Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers team powered their way to victory Sunday at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Stanfield won his ninth career Pro Stock victory, 26th national event win over five different categories and first victory at Virginia Motorsports Park, with a .007-second reaction time and a 6.614-second run at 207.15 mph to defeat Dallas Glenn and his 6.617 at 205.88.
“It was definitely a long hot race day for sure. Dallas has gotten me a couple times here the past couple of races and it was good to get him back right there,” said Stanfield who was runner-up to Glenn in Chicago. “It’s hard to win one of these. This one is special, I have my wife and my baby girl with me this weekend. It’s pretty special she can see why daddy is gone all the time.
“I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to represent JHG this year. Thank you to Jason and Nikki, it’s good to finally be able to pull off a win representing your brand. Thank you to Melling and Joe Janac and all the guys at Elite. These guys worked their tails off on this hot rod today. It’s hard to put into words. All I can say is these things are hard to win so we’re going to enjoy them while we can.”
En route to his third final round appearance of the season, Stanfield, who qualified No. 5 on a 6.611 second run at 208.52 mph, beat Val Smeland in the first round. Stanfield handled the JHG / Melling machine to a 6.677 run at 207.30 to Smeland’s 6.718 at 206.35. In the second round Stanfield faced teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the JEGS.com / White Castle car. Troy Jr. would have a 6.708 pass at 206.57 but was bettered by Stanfield’s 6.685 at 206.92.
With the win Stanfield was set to face team rival Greg Anderson in the semifinals. The pair would have identical elapsed times at 6.627 seconds, but Stanfield’s .007 second reaction time gave him the holeshot win. Anderson would leave the starting line in .042 seconds, giving Stanfield the win by .039 seconds. The quarterfinal win not only set Stanfield up with a monster matchup against Anderson, it also earned him a spot in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Norwalk, Ohio next weekend.
Number 10 qualifier, Bo Butner, who represented the Corral Boots, Cuadra, Columbia Impex brands by driving Fernando Cuadra Jr.’s car, was with Stanfield in the semifinals.
Butner had a first-round win against teammate Jerry Tucker in the Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beet / SCAG Power Equipment machine. Stanfield would go 6.723 seconds at 205.07 to Tucker’s 6.720 at 206.35. In the quarterfinals, Butner would rally to a 6.710 pass at 205.54 mph to defeat Eric Latino and his 6.716 pass at 202.18. In the semifinals, Butner would have a 6.658 pass at 205.88 but come up short to Glenn’s 6.631 at 206.20.
The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series continues next weekend with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park June 28-30.
This story was originally published on June 24, 2024. 
