NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

It is impossible not to sense the pride in Fernando Cuadra’s voice when he’s asked about the importance of the 2019 Dodge Mile-High Nationals in Denver. Cuadra, a successful Mexican businessman and owner of Corral Boots, is racing for the first time with his three sons, Fernando Jr., and twins, Cristian and David. There isn’t a more proud father in the State of Colorado, or anywhere else for that matter.

“I’ve dreamed about this my whole life,” said Cuadra. “It took a long time to get here, and I’m loving it. This is 100-percent what we’ve worked for. My sons motivate me. They pushed me to come back to Pro Stock. That’s a big commitment but we made it work with a compromise. I told them that as long as they were willing to do the work, we’d do it. You see them out here. They’re working on the clutch and changing tires and doing everything we need to be successful. As a father, how could I not enjoy this?”

Last year in Houston, the elder Cuadra made his return to NHRA competition after a 14-year absence. Earlier this season in Richmond, Fernando Jr., joined his father in Pro Stock and made an immediate impact by winning his first-ever round of competition by beating Deric Kramer. This weekend, Cristian joined his father and older brother in Pro Stock with a Mustang that is powered by an engine from Chris McGaha. David is also making his NHRA national event debut in the Top Sportsman class in the team’s Pontiac GTO, which is another step towards his ultimate goal of Pro Stock.

When he came back to the sport, Cuadra made it clear that he was prepared to make a big commitment to NHRA drag racing and so he’s followed through. As someone who built a successful business, lost it all, and then built a stronger and even-more successful company, Cuadra takes nothing in life for granted.

For those unfamiliar with his story, Cuadra made his Pro Stock debut in Las Vegas race in 2003 and he was well on his way to building a competitive program. Life took an unexpected turn on December 26, 2004 when a deadly tsunami hit Indonesia and wiped out Cuadra’s Corral Boots business. Cuarda had 1,500 employees working on the island of North Sumatran, which was almost completely destroyed. In the wake of the disaster, Cuarda sold everything including his race cars and home, and he spent the next decade rebuilding his life and the business.

Today, Corral Boots is thriving. The company is based in Cuadra’s hometown of Leon Guanajuato, Mexico where they have 24 plants that produce boots, wallets, belts, and a variety of Western Wear products. The company employs more than 7,400 people and ships their products to 27 countries. Cuadra shuttles between the business in Leon, and his U.S. home in Edinburgh, Texas. He’s never in one place more than a week at a time.

“I’m always on the go but I like it that way,” he says. “After this weekened is over, we’ll fly from Denver to Dallas, where I’ll meet with a couple of customers and then Ill be in Mexico by late Monday. Then we’ll be racing in Sonoma next weekend.”

Cristian Cuadra is just 20, which makes him one of NHRA’s youngest professional competitors.  Cristian competed in one event in Top Sportsman before he was fast-tracked to the Pro Stock class.

“I found out three weeks ago that I was racing in Pro Stock in Denver,” said Cristian, right,  who shares his father’s entrepreneurial spirit. He’s an aspiring shoe designer who has his own clothing brand, Pravatto, that specializes in leather footwear. “I got my license two weeks ago in Mooresville [N.C.] I honestly didn’t’ expect it to happen this quickly. I thought that I might be racing in Pro Stock in 2020, or maybe later this year in Dallas at the earliest.”

Making a debut in Denver is a tricky proposition. On one hand, the cars are three to four-tenths slower than they are at sea level but on the other hand, the changes in gearing required to run at altitude means that the shift points are much quicker than they are at sea level. After Friday’s  two runs, Cristian is 15th in the field with a 7.293 best but he’s learning with every run.

“Definitely, learning to shift a Pro Stock car has been the hardest thing to learn,” said Cristian. “In the Top Sportsman car, you have a trans-brake and you just leave off of a button. Here [in Pro Stock] you have to get the clutch out and then shift every gear and up here in Denver, he first few shifts comes so quickly. You have to be prepared. It’s a hard adjustment but I’m getting used to it.”

Likewise, David  (right) is enjoying his Top Sportsman debut. He gained valuable experience racing in Super Street and Super Gas in Mexico. If all goes according to plan, he’ll become part of a four-car Pro Stock team, possibly as early as next year.

“That’s our goal and we’re moving a step closer by having all four of us at this race,” said Fernando. “We’ve had discussions with the KB team on how to make it happen and the first thing is all four of us would have to be racing in Camaros. I’ve got the option to purchase another car so we have the ability to make it happen.

So, what would it mean for Cuadra to either race on of his sons in a final round, or to stand on the starting line watching his boys race in a Pro Stock final? He nearly tears up at the mere suggestion of it

“Oh my, I can’t even tell you how proud I’d be,” he says. “Isn’t that what every parent wants? I’ll tell you this, though; we’d race straight up. There’s nothing free here. We’d go to the starting line and whoever is best would win. That would mean everything to me.”