The penultimate race of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown, the NHRA Midwest Nationals, will begin Friday from World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

Season-long point leader Aaron Stanfield, driver of the Stanfield Racing Engines COPO Camaro, has a strong chance of wrapping up his second consecutive Factory Stock Showdown championship and the battle for spots in the top ten will be in full swing throughout the weekend.

Three weeks ago Jesse Alexandra became the sixth different driver to win a national event in this hyper-competitive class that features Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets, and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks racing for manufacturer bragging rights and personal pride.

The factory stock hot rods are crowd favorites for a few reasons, but it is the wheelies they pull when they leave the starting line that have fans jumping out of their seats at national events across the country. When these Camaros, Challengers or Cobra Jets take off the front wheels will leap off the track as the cars accelerate to over 170 mph.

For Stanfield and the rest of the class finding the optimal power balance is a tricky combination but the drivers say when they hit it perfectly it is an amazing feeling.

“I guess the best way to say it is that it is poetry in motion,” said Stanfield. “You can feel it accelerating hard when the front end is up off the ground just a little bit. You don’t want it too high, and we like it to come up just a little bit. You can just feel how hard it is accelerating and that is a heavy car moving really fast and you can tell that.”

Stanfield opened the season with a win at the historic Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida but he hasn’t visited the winner’s circle since. He has come close with runner-up finishes at the SpringNationals in Houston and at the prestigious Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. His COPO Camaro has run well at every event and the young driver is looking forward to getting back to the track.

“I have a lot of confidence,” said Stanfield. “We have been working really hard and we have a little bit more work to do to try and get better. We have had a good race car all year and made consistent runs. I am confident we are going to get it done this weekend.”

Several tough competitors will be trying to close the points gap on Stanfield including Alexandra, who in addition to winning the U.S. Nationals collected the $1,000 Factory Stock Showdown Bounty for defeating Norwalk winner John Cerbone in the semifinals. Alexandra will now carry the bounty during the NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Veteran factory stock racer David Barton is a definite threat to collect his third bounty of the season as well as collect his second win. Four different drivers have taken an extra $1,000 payday thanks to the unique bounty program this season.

Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten

1. Aaron Stanfield   533
2. David Barton      396
3. Jesse Alexandra   372
4. John Cerbone      337
5. Leah Pruett       332
6. David Janac       314
7. Stephen Bell      307
8. Dan Condon        235
9. Arthur Kohn       231
10. Doug Hamp        230

Tony Fay PR