Elite Motorsports Enters Rockingham With Multiple NHRA Countdown Contenders

One race into the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, Elite Motorsports already has plenty to feel good about.

The powerhouse organization heads to Rockingham Dragway for the NHRA Nationals at The Rock with Greg Stanfield sitting second in the Pro Stock standings, Troy Coughlin Jr. coming off a dramatic victory that vaulted him five spots in the points, Jeg Coughlin Jr. moving forward after another semifinal appearance, and Tony Stewart climbing to third in Top Fuel. That’s exactly the kind of momentum a team wants when the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series moves deeper into its six-race championship sprint.

Nobody inside the Elite Motorsports camp made a bigger move at the Countdown opener than Troy Coughlin Jr.

Driving the midnight JEGS Pro Stock machine, Coughlin snapped a 41-race winless streak with a victory at the NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. The win moved him from 10th to fifth in the Pro Stock standings in a single race.

Coughlin scored a holeshot victory over Greg Anderson and then defeated current points leader Matt Hartford in the final round. That kind of Sunday can change the entire feel of a championship run.

“We celebrated for sure, enjoyed that victory, but the next day I was back in the simulator and getting ready for Rockingham,” Troy Jr. said. “We’re going to see how the tree is going to look, where the sun is going to come in, and we’re going to study and prepare the absolute best that we can. We’re going to go up and try and make really nice runs all weekend long, just like we did in Michigan.

“You can see the boost in confidence on my guys’ faces. We had a blast on race day. And when we have a blast, you remember how fun this is because winning is hard,” Troy Jr. continued. “I can’t even imagine having to tune a Pro Stock car. There are so many things to adjust, so many things that have to go right, and so many conditions that you have to see and study. A lot of experience really helps in cases with ever-changing conditions, but there’s a lot of youth upstairs in our crew chief room. Look at Chase Freeman, Kyle Bates, Anthony Lum and you’ve got Timmy Freeman and Mark Ingersoll up there as the two seniors for guidance. You can’t get any better guidance than that. The future of Pro Stock is really bright. We’re really excited.”

Greg Stanfield continues to be one of the most consistent drivers in Pro Stock. The Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet Camaro driver reached his eighth semifinal of the season at U.S. 131, and that steady stream of late-round appearances has moved him into second in the championship standings.

Stanfield already owns a victory at the Sonoma Nationals this season, but his real strength has been consistency. He keeps showing up late on Sunday, and in the Countdown, that matters.

One big win can move a driver several positions, but repeatedly reaching semifinals and finals is often what keeps a championship bid alive over six races. Stanfield’s ability to keep stacking round wins has put Elite Motorsports right in the middle of the Pro Stock title fight heading into North Carolina.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. has also been trending in the right direction. The five-time Pro Stock world champion reached the semifinals in Michigan, where his day ended against nephew Troy Coughlin Jr.

That came after Jeg Jr. reached the final round at the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend. Those two strong performances have moved him from seventh at the start of the Countdown to sixth heading into Rockingham. That may not sound like a massive jump, but in a tightly packed playoff field, every position and every round win matters. The classic yellow-and-black JEGS car has been showing signs of life at exactly the right time.

Elite Motorsports also has a serious championship contender in Top Fuel. Tony Stewart enters Rockingham third in the standings, one spot better than where he started the Countdown.

Stewart reached the semifinals at U.S. 131, building on the momentum from his second consecutive U.S. Nationals final-round appearance. The R+L Carriers team also gave Stewart another career milestone in Michigan. During his second-round victory over multi-time world champion Antron Brown, Stewart ran a career-best speed of 343.51 mph.

That’s a pretty serious number, and more importantly, crew chiefs Mike Green and Joe Barlam appear to be finding the consistency they’ve been looking for. Stewart is now only 79 points out of the Top Fuel lead. With five Countdown races still remaining, that keeps him very much alive in the championship hunt.

With only five races remaining, the championship picture is already starting to take shape. Elite Motorsports leaves Michigan knowing what a good Countdown weekend looks like. Now the team heads to The Rock trying to do it again and put its drivers into even better positions to win an NHRA championship.