Don’t let the soft-spoken, polite demeanor fool you. Aaron Stanfield becomes a different person when he straps into a Pro Stock car.
On the starting line, the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling/Janac Brothers Racing driver races with one objective. As Stanfield puts it, he’s trying to “rip your head off,” and more often than not, he’s the one walking away with the win light.
Sunday at the NHRA Nationals in Norwalk offered another example.
Knowing Matt Hartford had both the race car and the recent momentum to make life difficult, Stanfield understood the race would likely be decided before either driver reached the 60-foot clocks. His answer was a nearly flawless .002 reaction time, followed by a 6.626-second pass at 208.75 mph that held off Hartford by just .006-second at the finish line.
The holeshot victory gave Stanfield his second victory of the season and the 16th national event title of his career. It also marked his second Pro Stock victory in the last three seasons at Norwalk.
Stanfield earned every round of it. He opened eliminations with another holeshot victory over Erica Enders before eliminating Cody Anderson and Kenny Delco to reach the final. Waiting there was Hartford, who entered the race having reached three consecutive final rounds and five this season after defeating Eric Latino, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and points leader Dallas Glenn.
Stanfield knew exactly what the assignment would be.
“Yes, for sure,” Stanfield said when asked if he knew the starting line would decide the race. “I definitely knew I was going to have to be pretty good on the tree. Matt’s been driving really good here lately and he’s had a fast race car. So definitely knew I was going to have to grab some on the tree, and the old hot rod did just enough to pull the win off.”
The respect between the two drivers never changes once the helmets go on.
“Every time Matt and I race, it’s a good and tight race,” Stanfield said. “There’s no secret. It doesn’t matter who I line up against, when I put the helmet on, I’m trying to rip your head off.”
Stanfield quickly added there is no personal animosity behind that approach.
“I think the world of Matt,” Stanfield said. “I think he does a great job driving the car and they do a great job tuning their own car. It feels great as a driver whenever you’re able to do your job and pull off a holeshot win like that.”
While winning races is demanding enough, Stanfield spent the weekend juggling responsibilities throughout the pit area. Along with racing Pro Stock, he competed in the GETTRX Pro Stock All-Star Callout, raced Pro Modified and remained involved with the Stanfield Racing Engines Factory Stock program.
“I told Erica before we run the first round, I said, ‘We’re lucky I don’t put my helmet on backwards,'” Stanfield said with a laugh.
“It’s definitely a balancing act. I’ve got a lot of great people around me in every aspect of racing I’m involved in and it wouldn’t be possible without each and every one of them.”
Stanfield’s was on kill all weekend, including a .001 light in the second round before his .002 in the final. Asked what unlocked that level of focus, he smiled before declining to reveal too much.
“That’s my secret,” Stanfield joked. “Sometimes I guess I just wake up on the right side of the bed and I felt really focused this morning. I did feel like I was going to have a decent driving day.”
He believes consistency comes from more than just driver focus.
“A combination of just having the clutch linkage in that perfect spot where the fuel is perfect just puts me in a spot where I can drive good.”
