Greg Stanfield represented an up-and-coming drag racer when he got the call back in the late 1980s. On the other end of the phone was the person responsible for one of the most iconic drag racing teams in history.
Gil Kirk, the driving force behind the Rod Shop branding in the late-1960s through 1980s, made him the last hire in his team car dynamic. When the Rod Shop brand went away, Stanfield went on to a championship career, including five NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Championships.
History repeated itself recently when Kirk reached out to Stanfield with a proposal. Kirk became very interested in the NHRA’s forthcoming Factory X division and wanted to make a return. In the interest of fair reporting, this interest was fueled by the passion of Kirk’s younger brother Rick. But it didn’t take much coaxing.
In returning, there was only one driver Kirk considered behind the wheel of his comeback.
“Greg was the last professional driver I hired,” Kirk said. “I started watching him, and we hired him to run on the Super Stock side of things and maybe a little Comp. I always felt bad I didn’t have a second year with him.”
Kirk knew it wouldn’t take much coaxing to get Stanfield on board with the project and leaned on the champion’s competitive spirit to seal the deal.
“I said, ‘Greg, we won 49 races. We need you to come back and win our 50th,” Kirk recalled. “And we were sort of laughing about that over the years. And then he called back and said, ‘Why don’t we talk about putting together a deal and win that 50th race?”
There was only one problem with Kirk’s proposal; he had mistakenly tabulated the team’s wins.
“I went back and added up all the championships, and we only had 44,” Kirk admitted. “So we’re six short.”
One or six wins, Stanfield is ready to make the most of what Kirk confirmed is a two-year program. As Stanfield sees it, coming out of retirement to win his first championship in 25 years, he’s playing with house money these days.
“I actually thought I was done,” Stanfield admitted. “When we started this Super Stock deal last year, my son Aaron was like, ‘Dad, come on. Let’s go race.”
Stanfield made it clear he wanted to compete in a handful of races, but before it was said and done, the past two years, “I was flipping going all over the country driving Super Stockers. It’s been fun.”
Now Stanfield stands as one of the celebrity former Pro Stock racers poised to headline the new category expected to be the next level of the Factory Stock Showdown and quite possibly the new face of Pro Stock one day.
“I just like a five-speed car and all-out racing,” Stanfield said. “That’s what I like. Don’t get me wrong, I love Super Stock, and there are a lot of great racers in that class right now. It’s incredible how good everybody has gotten over the years, and technology and everybody has it. And just the ability to drive. I really surprised myself that I did as well as I’ve done the past two years.”
Stanfield smiles as he realizes this opportunity allows him to pick up where they left off. He’s a much more seasoned drag racer this time.
“I would say there was a lot of unfinished business because when I left there is when I won a lot of races in Super Stock, and that’s what I was racing when I was there.
“I think Gil’s vision back then was definitely pretty cool to have, the team concept with all the cars. I thought that was pretty unique. I learned a lot from Bob Riffle, Doc Dixon, Dale Eicke, and all those guys. Being young back then, I was just a sponge. So, that was pretty life-changing, I would say. I was at a pivotal point in my life where I was in college, just got married, and I’m like, “Well, what do I do?”
Now he knows all too well.
