INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 27, 2025) – Aaron Stanfield and his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team enter this weekend’s Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as the reigning event champions.
Stanfield, a young drag racing phenom, had his versatility on full display last year at the U.S. Nationals, where he clinched victories in both Pro Stock and Factory X, a rare feat that further cemented his status as one of the sport’s top talents. Stanfield enters the “Big Go” with momentum and a hunger to back up his historic double-up performance at one of drag racing’s most iconic venues
“Indy is a special race, it’s the Big Go, one of the biggest races in drag racing with so much history and prestige,” Stanfield said. “It carries a little extra for me this year. Coming in being the defending champ, knowing I won in two categories last year, it’s kind of surreal. Hopefully, that good mojo from last year is still out there for us.”
Stanfield currently sits fifth in the Pro Stock points standings with a runner-up finish to his father, Greg, at the Sonoma Nationals last month. Aaron also has four semifinal finishes including the most recent Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota where he qualified 15th and defeated teammate Cristian Cuadra and then Cory Reed before falling short to eventual event winner and reigning world champion Greg Anderson.
“This Elite Motorsports team has been working hard this year, both on and off the racetrack,” Stanfield noted. “We’ve faced some challenges, but it really seems to be coming together. All about timing, and I think the timing is right as we end the regular season and get set for the Countdown to the Championship.”
As the final race before the six-race playoff style NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the U.S. Nationals offers Stanfield and his JHG / Melling Pro Stock machine a chance to build momentum and defend their title on drag racing’s grandest stage.
Hoping to create some history of her own, six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, the most decorated female driver in motorsports history, is chasing her 50th national event win (49th in Pro Stock). It would also be her fourth U.S. Nationals victory, which would make her the winningest professional female in the event’s storied history, surpassing her current tie with Pro Stock Motorcycle legend Angelle Sampey at three Indy wins. Enders picked up victories at the event in 2015, 2020 and 2021 and finished runner-up in 2012 and 2019.
“I’ve been racing in Indy since the inaugural Jr. Dragster Nationals back in 1994,” reflected Enders who drives the JHG / Melling / SCAG Power Equipment car. “This place holds a ton of fantastic memories, and we are hopeful to add to the list this weekend. I remember my first Pro Stock U.S. Nationals win in 2015. I was the Grand Marshal of the event, won the race, and tied Shirley Muldowney for career wins at 18. We won three out of the four rounds on holeshots, and it was an amazing day.”
A win this weekend would be Enders’ first of the season. She finished runner up at the New England Nationals in June and is coming off a semifinal performance at Brainerd International Raceway, giving her an opportunity to win this weekend’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge where she’ll rematch against semifinal opponent Dallas Glenn in hopes of earning a cash prize and valuable championship points.
“I feel like we turned a corner in Brainerd, and the work and testing hasn’t stopped,” Enders said. “They can’t keep us down forever, and I promise there is a fire lit under my teammates and me. If we can get within striking distance, they are in trouble. Regardless of the final outcome of this rough season, I’m proud of what we are doing together, as a group. We have been through stuff that would crush others, and we just keep swinging.”
As the final race of the regular season, the U.S. Nationals offers Enders and her JHG / Melling / SCAG team a chance to chase another Wally trophy and add to her legacy at Indy.
“It’s hard to explain the meaning of Indy to someone on the outside looking in,” Enders said. “It’s just different, and the significance of winning here is unparalleled.”
Jeg Coughlin Jr., driver of the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Light Beer car, knows the significance of winning the U.S. Nationals. The five-time Pro Stock champion, six-time NHRA champion, has also visited the winners circle three times at the event in 2000, 2002 and 2009 and he picked up a win at Indianapolis Raceway Park during the abbreviated Covid 19 2020 season when NHRA raced at the track multiple times. Jeg Jr. is currently seventh in points with a runner-up finish from the Northwest Nationals in Seattle and a semifinal appearance at the season opener in Gainesville, Florida that led to a victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the Arizona Nationals.
Also with a win under his belt at the U.S. Nationals, veteran racer and driver of the Janac Brothers Racing / The Rod Shop machine, Greg Stanfield. Greg picked up his U.S. Nationals win in 2010. This season, he was the first in the Elite Motorsports camp to celebrate a victory, defeating his son at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. He starts the U.S. Nationals from eighth in points.
Joining Elite Motorsport’s past U.S. Nationals event winners with hopes of their first win at the facility are: Troy Coughlin Jr. in the JEGS.com entry who is currently 13th in points, Stephen Bell in the 1320 LLC car who has a runner-up finish from the U.S. Nationals in Factory Stock Showdown in 2023 and the trio of Caudra Boys Racing, Fernando Cuadra Jr., Cristian Cuadra and David Cuadra in their Corral Tequila / Corral Belts / Cuadra machines.
Competition at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals starts with five rounds of qualifying Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 and 3:15 p.m. and Sunday at noon and 2:45 p.m. Eliminations will take place Labor Day Monday beginning at 10 a.m. with first round of Pro Stock at 11:05 a.m. Television coverage of the event will begin on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a qualifying show Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, a show dedicated to covering the PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout at 5 p.m. ET and a second qualifying show at 6:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will begin to air Monday on FS1 at noon ET before switching over to FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) for live eliminations at 2 p.m. ET.
The post AARON STANFIELD LOOKS TO DEFEND 2024 TITLE WHILE ERICA ENDERS CHASES HISTORY AT NHRA U.S. NATIONALS appeared first on Elite Motorsports, LLC..
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Stanfield, a young drag racing phenom, had his versatility on full display last year at the U.S. Nationals, where he clinched victories in both Pro Stock and Factory X, a rare feat that further cemented his status as one of the sport’s top talents. Stanfield enters the “Big Go” with momentum and a hunger to back up his historic double-up performance at one of drag racing’s most iconic venues
“Indy is a special race, it’s the Big Go, one of the biggest races in drag racing with so much history and prestige,” Stanfield said. “It carries a little extra for me this year. Coming in being the defending champ, knowing I won in two categories last year, it’s kind of surreal. Hopefully, that good mojo from last year is still out there for us.”
Stanfield currently sits fifth in the Pro Stock points standings with a runner-up finish to his father, Greg, at the Sonoma Nationals last month. Aaron also has four semifinal finishes including the most recent Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota where he qualified 15th and defeated teammate Cristian Cuadra and then Cory Reed before falling short to eventual event winner and reigning world champion Greg Anderson.
“This Elite Motorsports team has been working hard this year, both on and off the racetrack,” Stanfield noted. “We’ve faced some challenges, but it really seems to be coming together. All about timing, and I think the timing is right as we end the regular season and get set for the Countdown to the Championship.”
As the final race before the six-race playoff style NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the U.S. Nationals offers Stanfield and his JHG / Melling Pro Stock machine a chance to build momentum and defend their title on drag racing’s grandest stage.
Hoping to create some history of her own, six-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, the most decorated female driver in motorsports history, is chasing her 50th national event win (49th in Pro Stock). It would also be her fourth U.S. Nationals victory, which would make her the winningest professional female in the event’s storied history, surpassing her current tie with Pro Stock Motorcycle legend Angelle Sampey at three Indy wins. Enders picked up victories at the event in 2015, 2020 and 2021 and finished runner-up in 2012 and 2019.“I’ve been racing in Indy since the inaugural Jr. Dragster Nationals back in 1994,” reflected Enders who drives the JHG / Melling / SCAG Power Equipment car. “This place holds a ton of fantastic memories, and we are hopeful to add to the list this weekend. I remember my first Pro Stock U.S. Nationals win in 2015. I was the Grand Marshal of the event, won the race, and tied Shirley Muldowney for career wins at 18. We won three out of the four rounds on holeshots, and it was an amazing day.”
A win this weekend would be Enders’ first of the season. She finished runner up at the New England Nationals in June and is coming off a semifinal performance at Brainerd International Raceway, giving her an opportunity to win this weekend’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge where she’ll rematch against semifinal opponent Dallas Glenn in hopes of earning a cash prize and valuable championship points.
“I feel like we turned a corner in Brainerd, and the work and testing hasn’t stopped,” Enders said. “They can’t keep us down forever, and I promise there is a fire lit under my teammates and me. If we can get within striking distance, they are in trouble. Regardless of the final outcome of this rough season, I’m proud of what we are doing together, as a group. We have been through stuff that would crush others, and we just keep swinging.”
As the final race of the regular season, the U.S. Nationals offers Enders and her JHG / Melling / SCAG team a chance to chase another Wally trophy and add to her legacy at Indy.
“It’s hard to explain the meaning of Indy to someone on the outside looking in,” Enders said. “It’s just different, and the significance of winning here is unparalleled.”
Jeg Coughlin Jr., driver of the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Light Beer car, knows the significance of winning the U.S. Nationals. The five-time Pro Stock champion, six-time NHRA champion, has also visited the winners circle three times at the event in 2000, 2002 and 2009 and he picked up a win at Indianapolis Raceway Park during the abbreviated Covid 19 2020 season when NHRA raced at the track multiple times. Jeg Jr. is currently seventh in points with a runner-up finish from the Northwest Nationals in Seattle and a semifinal appearance at the season opener in Gainesville, Florida that led to a victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the Arizona Nationals.
Also with a win under his belt at the U.S. Nationals, veteran racer and driver of the Janac Brothers Racing / The Rod Shop machine, Greg Stanfield. Greg picked up his U.S. Nationals win in 2010. This season, he was the first in the Elite Motorsports camp to celebrate a victory, defeating his son at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. He starts the U.S. Nationals from eighth in points.
Joining Elite Motorsport’s past U.S. Nationals event winners with hopes of their first win at the facility are: Troy Coughlin Jr. in the JEGS.com entry who is currently 13th in points, Stephen Bell in the 1320 LLC car who has a runner-up finish from the U.S. Nationals in Factory Stock Showdown in 2023 and the trio of Caudra Boys Racing, Fernando Cuadra Jr., Cristian Cuadra and David Cuadra in their Corral Tequila / Corral Belts / Cuadra machines.
Competition at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals starts with five rounds of qualifying Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 and 3:15 p.m. and Sunday at noon and 2:45 p.m. Eliminations will take place Labor Day Monday beginning at 10 a.m. with first round of Pro Stock at 11:05 a.m. Television coverage of the event will begin on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a qualifying show Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, a show dedicated to covering the PlayNHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout at 5 p.m. ET and a second qualifying show at 6:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will begin to air Monday on FS1 at noon ET before switching over to FOX Broadcasting Network (FOX) for live eliminations at 2 p.m. ET.
The post AARON STANFIELD LOOKS TO DEFEND 2024 TITLE WHILE ERICA ENDERS CHASES HISTORY AT NHRA U.S. NATIONALS appeared first on Elite Motorsports, LLC..
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