Aaron Stanfield and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevy COPO Camaro secured the No. 1 qualifier spot and a first round victory today in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown class at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Stanfield, who was the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Nationals, took over the No. 1 position during the final qualifying session on Saturday with a 7.740-second pass at 177.16 mph.
“I knew we had a little extra power in the Chevrolet coming into the race. We’d been working really hard in the shop. We’ve got some new SamTech guys on the team and that’s been helping us this year too. It’s definitely cool for them to get to come here and experience some success,” said Stanfield. “That first qualifying run through us for a loop, so naturally we had to back off a little bit the second run and that third run we just let it rip.”
Stanfield went on to defeat Kim Shirley and his Kim’s Autobody COPO Camaro in the first round. Stanfield would run a 7.798-second pass at 177.30 mph bettering Shirley’s 8.219 at 167.76. In the second round, Stanfield will face Lenny Lottig.
“This, the U.S. Nationals, it’s the race to win. It’s the most prestigious race on our schedule and it would be very special to get the win,” said Stanfield, who is also competing in Pro Stock and is qualified No. 6. “We were close to getting the job done last year. We just want to try to get it done in both cars this year.”
As the most recent winner, Bill Skillman and his Ray Skillman COPO Camaro still carry the $1,000 bounty thanks to the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program. Skillman, who qualified No. 5 with a 7.831-second pass at 177.14 mph, won the first round over Lindsay Wheelock with a 7.775-second pass at 178.02 mph to Wheelock’s 10.182 at 138.20 after spinning the tires at the hit. In the second round, Skillman will race against defending event champion Jesse Alexandra.
The battle between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks continues with the second round of eliminations at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Monday at 11:50 a.m..
First Round Results:
No. 13 Lenny Lottig def. No. 12 Ricky Hord
No. 9 David Davies def. No. 16 Geoff Turk
No. 5 Bill Skillman def. No. 20 Dustin Wheelock
No. 3 Mark Pawuk def. No. 22 Richard Bierie
No. 4 Conner Statler def. No. 21 Don Belles
No. 2 David Barton def. No. 23 Jason Dietsch
No. 1 Aaron Stanfield def. No. 24 Kim Shirley
No. 6 Anthony Troyer def. No. 19 Lindsay Wheelock
No. 7 Doug Hamp def. No. 18 Alan Scruggs
No. 10 Dan Condon def. No. 15 Lee Hartman
No. 11 Warren Walcher def. No. 14 David Janac
No. 8 Jesse Alexandra def. No. 17 Scott Libersher
This story was originally published on September 4, 2022. 
