Rain was the theme of the day on Saturday at the 24th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, but the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown competitors held strong and were ready and waiting when their turn came. Before the clouds burst open once again, Lee Hartman put Stanfield Racing Engines power to good use as he scorched down the racing surface at Bristol Dragway with a 7.885-second pass at 174.75 mph that put him on the top of the sheet for the fourth time in his career.
“I can’t say enough about Aaron, Greg and the entire Stanfield team. We have two world champions making calls here,” said an elated Hartman, driver of the strikingly bold Carrier Services Group Dodge Challenger Drag Pak. “They’re making the right calls, and we’re doing all the right things. We’ve worked tirelessly on this car, and Perry (Kiritsy, of Stanfield Racing Engines) has just been outstanding on getting the car set up, getting it to the line, and getting us in the perfect spot. The hard work paid off today. These guys are just amazing.”
Hartman has been so close to victory three times, including at the last race in Chicago, where – for the second year in a row – he was also the No. 1 qualifier. Ahead of reaching the final round in Chicago last season and this one, his first final was in Norwalk in 2023.
“Getting that first win is the plan,” he said. “We gotta stay focused, and that’s our objective this year. We’re trying to do everything right, and if we have a hiccup here and there, we try and fix it. Last race, we didn’t have the outcome we wanted – but we’ll fix it and move on. We have our nose to the grindstone, and we’re staying on it.”
Hartman will race Raymond Nash in round one. Starting from the No. 6 position on an 8.025, 175.46, defending Bristol Dragway champion David Janac will bring his Janac Brothers Racing Cobra Jet Mustang to the starting line for a first-round meeting with A.J. Berge. Stanfield Racing Engines teammate Doug Hamp, driver of the Hamp Racing COPO Camaro, made a strong run in his final qualifying pass to move up to the No. 8 spot. He will race Kim Shirley in the first round of eliminations on Sunday at the 24th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
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