The Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown, a class that tests the competitiveness of Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks in side-by-side racing, heads to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park for its second consecutive race weekend.
David Barton and his Saw Mill Auto Chevy COPO Camaro took over the points lead last weekend at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Just 13 points ahead of Bill Skillman, who already has two wins this season in his Ray Skillman Ford Cobra, Barton isn’t letting himself feel comfortable with their recent success.
“It’s a battle in this class. It’s tough. Right now, it looks like we got the Fords and the Dodges covered, but I don’t think we do. They didn’t give it enough off the line in Bristol. They were too scared. Usually they don’t have to, but there, we had it going on,” Barton said. “This category is insanely hard. You’re either smoking the tires or pulling a 200-foot wheelie. It’s hard to find a balance but we have good momentum.”
Barton will need to keep up that momentum especially now that he has a price on his head. As the most recent event winner, Barton has a $1,000 target on his back through the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program. The bounty on Barton will increase until another driver defeats him during eliminations.
Looking to throw off Barton’s momentum is David Davies, driver of the Save Our Allies/BILSTEIN Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, CEO of Constant Aviation and Kirtland, Ohio, resident. Davies, who raced to the semifinals at the Thunder Valley Nationals, made his start in Factory Stock Showdown at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in 2021.
“We knew going into Norwalk last year that the car wasn’t ready to race and be competitive. The track is only an hour and a half from my front door, so we had to go. We made a couple passes and it has been almost exactly a year from that race, and we have improved in every aspect. Every time we have taken the car out, we have gotten better and made progress,” Davies said. “I am happy with where we are in the points. We are sixth and we are not out of contention for the championship. If we can keep steadily improving bit by bit, we are going to get there. Getting a win in Norwalk which is our home court or at least doing well would be monumental after only having the car for a year.”
The battle between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks continues this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park with qualifying runs Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 6:35 p.m. and Saturday at 11:15 a.m. Eliminations will start Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and continue Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Constant Aviation Bounty Program
Gatornationals (Gainesville, FL)
$1,000 bounty collected by Anthony Troyer, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Las Vegas winner
Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals (Charlotte, NC)
$1,000 bounty collected by Stephen Bell, defeated Lenny Lottig, Gatornationals winner
Virginia Nationals (Richmond, VA)
Bounty unclaimed, Charlotte winner Bill Skillman undefeated
Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol, Tenn.)
$2,000 bounty collected by Scott Libersher, defeated Bill Skillman, Charlotte Four-Wide and Virginia Nationals winner
2021 Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Schedule/Results
Gainesville – Lenny Lottig, winner; Anthony Troyer, runner-up
Charlotte1 – Bill Skillman, winner, David Barton, runner-up
Richmond – Bill Skillman, winner, Dan Condon, runner-up
Bristol – David Barton, winner, Stephen Bell, runner-up
Norwalk, Summit Nationals, June 23-25
Indianapolis, U.S. Nationals, August 30- September 5
Reading, Dodge Nationals, September 15-18
Dallas, Fall Nationals, October 13-16
Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten Points Standings:
- David Barton 330
- Bill Skillman 317
- Lenny Lottig 250
- Stephen Bell 237
- Aaron Stanfield 223
- David Davies III 192
- Anthony Troyer 185
- David Janac 179
- Dan Condon 172
- Mark Pawuk 159
This story was originally published on June 24, 2022. 
