NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For the last time in their careers, the Cuadra family, made up of Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons Fernando Jr. and twins Cristian and David, will all be competing together in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock category.

This weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals will be the last time that family patriarch Fernando Sr. will make passes down a dragstrip in a Pro Stock car.

Picking this weekend to make his first appearance on the NHRA tour, and his last in a Professional category, is no random decision. Fernando Sr. will be celebrating his 65th birthday on Friday, April 26th, while the twins will be celebrating their 25th. Even more significant, his 65th birthday weekend not only marks Fernando Sr.’s retirement from driving a Pro Stock car but from running his family conglomerate of leather-goods companies, including Corral Boots, Cuadra, and Colombia Impex, brands that have become synonymous with the Cuadra Boys in the NHRA Drag Racing scene.

“It’s all perfect timing. With the businesses, it’s in the by-laws. It's no surprise, we’ve been preparing. My boys will be taking over,” said Fernando Sr. of his sons taking over the responsibility of 34 factories and 12,000 employees as well as partnerships around the globe. “Each of the boys will have an equal say in the company, they will have to unanimously agree on decisions. They’ve been involved for a long time, this is just the next step.”

To help commemorate the weekend, Friday night during the second qualifying session, the Cuadra Boys will line up four-wide all together for the last time. Though the family has been NHRA Drag Racing for five years, it is only the second time they’ve shared the racetrack four-wide, the first was at last year’s event at zMAX Dragway.

“It’s a good way to ‘go out,’ as they say. Lining up with my family, it’s important to me. This whole sport is important to us,” Fernando Sr. said. “Pro Stock is special, Elite Motorsports is special. What I’ve learned, what my boys have learned and are able to be part of, it’s been amazing. Having Erica, a six-time champion, mentor and teach them. This whole thing is a blessing. We are happy to be here, we are happy to compete, and we are happy we get to do it together.”