Bubba Stanton put three runs on the board in eliminations at Virginia Motorsports Park that looked like they came off a bracket car: 3.514, 3.515, 3.501. The last one was not only the quickest Outlaw Pro Mod pass of the weekend, but also in IHRA Outlaw Pro Mod history, and delivered the Potts Camp, Mississippi, veteran his first Ironman trophy of the 2026 season at the second stop on the IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series tour.
“I’m very happy with the car,” said Stanton, who defeated Hank Stubbs in the final round. “The car has been flawless all weekend. This is the second race out with it, and it took me a little bit to get it worked out, but now we’ve got the car worked out, it just wants more.”
The car is a new Quarter-Max Racing-built fifth-generation Camaro with a screw-blown Hemi, unveiled at PRI late last year and still being dialed in on race weekends. Two races in, it’s already in the winner’s circle.
Stanton qualified third in the 14-car field with a 3.531 at 217.98, then survived a wild opening round – he went red but advanced when Chevy Reeves broke – before settling into the kind of consistency that has defined his career. He drove past Frankie Taylor with a 3.514 in the second round, then edged Randy Weatherford with a 3.515 in the semifinals before uncorking the 3.501 at 219.08 in the final.
Stubbs, who had been solid all weekend from the No. 5 qualifying spot, went red by nearly a quarter-second in the final, ending his bid to become the first repeat Outlaw Pro Mod winner this season. Stanton instead became the fifth different winner in five races in the category.
“We’re just going to keep getting after it,” Stanton said. “You just can’t take chances in the finals. You’ve got to do what you think you can do and get down the racetrack. We’re here to win, not to set records.”
But when you’re running 3.514, 3.515, and 3.501 in consecutive rounds, both tend to happen at the same time.
For a two-time Pro Extreme world champion – 2006 in the ADRL and 2014 in the PDRA – Stanton’s weekend was a reminder that the Mississippi native hasn’t lost a step, even as the competition around him continues to grow.
The IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series heads to Capital City Motorsports Park in Montgomery, Alabama, May 7-9 for the third event of the 2026 season.
This story was originally published on April 13, 2026. 
