Forty-eight years after Greg Stanfield watched his father, Howard, win a stock eliminator race at Rockingham Dragway, the 61-year-old Elite Motorsports driver continued the family’s victory tradition, claiming a Pro Stock win over rookie Corey Anderson in the NHRA Nationals at The Rock.
“It was crazy back then, but it was just so old school,” Stanfield recalled about the day his father won at Rockingham. “I think I was 13 years old when he won, so I just wanted to be like them.”
Stanfield’s Sunday victory in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series helped Elite Motorsports remain undefeated in the Pro Stock championship race. Troy Coughlin won the opening event in the Countdown to the Championship at Martin, Michigan. With his eighth career Pro Stock victory, Stanfield snatched the points lead from Matt Hartford. He now possesses a 31-point lead over Hartford and a 39-point advantage over reigning champion Dallas Glenn.
“Anybody can win in this class right now,” Stanfield said. “It’s incredible how tight it is, so the points battle is gonna go all the way to the end. It’s gonna come down to who makes a good run at the right time.”
Stanfield earned his Rockingham victory by defeating Anderson in the final round on a holeshot. He posted a .019 at the starting line, which was enough to hold off Anderson’s 6.525 at 209.99 mph. Stanfield’s run was 6.538 at 210.48 mph. To reach the final round, Stanfield had to defeat his son, Aaron, Matt Latino, and Glenn. In the semifinals, Stanfield posted an incredible .005 reaction time against Glenn.
“There’s a lot of young drivers that are really talented right now,” Stanfield said. “For me to try to rise up to their level and race with them, I feel good about it.”
The 28-year-old Anderson reached the final round by defeating two six-time Pro Stock champions, Erica Enders, his father Greg Anderson, and Hartford.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.
