The 2025 Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown series is about to kick off, with the first of eight events slated to begin on Friday at the 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The previous season was an absolute barn burner, with Stephen Bell and David Janac keeping their Stanfield Racing Engines-powered hot rods in the thick of the championship fight all the way to the end, and this season is set to bring another battle royale.
Venerable Gainesville Raceway will be the backdrop for the season opener, and at least one well-equipped entry powered by Stanfield Racing Engines has reached the final there in all but two seasons since 2017, when the class became an official championship series. Bell won the 2018 trophy at the Gatornationals, and Aaron Stanfield – a three-time Factory Stock Showdown series champion – claimed the event win in 2019 and 2020.
One driver looking for a little bit of redemption is Janac, who has reached the final at the esteemed event but has yet to come up aces in the Florida sun. Gainesville Raceway was particularly unkind to Janac last season as he experienced an on-track incident that sent his Cobra Jet into the wall before spinning out in the center of the track. While the Cobra Jet was under reconstruction following the wreck, Janac piloted he and brother Joe Janac’s COPO Camaro in the series, ultimately claiming his first win at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol.
Janac’s Cobra Jet returned to action later in the season for his championship run, and he’ll be piloting it in Gainesville. Meanwhile, young Conner Statler — an active part of the team at the Stanfield Racing Engines shop in Bossier City, La., and at the racetrack — will drive the Janac Brothers COPO at the event. Statler most recently raced a Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro in the Holley EFI Factory X category in Las Vegas.
Third-generation drag racer Ricky Hord is expected to be focused on family this season after the birth of he and wife Chelsea’s son, but he intends to start the season right where he left off, driving the Maximum Effort Racing COPO powered by Stanfield Racing Engines. Hord earned the 2024 Factory Stock trophy at the spring race in Las Vegas.
Lee Hartman will start the season in his striking black and red Dodge Challenger Drag Pak. Hartman, who was No. 1 qualifier in Chicago and Bristol last season, reached the final round in 2023 in Norwalk and in 2024 in Chicago, and he is in the hunt for his first win. Hartman’s son, 21-year-old Matthew, is getting his feet wet in Stock Eliminator this season with plans to join dad in a Factory Stock entry with a Stanfield Racing Engines bullet in the future.
Doug Hamp’s 2024 season ended earlier than intended while he and the Stanfield Racing Engines team worked to iron out some spunky attitude from his COPO Camaro, and after diligent work and promising on-track testing, he’s eager to compete in the Hamp Racing entry. Like Hartman, Hamp is looking for his first win after a pair of final-round finishes (Dallas and Chicago 2023).
2025 Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown
GAINESVILLE: Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 6-9
CHARLOTTE: NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 25-27
CHICAGO: Gerber Collison & Repair Route 66 NHRA Nationals, May 15-18
BRISTOL: Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 6-8
NORWALK: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 26-29
INDIANAPOLIS: Cornwell Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Aug. 7-Sept. 1
READING: Reading NHRA Nationals, Sept. 11-14
ST. LOUIS: NHRA Midwest Nationals, Sept.26-29
About Stanfield Racing Engines
Stanfield Racing Engines is a family owned and operated business based in Bossier City, La. The business, led by six-time NHRA world champion Greg Stanfield and his son, three-time Factory Stock Showdown champion Aaron, builds and maintains engines for a variety of heavy-hitting customers in NHRA’s premier Sportsman league, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series; the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown; and the Holley EFI Factory X category.
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