Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team rallied to their eighth final round of the season Sunday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
In the finals, Stanfield lined up against rival and fellow young Pro Stock rising star, Dallas Glenn. Glenn would leave the starting line first, but Stanfield would lead until the thousand-foot mark. Stanfield and the JHG / Melling machine would come up short by .0103 seconds with a 6.630 second pass at 207.75 to Glenn’s 6.626 at 207.18.
Stanfield, who is having a career best season, has now raced in six of the last eight final rounds and leaves sitting second in the points standings, just eight behind Glenn in the lead.
“We’ve had a great weekend here at zMAX. I talked about keeping momentum going, and I feel like we did that. Qualifying went really well, and every round today, we had good passes,” Stanfield said. “It’s disappointing we came up short in the finals, but we knew this wasn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be a dog fight, and that’s what it was today. Wish we could have gotten it done with Jason and Nikki from JHG in the house, but we just need to come out next race and be ready to do it again. This team is hungry, all my guys, this Elite Motorsports crew, they want it, and that just makes me want it more. Really thankful to JHG, Melling, Joe Janac, this Elite Motorsports team and all our partners, it’s a privilege to be out here representing them.”
The JHG / Melling team started the day from the No. 3 qualifying position with a race against Chris McGaha first round. Stanfield would handle his JHG / Melling machine to a solid 6.599-second pass at 206.16 mph to defeat McGaha’s 6.662 at 207.85 and earn a quarterfinal race against six-time world champion and teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. Jeg Jr.’s SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer team would have trouble at the starting line and just have to watch Stanfield drive away to a 6.625 pass at 206.16.
In the semifinals, Stanfield would have monster match-up against five-time Pro Stock world champion and team rival Greg Anderson. Stanfield laid down an impressive 6.622-second run at 207.53 mph bettering Anderson’s 6.629 at 207.75 for the win.
Sitting third in the points is reigning six-time world champion and fellow JHG / Melling driver Erica Enders. Enders had a semifinal appearance that started with a first-round win against Derrick Reese who red lit. She then defeated teammate Jerry Tucker in the Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer / SCAG machine (6.626 at 208.05 def. 6.685 at 206.10). In the semis, the JHG / Melling machine would rattle the tires, but Enders was able to drive through it for a 6.924 pass at 207.09. Unfortunately, Glenn would have a clean 6.643 at 207.27 for the win.
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing season continues with the NHRA Midwest Nationals, race three of six in the Countdown to the Championship, taking place just outside of St. Louis at World Wide Technology Raceway Sept. 27-29.
This story was originally published on September 23, 2024. 
