Aaron Stanfield drove his Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro to the No. 1 qualifier position in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown today at the Dodge//SRT Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. The driver from Bossier City, Louisiana, ran the quickest time of qualifying during the final session going to the top of the 16 car field with an 8.234 second pass at 164.65 mph. He will face Anthony Troyer in the first round of eliminations tomorrow.
The NHRA Gatornationals winner moved around the provisional No. 1 qualifier David Barton in the final session. Heading into the last qualifying session, which was delayed due to a rainstorm, Barton was holding onto the No. 1 position and in a side by side race he was edged out by Stanfield for the top spot. Barton from Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania improved on his previous best time but it was not enough to hold off Stanfield. Both drivers improved on their previous best times in the final session.
“That was a good drag race from start to finish. My car left pretty hard and made the best run of the weekend,” said Stanfield. “By the third run we started kind of getting a handle on the tune-up. The second run it did a really big wheelie and we had to gather it back and get it back under control. The conditions got really good tonight. The track tightened up and it cooled off. It was the makings of a fast run out here on the mountain and we were able to take advantage of it.”
With cooler conditions during the final session getting ready for race day will bring a whole new set of challenges. Starting from the top spot will be the one big advantage Stanfield will take from qualifying.
“We are here to win the race and the majority of the time elimination rounds aren’t like these conditions in qualifying. This run helps you in qualifying position but we will have different conditions on race day,” said Stanfield.
While the day might have been longer than expected for all the Factory Stock Showdown competitors, the fact that the fans enjoyed the racing action made it all worthwhile. Stanfield recognized the passion of the Denver area fans who stuck out the rain delay and were rewarded with a solid final qualifying session.
“It was a packed house tonight and the Bandimeres did a great job. They have some great fans that come out and support us. It was unbelievable. They stayed in the stands all day long watching every car go down the race track,” added Stanfield.
In the absence of Norwalk Nationals winner Chuck Watson II the bounty for the event will transfer to Barton who was the No. 1 qualifier from the previous race. Dan Condon will be the first driver to have a shot at the $1,000 prize when eliminations begin tomorrow at 11 a.m.
First Round Match-Ups
No. 1 Aaron Stanfield vs. No. 16 Anthony Troyer
No. 2 David Barton vs. No. 15 Dan Condon
No. 3 Stephen Bell vs. No. 14 Doug Hamp
No. 4 Leah Pruett vs. No. 13 Waldemar Rodriguez
No. 5 John Cerbone vs. No. 12 Scott Libersher
No. 6 David Janac vs. No. 11 Leonard Lottig
No. 7 Arthur Kohn vs. No. 10 Jesse Alexandra
No. 8 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 9 Joseph Welch
