Tony Stewart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team rallied to victory at the NHRA Winternationals – Elite Motorsports Photos
NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS: ELITE MOTORSPORTS EVENT PREVIEW
NHRA 4-Wide Nationals April 24-26
CONCORD, N.C. (April 22 2026) – After securing their first Top Fuel
victory in just the third race with a nitro program, Elite Motorsports
enters this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, the
fourth of 20 events on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series
schedule, on a high-note.
Elite Motorsports Tallies First Top Fuel Victory
Tony Stewart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team, led by crew chiefs Mike
Green and Joe Barlam, rallied to victory at the NHRA Winternationals
defeating rising-star Justin Ashley for the third Top Fuel victory of
Stewart’s career.
Elite Motorsports team owner Richard Freeman purchased the Top Fuel
operation late in the 2025 season and quickly began putting the pieces
together for a full-time program starting with Stewart as the driver.
R+L Carriers came on board and with the hiring of championship crew
chiefs Green and Barlam, a winning operation took shape.
Through the first two races Stewart and the R+L crew qualified in the
top five and had quarterfinal finishes to put them sixth in points.
Their No. 7 qualifying position and victory in Southern California
pushed them into fourth in points as they look to finish out the first
quarter of the Mission Foods season.
“All the ingredients are here. We’ve still got a lot of work to do,
but to see these guys and see their progression, it’s awesome. It’s
been great to race with them,” Stewart said. “This is not easy, we
definitely know that, but it’s such a unique and great group of people
at Elite Motorsports. To get Richard his first win in the nitro class,
there’s no words to express how much that means. It’s such a special
deal and a cool feeling.”
Jeg Coughlin Jr. Reaches Milestone
When Jeg Coughlin Jr. takes the tree during the first round of
eliminations on Sunday at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, it
will be his 500th NHRA Pro Stock national event start.
“Five hundred Pro Stock events. Yet it seems like yesterday I was
making my debut at the 1997 Dallas FallNationals,” said Jeg Jr. who
raced his first full professional season in 1998. “I’ve had so many
great runs, wins and championships since then. And been on so many great
teams and made some awesome fans along the way. It really has been such
a fun run and we ain’t done yet.”
En route to the milestone, Jeg Jr. was the 1998 Rookie of the Year, has
visited the final round professionally 121 times and tallied 69 Pro
Stock victories and is the only professional driver to visit the winners
circle from all 16 possible starting positions. In the sportsman ranks,
Jeg Jr. has tallied 19 national event wins in 26 final rounds and a
Super Gas world championship. This weekend, he’ll be hoping to round
out his Pro Stock victories to 70.
“As we continue into Charlotte and our 4-Wide event, this JEGS team
couldn’t be more excited,” Jeg Jr. said. “Our car has been better
and showing signs of winning ways. If we could pull that off this
weekend it would be my 70th Pro Stock victory. That would be really
cool. Stay tuned to FS1 this weekend and follow how it goes.”
HBOT4 Heroes Hosts Decorated Veteran
Elite Motorsports partner, HBOT4 Heroes, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to veterans and
first responders suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI),
post‑traumatic stress (PTSD), and other invisible wounds of service,
has invited Sergeant Major Joe Houles to be their guest for the 4-Wide
Nationals weekend.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Joe Houle is a highly decorated U.S. Marine Corps
veteran who served 32 years, including service in Vietnam where he
earned a Purple Heart. After retiring in 2000, he became a key
co-founder and director for the Carolina Museum of the Marine in
Jacksonville, N.C., dedicated to preserving the legacy of Carolina
Marines and Sailors.
Troy and Jeg Coughlin Jr. Bring Awareness to Children of Valor
Jeg and Troy Coughlin Jr., along with Paige Coughlin who will be racing
in the Right Trailers Outlaw Street Series at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals,
have come together to support Children of Valor, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to supporting the children of Special Operations
military service members.
The organization will have a midway display as well as representation on
Troy Jr., Jeg Jr. and Paige Coughlin’s hot rods. The weekend will
highlight the organization’s growing partnership with Troy Jr., a
longtime supporter of Children of Valor and owner of Revelry 1 clothing
which recently designed a limited-edition collaborative t-shirt to raise
awareness and support for the nonprofit’s mission. The t-shirt will be
available at the Children of Valor midway display.
Children of Valor will also have guests Thomas Moore, a Children of
Valor ambassador and previous grant recipient sharing his story for
month of the military child (April), and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rick
Fowler, who served 20 years on active duty in the Navy. He retired from
SEAL Team 1 and served another 25 years as the Force Training Officer
for Naval Special Warfare, onsite for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge
The four-wide format for the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals offers additional
opportunity for Elite Motorsports drivers to take home victory. Like the
regular two-wide format, the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge will be a rematch of
the semifinal competitors from the previous race, however, at zMAX, the
rematch will also include quarterfinalists to keep with the four-wide
format through qualifying.
Not only will race winner Tony Stewart and semifinalist Greg Stanfield
compete in the race-within-a-race but quarterfinalists Erica Enders and
Jeg Coughlin Jr. as well.
Elite Motorsports Continues Expansion
Earlier this week it was officially announced that Mike Lomas will join
Elite Motorsports competing in the Lucas Oil NHRA Drag Racing Series.
Lomas joins Royce Lee Freeman in the Competition Eliminator category and
will make his debut at zMAX Dragway this weekend. The addition
solidifies Elite’s commitment to growing the sport. The team now
houses six Pro Stock cars, a Top Fuel dragster, two Competition
Eliminator entries as well as a Pro Mod program driven by Mason Wright.
Competition at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway
begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 4:15 and 7 p.m. and
Saturday at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at noon.
Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning
with qualifying shows Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at noon ET.
Eliminations will air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
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