30 UNDER 30 • 2021
N THE NOT-SO-DISTANT PAST , NHRA Pro Stock was viewed as a dying class . It was an oddity to see a full 16-car field , and it was obvious who would be walking away with the Wally at the end of the weekend . ¶ But over the last couple years , the class has seen a complete reversal . Pro Stock has been the consistently strongest class in the NHRA Camping World Series with an average of 18 cars at the 17 races the class was contested and a high of 21 cars at the season-opening Gatornationals in Gainesville , Florida . The competition level is also compelling , as multiple drivers from multiple mega-teams have been successful on race day , culminating with a thrilling championship battle going down to the final race of the season . ¶ The top two in points going into the NHRA Finals were Greg Anderson and Erica Enders , who were both pursuing their fifth world championship . But right behind the two Pro Stock heroes were four “ young guns ” eager to make their mark in the factory hot rod class . ¶ Dallas Glenn , 30 , has been an assassin on the starting line in his RAD Torque Systems Chevy Camaro out of the KB Racing camp . Glenn
has served as a crew member for KB Racing for nearly 10 years , primarily working with the recently retired Jason Line , who won three Pro Stock world championships before stepping away from driving last year . Line ’ s vacant seat – and backing from supporters like RAD Torque and Silver State Plumbing – gave Glenn his chance to move into the driver ’ s seat . He ’ s capitalized on the opportunity , winning three races to lead the Rookie of the Year conversation .
Glenn ’ s KB Racing teammate , Kyle Koretsky , 32 , also scored his first win this season in his Lucas Oil / Nitro Fish / KPK Development Camaro . Koretsky ’ s win at the Carolina Nationals was especially meaningful , as his father , Kenny “ Captain Chaos ” Koretsky , raced in Pro Stock for years without picking up a Wally . The second-generation driver made his debut in 2020 and ran a partial schedule before running the full tour this season .
When five-time Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr . stepped away from driving at the end of last season , his nephew , Troy Coughlin Jr ., was prepared to take his place as the driver of the iconic JEGS . com Camaro . TJ , 31 , raced alongside Jeg during a successful , part-time rookie campaign in 2020 before taking the reins of the Elite Motorsports-fielded primary JEGS entry this year . He ’ s the third Coughlin generation to compete in Pro Stock , as his father is a threetime Pro Stock winner , and his grandfather , Jeg Sr ., briefly raced in the class in the early ‘ 70s .
Ironically , the youngest of this quad , Aaron Stanfield , is the veteran of the group . Now 26 , Stanfield made his Pro Stock in 2014 when he was just 19 . He started out driving his family ’ s Camaro formerly driven by his father , three-time Pro Stock winner Greg Stanfield , but he ’ s spent the last few seasons driving an Elite Motorsports entry with backing from Janac Brothers Racing and JC3 Energy . Three of Stanfield ’ s four wins in the class came this season , along with a sec- ond consecutive Factory Stock Showdown world championship .
This new generation of Pro Stock drivers also includes 19-year-old Mason McGaha , 22-yearold Cristian Cuadra , and 25-year-old Fernando Cuadra Jr . Vincent Nobile , 30 , who was a standout in the class before a brief hiatus , returned this season for a handful of races with Elite Motorsports and managed a final-round appearance at Atlanta .
This resurgence of fresh , young talent in the class isn ’ t exactly a mistake . As most of these drivers will explain , a collective effort by the biggest power players in Pro Stock has made the class more attainable , and consequently , more appealing in recent years . That accessibility lined up with a deep pool of talented young drivers in the sportsman ranks , many of them with a burning desire to move up to Pro Stock .
To get a better look at this next generation of Pro Stock and the environment that has empowered them to succeed , we sat down with Coughlin , Koretsky , Glenn , and Stanfield for a roundtable interview .
How long have you known you wanted to one day race Pro Stock ? TJ COUGHLIN : Probably since around 1996 ( laughs ). My dad started in ‘ 94 , but earliest I can remember , that ’ s just what I was around . That ’ s what I saw . It ’ s what I learned to really love , everything from the sights and sounds and smells , pretty much all five of your senses . It makes your hair stand up . I ’ ve always been romantic about Pro Stock drag racing . I ’ ve always loved it . My dad did it , and his dad even ran for a little bit . Pappy had a couple years [ in Pro Stock ] in the early ‘ 70s . Watching Jeg was always really cool . It was always inspiring to watch him race in the class and do really well . KYLE KORETSKY : I feel like I ’ ve known I wanted to race Pro Stock as far back as I can remember , but probably right around 14 when I was racing
Jrs . You have to go through the steps and the Jr . Dragster is the first step I was allowed to race . So I said I think that ’ s where we need to start , then we ’ ll go from there . Then one day Pro Stock was the end goal . I wanted to be like my dad . DALLAS GLENN : I knew a long time ago , before I even started working at KB Racing . That was actually even before I started racing at all . When the nationals came into town , I absolutely loved everything about Pro Stock . A good friend of mine that lived in Washington , Adam Drzayich , went to work for Warren Johnson , and I just always looked up to him because he was a younger kid who would go out racing , take the big rig out , and he had a cool job with Warren Johnson working on a Pro Stock car . I loved everything about it .
When I started working at an engine machine shop building bracket engines , that just fueled the fire even more for Pro Stock . Moving into Stock Eliminator , it ’ s kind of like a mini Pro Stock , trying to get horsepower out of a certain combination . That ’ s kind of where Pro Stock starts .
But yeah , I just absolutely love everything about Pro Stock , how close it is to on the edge of everything . It ’ s right at the cutting edge . A lot of stuff is developed there that trickles down to bracket cars . AARON STANFIELD : I knew it from being a fairly young kid , just sitting up on the wall watching my dad make laps in the car . It was always something I ’ ve wanted to do as far back as I can remember .
What is it about the class that appeals to you as a driver ? COUGHLIN : Just the strive for perfection and making good runs . You have to pretty much be on kill in these cars . It ’ s so hard to be consistently good all the time in these cars . I just think the challenge of it is really extreme . Just the fact that you can make a perfect run . You can crush your
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