David Barton and his Saw Mill Auto Chevy COPO Camaro raced to victory Sunday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the fourth stop on the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown schedule, to take over the points lead by 13 points with only four races left.
“I feel like we have good momentum going. Every single race we’ve had a car in the final,” said Barton. “As a business, I think we’re doing good in that respect. We have a good team effort and a lot of strong cars moving forward. We’ll keep it rolling as good as we can.”
En route to victory, Barton defeated Lenny Lottig in the first round Saturday evening. Coming into Sunday, Barton would face reigning Factory Stock Showdown champion and eventual Pro Stock event winner, Aaron Stanfield. Barton would have the advantage with a .025-second reaction and, despite a tight side-by-side race, never trail laying down a 7.886-seconds at 174.01 mph to better Stanfield’s 7.886-seconds at 173.92 mph with a .042-second reaction time.
Against Dave Davies II in the third round, Barton would win the race before it started. Davies would go -.393-seconds red on the starting line allowing Barton to coast to a 13.518-second run at 67.59 mph for the ticket into the finals to face Stephen Bell and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevy.
Barton now holds a 4-0 record against Bell after having a near perfect final round. Barton would have a .016-second reaction time to take the lead at the start and Bell could never catch up with Barton’s Chevy going 7.889-seconds at 174.28 mph. Bell handled his Chevy to a 7.930-seconds at 173.92 mph pass.
“Everything went down exactly how it should have. Skillman went out first round Saturday night, we took down Stanfield second round, Davies went red. We had it going on. We’re first in points now,” Barton said. “I thank my dad, Ray Barton, my wife, my kids, Saw Mill Auto, Holley, NGK, Mickey Thompson, VP Racing Fuel, and so many people. I am speechless. This category is insanely hard. You’re either smoking the tires or pulling a 200-foot wheelie. It’s hard to find a balance.”
With the win, Barton now 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.
The ongoing battle between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks will pick up next weekend June 23-26 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten Points Standings:
1. David Barton 330
2. Bill Skillman 317
3. Lenny Lottig 250
4. Stephen Bell 237
5. Aaron Stanfield 223
6. David Davies III 192
7. Anthony Troyer 185
8. David Janac 179
9. Dan Condon 172
10. Mark Pawuk 159
Elon Werner PR
