The 2026 season of NHRA’s Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown is quickly nearing completion, and this weekend at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, the category is fired up for a pair of race runoffs. After rain washed away the last two elimination rounds of the Great Lakes Nationals in Martin, Mich., the event was rescheduled for completion in St. Louis. Stanfield Racing Engines-powered Lee Hartman, fresh off a national record 7.558-second pass and No. 1 qualifier in Martin, is set to race Raymond Nash in a Dodge Drag Pak semifinals meeting, while David Janac, driving the Janac Brothers Racing Cobra Jet Mustang, will line up next to David Davies II and his Challenger Drag Pak.
Defending Midwest Nationals champion Ricky Hord is just as eager as the Martin semifinalists to kick off the Midwest Nationals; he’s racing at the facility that he and his family, the owners of Jerry Bickel Race Cars, now consider home.
“We’re only 45 minutes from St. Louis now, and we’ve always come out to this track, run fast, and gone rounds,” said Hord, whose father, Rick, is a lifelong racer and has two St. Louis final rounds on his own scorecard: in 1997 the elder Hord was runner-up to John Lingenfelter in Comp Eliminator, and in 2024 he reached the final round next to eventual event winner Aaron Stanfield in the former Factory X category.
The younger Hord defeated Scott Libersher in an all-COPO final at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2025, and this season, he opened the year with a win over David Janac in Gainesville. Also considering his win at the spring race in Las Vegas in 2024, Hord is a perfect three-for-three in national event final rounds.
“We really had to work at it last year,” he said. “We ran every single fast car in the class to win the race – I took down Lenny Lottig on a holeshot, then beat the points champion Mark Pawuk by one-thousandth-of-a-second in the second round. At that point, I thought I could do it. I’ve had some success there, Dad has had some success there, it’s my home race.”
Hord went on to advance on a red-lighting Alex Anderson before meeting Libersher in the final. His opponent’s foul start set the win light flashing, and Hord’s victory was in the books. This year, he’ll be looking to not only defend the title, but also move up in the Factory Stock Showdown standings ahead of the final race of the season, which is set to take place in Dallas later this month.
For now, Hord is grateful to be racing in the shadow of the St. Louis Arch, less than an hour from Jerry Bickel Race Cars. He and his family have a display set up on the midway with parts and products for racers in need, particularly geared toward Pro Mod, the category their business helps back for the event.
“It’s really special for us to be part of this race as sponsors and interact with all the racers,” said Hord. “This whole race is special for us.
“I love the Factory Stock class, I really do. This is my fifth year running it, and every time the rules change, we come out and just try something different and go fast again. It’s a fun challenge, and NHRA does their best to keep the parity good and the class running fast. Pro Mod is in the distant future for me, but that step is going to be huge, and I’m perfectly happy to build those cars for now and race this car that I love and am very comfortable in. I know this COPO inside and out; it’s my baby.”
Qualifying is underway at World Wide Technology Raceway, with final eliminations for the Midwest Nationals set to begin on Saturday and run through Sunday afternoon.
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This story was originally published on October 2, 2026. 
