On Friday the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series ran two rounds of qualifying and moved immediately into eliminations with hopes of completing the race in one day. The racing schedule for the inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by MOPAR was adjusted to avoid impending inclement weather over the weekend. Unfortunately, rain began just prior to the semifinals at US 131 Motorsports Park, halting racing action with Raymond Nash, David Janac, David Davies II and Lee Hartman still in competition. With an unfavorable forecast for the next two days, the NHRA announced the race will conclude during the NHRA Midwest Nationals, October 2-4, at World Wide Technology Raceway Park outside of St. Louis.
Hartman raced to the No. 1 qualifier position on the strength of a historic run earlier on Friday. Qualifying for the Great Lakes Nationals opened with Hartman and Davies etching their names into the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown record book. In the opening session Hartman made the quickest run in the history of the class running to the No. 1 spot with a blistering 7.558-second run to start the Dodge Great Lakes Nationals. Right after his run Davies set the speed record for the class running 185.72 mph in his Dodge Challenger. The runs moved around the previous records held by Mark Pawuk ‘s 7.583-seconds run in St. Louis in 2023 and Doug Duell’s 185.59 mph pass at Norwalk earlier this season.
“The Stanfield team just hit it out of the park with that tune-up,” said Hartman. “They’ve been working diligently on this Dodge. We’re just trying to get over the hurdle, but we never gave up. The track’s really good. It’s tight. I said it’s going to be a fast day for everybody, but I didn’t expect that. The car is running great. The tune-up was perfect. When you are No. 1 you just run your race and do your thing. Going to No. 1 at a Dodge race is awesome. We just love the Dodge platform. We got a Charger and we feel really good about it going into eliminations.”
Alex Anderson delivered a significant blow to points leader Jonathan Allegrucci’s Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown championship hopes when he beat him in the opening round of eliminations on a hole shot. Anderson was first off the starting line with a nearly perfect .006 second reaction time against Allegrucci’s .031 second reaction time, giving him enough of a head start for his slower 6.750 second run to get to the finish line in front of Allegrucci’s 7.639 second pass. Raymond Nash, the driver with the best chance of chasing down Allegrucci, outran Doug Duell in the first round. Championship contender and U.S. Nationals champion Scott Libersher defended the Flexjet $1,000 bounty outrunning two-time Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world champion Mark Pawuk in the opening session.
In the quarterfinals Nash took out Libersher with a hole shot victory. The driver from Ohio leapt off the starting line with a .003 reaction time combined with a 7.614 second pass to get the win and secure the $1,000 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown bounty from Libersher. Nash is scheduled to race Hartman in the semifinals with Davies squaring off with Janac when racing resumes in two weeks.
The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will be back in action for the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., October 2-4, 2026.
This story was originally published on September 19, 2026. 
