Defending Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world champion David Barton and his Retail Fixture – Sawmill Auto Chevrolet COPO Camaro hope that the NRHA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway can be the positive turn it was for him last year. Barton picked up the victory at Bristol Dragway in 2022, a win that gave him the points lead and ultimately the championship.
“Last year we won the race and moved into the points lead, which we held on to throughout the rest of the season for the championship. Everything fell our way that day. We had a lot of momentum coming into Bristol last year and I am looking to get some momentum started this weekend,” Barton said. “We will get back-to-back races with Bristol and Norwalk so we would like to get off on the right foot.”
Sitting second in the point standings, Lenny Lottig hopes to make that turnaround for Barton just a little bit harder. Lottig has three career victories including two back-to-back wins at the most recent event, the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals and Chicago Route 66 Nationals, that has the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty up to $2,000.
“I wanted to hang onto that Flexjet bounty when we went to Chicago, and we were able to win again. Now that bounty is $2,000 and I would like to hold onto it so it keeps getting bigger,” said Lottig, driver of the ITI Trailers & Truck Bodies Chevrolet. “I am having a great time driving this Camaro. The competition is so tough you have to be nearly perfect on race day. We have had some luck, but I have a great team and crew.”
Hoping to bring Lottig’s win streak to an end is David Davies in his Save Our Allies/DH Davies Racing Dodge Drag Pak. Davies is sitting third in the Flexjet points just 72 points back from Lottig.
“We’re going rounds which is good, but have certainly been fighting through our share of issues. This new team has rallied though, and has shown a lot of hustle. We have the car but we’re going to need to dial in some consistency as we head into an aggressive few weeks for the mid-season dash starting at Bristol,” Davies said. “It’s ‘Bristol Baby’ and it’s an awesome place to run, the fans are some of the best. We’ll put on the best show we can and try to improve on our semifinal finish from last year. It’s a historic track and a win at the Thunder Valley Nationals would be incredible.”
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown competition at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway begins with qualifying Friday at 3 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. and Saturday at noon and 3:25 p.m. Eliminations begin Saturday with round one at 6:45 p.m. and continues Sunday with round two at 2 p.m., semifinals at 3:20 p.m. and finals at 4:20 p.m.
