It has taken a little bit of time but Fernando Cuadra Sr. and sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian are earning respect with their Ford Mustangs. Cuadra Jr. has won eight rounds this season, and Cristian has four round wins.

“From a father’s perspective, I never expect to be that way, but also, they outrun me by far. They went way above me, and they showed me what they were doing is special. Besides that, they are hungry. They want to make it. So, I raise them a little bit of cold, a little bit of hungry and the value of the money.

“So, they work for it. You come and see them. They're working themselves, and they prototype their own deals.. … They are very focused. They are not the Friday night drinking and partying type. They are talking all day long about racing and how to improve and do better.”

The Cuadras are working with Elite Motorsports this season, and that’s a change Fernando Sr. is happy he made.

“Now coming to the world finals and with a good chance to do something important because we finally found the combination, thanks to Richard Freeman and Elite,” Cuadra Sr. said. “Not only Richard – Richard is the owner – but all the guys, they get along very well with my sons. They say, ‘Let's change this. Let's try that.’ They took my car – Richard Freeman was driving my car, testing on Tuesday. They rented a track privately, and he is driving the car and my car and Erica was driving also. So, three cars to see what's wrong.

“So, now with a combination of engines and packages from Frank Iaconio and Kyle (from Elite) together working in a program, we really stepped up the programs heavy. Kyle is a nerd, he's a genius. And then the tuning guys, let me tell you, and then Frank Iaconio came onboard and brainstorming and putting together with 50 years of experience. Now you will see the next five races how it's going to work.”

Although most of the competitors in the Pro Stock class campaign Camaros, it was an easy decision for the Cuadras to field Mustangs.

“We grew up with Mustangs in Mexico, so it was a must and desirable,” Cuadra Sr. “From 1965 all the way to ‘70, all I had was the Mustangs. So, my sons, it was inheritance on life with my Mustangs for them. They love them. When I told them, ‘What about Camaros?,’ they said, ‘We grew up with Mustangs. Why you want to change to Camaros? We love the Mustangs.’”

Fernando Cuadra Sr.said he also has a 2023 Mustang completed for his other son, David, who runs Top Sportsman.

“We are going to slow (David’s car) down to bring it to a lower speed,” Cuadra Sr. said. “He wants to race Pro Mod in that car, and they go 260 mph, 255. I told him, ‘Hey, we are going to cut a lot of power and bring it in Justin Elks.’ It's at his shop right now, the car. He's going to set everything up for him.”

Cuadra Sr. said David will run Top Sportsman in 2023 and a limited Pro Mod schedule. “We need to see the speed,” Cuadra Sr. said. Cuadra Sr. said the plan is also to have David run some Pro Stock next season.

“He's going to try Pro Stock and see if he likes it or not, but he has already told me he wanted to run Pro Mod,” Cuadra Sr. said. “He wanted to run Pro Mod, and I promised him that opportunity. He just graduated from college as an industrial engineer (major). And my promise is the car.”