Aaron Stanfield said Saturday he hasn’t “had the best luck in the No. 1 spot yet in my career.” 

But the NHRA Pro Stock phenom is going to give it another try Sunday at the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol, Tenn. 

In a final day of qualifying for this ninth of 22 races on the Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule, Stanfield asserted himself with a 6.638-second elapsed time on the Bristol Dragway quarter-mile to capture his third No. 1 starting spot of the season and fourth overall. 

In eliminations that are scheduled to start at noon Sunday (local time), Stanfield will line up against No. 16 qualifier Wally Stroupe in the opening round, which starts at noon (Eastern Time) with Top Fuel and Funny Car runoffs.   

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the other top pro qualifiers. 

Stanfield said the racing surface this weekend “has been very tricky. The crew chiefs have just been doing their jobs. They’ve been doing a great job.” 

As for the “No. 1 jinx,” Stanfield grinned and said, “We’re going to see if we can turn that around tomorrow. 

“All the guys working on the car, they’ve given me the best they can give me. And it’s up to me to do my job tomorrow,” he said. 

So far this year, the Bossier City, La., racer has done his job well. He has advanced to the final round at three of the previous six events for the category. He won at Phoenix in the second race of the season, and he was runner-up at Pomona to open the schedule and two weeks ago at Epping, N.H. 

In the first of two Saturday sessions, the lead changed hands three times. 

Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Camaro had been Friday’s quickest at 6.686 seconds, but his KB Racing teammate Dallas Glenn surpassed him with a 6.675-second pass in the RAD Torque Camaro. 

Glenn, the top qualifier two weeks ago at Epping, N.H., and last year’s rookie of the year, yielded the No. 1 spot to outstanding 2022 newcomer Camrie Caruso. She posted a 6.644 in the Sand Haulers of America Camaro, but her moment of glory was short-lived. She barely had gotten out of her car before Elite Motorsports racer Aaron Stanfield, in the Janac Brothers Camaro, topped them all with a 6.638-second run. 

In the final qualifier, Stanfield didn’t improve his E.T., but he clocked the class’ fastest speed of the weekend so far. 

Reigning series champion Anderson, who had 12 No. 1 starts last year, still has none this season. He’ll begin eliminations from the No. 5 position, facing No. 12 qualifier Kenny Delco. 

Caruso, who had led the field for the first time in her career in April at Houston, took the No. 2 qualifying position and will meet Chris McGaha, the No. 15 starter in the opening round. 

Glenn, the Gatornationals winner, wound up seventh in the order and will race Bo Butner to open his quest for a second victory this year. 

The first few pairings of the third and final session saw some bumping in and out. Ultimately, the four who failed to qualify were Alan Prusiensky, Fernando Cuadra, Shane Tucker, and Larry Morgan. Prusiensky missed the cut by just four-thousandths of a second, and Morgan never got a chance to attempt his run. Morgan’s parachutes came out at the starting line, and he had to forfeit his chance. 

Other pairings for eliminations include current and four-time champion Erica Enders (No. 3) and Cristian Cuadra (No. 14). She’ll be in search of her fifth victory in seven Pro Stock races this year. Only Stanfield and Glenn have been able to interrupt Enders’ plans in 2022. 

Kyle Koretsky (No. 4) will take on fellow young gun Mason McGaha (No. 13), and it’ll be Matt Hartford (No. 6) against Deric Kramer (No. 11) and Troy Coughlin Jr. (No. 8 ) against Fernando Cuadra Jr. (No. 9). 

Stanfield had an extra-successful day. Just after he replaced Anderson as the No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier during the second session Saturday, he hopped in his Factory Stock Showdown Camaro and secured the No. 2 starting position in that class. After wrapping up his Pro Stock chores for the day, Stanfield defeated Dodge Challenger driver Alan Scruggs in the first round of Factory Stock Showdown eliminations. Those races will resume Sunday.