The book of Proverbs has a passage that offers, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
When it comes to drag racing and driving a drag car, Greg Stanfield taught his son Aaron very well. This upcoming season, the elder Stanfield will see how well he trained him.
Considering Aaron was in the thick of the 2024 NHRA Pro Stock championship battle near the end, the consensus is that Greg taught him well. And with Greg returning to the class after a lengthy hiatus, he’s going to face Aaron in competition sooner rather than later.
Greg has quite the resume throughout his storied NHRA drag racing career by winning five championships in Super Stock, and one in Factory X. He’s earned 21 NHRA national event wins stretched across six categories: Comp, Stock, Super Stock, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, and Factory X.
Greg cites another Greg, Greg Anderson, as a kinda-sorta inspiration for his return.
“I don’t know if it’s all that, but seeing him do well definitely inspires me; I do have some gas left in the tank,” Greg admitted.
Greg will drive a Chevrolet Camaro out of the Elite Motorsports camp in a multi-year agreement with Janac Brothers, The Rod Shop, PJQ, and Roasters.
“It’s really everybody behind me who supports us that provides inspiration to come back out here,” Greg said. “The Janac brothers, Pat Quinn, Rick Kirk, everybody that believes in me in racing, including Aaron. Everybody really stood behind me, trying to come back and race. And the opportunity was really good at the right time with Elite. A driver was exiting the team, and a seat opened up. So perfect timing for me to come back and mess with Aaron.”
Anderson might be a source of inspiration for Greg, but he’s also another driver the defending champion will have to look over his shoulder for.
“We were rivals back in the day, me and him,” Greg said. “I don’t send him Christmas cards. He doesn’t send me Christmas cards. I think it’s cool to see him do well. But then they’ve got a great team over there. Hopefully, we’ll have a better team so the Elite team can come out on top next year.”
While Elite is chock full of talent, it’s that kid who will have his dad looking over his shoulder. Greg believes he will soon learn when you train an assassin; there may be a time when one faces their own body of work.
“I really don’t want no part of him,” Greg admitted. “We’ll see what happens. I’m going to have to do something. Maybe let me tune on the car or something when we race. I will say this: if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be out here doing this now. He kept me involved even when I wasn’t.”
There’s an old saying that suggests when you beat your heroes, they cease to keep their status. For Aaron, his father will always be his hero, even if he’s challenged to beat him down a few times along the way.
“I always said it when I was a kid; it was really easy to ask him why he was .030 on the tree,” Aaron said. “When I hopped in [Pro Stock], I figured out just how hard it was. I grew up with him coming home from a race, and we got on the practice tree and practiced all night. To have the opportunity to race against him at the highest level, the highest door car level, is a true blessing, and I’m excited about it. If we race, I’m definitely planning on turning the win light on.
“He’s definitely my hero. I’m at least old enough to say that my Sundays were spent listening to him race on the radio. And so that’s all I’ve ever dreamed of as far as just getting a chance to race Pro Stock, and never in a million years would I have dreamed I could have had the opportunity to race with him. We’re really both excited about it.”
When one door closes, another one opens, and Greg and Aaron are walking away from the Holley Factory X division as champions for their Stanfield Racing Engines brand.
Greg won the inaugural Holley Factory X title in a season that ended in a sea of controversy. Nevertheless, he’s walking away with a profound love for the division created with the intention of being at the next level of the Factory Stock Showdown racing.
Thanks to ARP, the Stanfields walk away as charter members of the ARP 6-second Club.
“Big thanks to Chris [Raschke] and ARP for what they did for the FX class,” Greg said. “I was excited to get it done. At the end of the year, we were hoping we could get it done early in the year, but with some rules changes, it worked out to be good. I think going to the 6.90s in Las Vegas and earlier next year will probably result in some good 6.80 runs. So I think the next move is trying to get the cars to go over 200.”
Though Greg has walked through the door of 500-inch Pro Stock, he admits there’s always going to be a part of the Holley Factory X division in his heart. Stanfield Racing Engines team member Connor Statler will take over driving one of the cars.
“We’re still going to support the class, going to support Factory Showdown,” Greg explained. “That’s Aaron’s business, and we’re 100% behind it. We’re just not going to be the faces in the car. Let some other people enjoy running.”
Greg believes the class still has the opportunity to be a showcase division despite the controversies of late.
“I think the biggest thing is the cars need to go faster,” Greg said. “That’s my opinion. It’d be cool to see them go over 200. The cars are really big, have a lot of aero, and have lost power, so there are some things we can do to try to get the speeds there. So I think it’s the last move before the last race, which was a big move in the right direction, in my opinion.”
Firmly focused on the future, the Stanfields believe they are on the cusp of having the time of their lives.
“It’s going to be a blast,” Greg said with a smile.
And while Proverbs declares one should train up a child in the right way, there might be a chance he didn’t teach him every trick he knows. It will show on race day should they ever meet.
