former Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner has been gaining traction all season long and plans to make some big moves over the course of the next few weeks in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro. His teammate, rookie Jerry Tucker, will be competing for the first time at Route 66 Raceway and his team is also primed and ready for a successful performance. 

The Cuadra Boys, Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons, Fernando Cuadra Jr., Cristian Cuadra and David Cuadra, have become a force to be reckoned with in the Pro Stock ranks. This talented drag racing family is poised to bring their first victory back to their home in Leon, Mexico. 

Mountain Motor Pro Stock will take to the track for the first time this season at Route 66 Raceway. Elite Motorsports driver Pete Berner will be making his Mountain Motor debut with his teammate Enders. Both talented drivers are eager to compete in this exciting category.

In the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports, Mason Wright will once again compete behind the wheel of his Elite-powered Pro Mod machine. He is within striking distance of the top ten and is looking to make some big moves this weekend. 

Stanfield will not only be competing in Pro Stock, but he will also race in the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown.

Qualifying opens on Friday, May 19 at 5 p.m. CT, leading into qualifying at 1 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 20. Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, May 21. The opening round of the NHRA Pro Stock All-Star Callout takes place at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, followed by the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. and the final round at 4:55 p.m. CT.