Most NHRA Pro Stock drivers don’t have this type of debut – especially at 19 years of age.

Aaron Stanfield, however, defied the odds at the U.S. Nationals (Aug. 27-Sept. 1) as he qualified No. 8 and then upset five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin in the first round when Coughlin recorded a redlight.

Most NHRA Pro Stock drivers don’t have this type of debut – especially at 19 years of age.

Aaron Stanfield, however, defied the odds at the U.S. Nationals (Aug. 27-Sept. 1) as he qualified No. 8 and then upset five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin in the first round when Coughlin recorded a redlight.

Stanfield’s memorable debut ended when he lost in the second round to two-time world champ Jason Line.

“I have received a lot of support (since the U.S. Nationals) and everybody is really proud of me,” Stanfield said. “It is still a shock to me that I’m getting to drive (in) Pro Stock. I know I can do better than what I did and I will see if I can go out and do even better.”

Stanfield is competing in his second event at this weekend’s Texas FallNationals at Texas Motorplex Friday through Sunday.

“I’ve Sportsman raced at the track before, but obviously never Pro Stock,” said Stanfield, who resides in Shreveport, La. “I love that track. I feel like this is one of my home tracks as far as national events. The last time I raced (at Texas Motorplex) was during some bracket races last year. I have an undercover dragster. I was running it in the Super Pro class. I’m sure I will get nervous (pulling into the staging lanes at Texas Motorplex), but it will not be like that first run I made at Indy. I know it will not be that bad because I was pretty nervous for that run.”

Greg Stanfield, Aaron’s father, has been competing in the Pro Stock class since 2002, winning three national events and finishing a career-best second in the point standings in 2010.

In addition to the U.S. Nationals, and Dallas, the younger Stanfield is going to race at St. Louis (Sept. 26-28), Las Vegas (Oct. 30-Nov. 2) and Pomona (Nov. 13-16).

“This has always been my dream to get to drive a Pro Stock car,” Aaron said. “To be able to make that much power and go that fast off a 500-cubic inch engine, all natural, five speed, it is pretty cool. The biggest difference for me with a Pro Stock car is shifting the exact same way every single time. I’ve always had automatic cars (in racing). That’s the learning the curve for me is shifting the exact same every time, and also staging the same and just being real consistent like a machine. That’s what my dad was really good at.”

The primary sponsor for Aaron for this limited schedule is CTECH Manufacturing, a highly-respected name in aluminum cabinets, mobile carts and drawers. Fellow Pro Stock driver Chris McGaha is supplying the engines for Aaron’s car.

“I want to thank CTECH and Harlow Sammons Racing (Chris McGaha) for all their support,” Aaron said. “I obviously want to get better every single run and see if I can get a ride for next year. That’s the goal.”

The act of cutting and pasting articles from this publication to a message board is a clear copyright violation as is pulling photos to post on social media sites. All articles and photography published in CompetitionPlus.com are protected by United States of America and International copyright laws unless mentioned otherwise. The content on this website is intended for the private use of the reader and may not be published or reposted in any form without the prior written consent of CompetitionPlus.com.