Elite Motorsports Eyes NHRA Countdown Sweep At St. Louis

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship is only two races old, and Elite Motorsports hasn’t let anybody else win yet.

First, Troy Coughlin Jr. ended a 41-race winless streak with a victory at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. One week later, Greg Stanfield kept the streak alive at Rockingham Dragway and took over the Pro Stock points lead in the process.

Now Elite Motorsports heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for the 13th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals with an opportunity to do something even bigger: sweep the first three races of the 2026 Countdown to the Championship.

St. Louis is the final stop in a grueling three-race stretch and marks the halfway point of the six-event playoffs. With Stanfield leading the championship and Elite coming off back-to-back victories, the team has plenty of momentum heading into one of the most important weekends of the season.

Elite Motorsports entered the Countdown with plenty of cars capable of making noise, but it was Troy Coughlin Jr. who struck first. Driving the midnight JEGS Pro Stock machine, Coughlin put together a nearly flawless race day at the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

The victory ended a 41-race drought for Coughlin and gave him the sixth Pro Stock national event win of his career. Coughlin finished the job by defeating Matt Hartford in the final round, immediately putting himself back into the championship conversation.

“I love the history of drag racing, it’s something that’s in my blood and I couldn’t be prouder to be racing with this Elite Motorsports team,” Troy Jr. said. “Everybody at Elite Motorsports, from top to bottom, they work extremely hard. They work themselves to exhaustion to give us the best that they can and be the best individuals they can be, and it bleeds into the driver seat. My job is to stay staged shallow, let the clutch out, bang for the gears, keep her in the pipes, and just really stay within my side of the fence. I’m really, really lucky. I’m probably the luckiest driver here to have such a wonderful group of guys working on the JEGS machine.”

One week after Coughlin delivered in Michigan, Greg Stanfield took his turn. The veteran driver brought his Janac Brothers Racing entry to the inaugural NHRA Nationals at The Rock with a championship opportunity in front of him, and he didn’t waste it.

Stanfield reached the final against rookie Cody Anderson and used a strong reaction time to score a holeshot victory. The win was his second of the season and eighth of his Pro Stock career. It also moved Stanfield into the championship lead.

“Anybody can win in this class right now. It is incredible how tight it is, so the points battle is going to go all the way to the end. It’s going to come down to who makes a good run at the right time,” Stanfield said. “If we can just keep surviving and try to close out when we should it’s going to be a good end of the year.”

For Stanfield, being able to focus primarily on driving has been one of the advantages of racing within the Elite Motorsports organization.

“Anytime you can hold a Wally, it’s a great day, you know, especially against all the tough competitors we have in the class. I’m blessed to be here, thankful to be here, and humbled to be here, doing what I get to do the way that we get to do it,” Stanfield said. “Back in the day we did it all ourselves, now, with Elite, I can just really try to focus on my part behind the wheel and I’m not trying to crew chief it myself, build the engines, drive the car, and drive the truck from race to race. It’s nice not having to worry about what the next call is. I’m enjoying it. I love racing with Aaron, so, I’m having a blast.”

The importance of World Wide Technology Raceway goes beyond Elite’s attempt to win three straight races, St. Louis marks the midpoint of the Countdown. Once the Midwest Nationals are complete, only three races will remain to determine the 2026 NHRA Pro Stock world championship. Elite Motorsports has a chance to take a commanding lead in the Coutndown if one of its drivers can score another Wally in St. Louis.