The 2021 season was quite memorable for Aaron Stanfield for more ways than one.

The Bossier City, La., native won his second world championship in a row in Factory Stock Showdown and driving for Elite Motorsports he finished fifth in the Pro Stock world standings, highlighted by three wins in Epping, N.H., Sonoma, Calif., and Pomona, Calif., 1.

“Any year you can win some races and come out on top with a championship is always a really good year,” Stanfield said. “It was really cool to be able to share a championship with my dad. He won a world championship in Super Stock. Both of us winning world titles in the same year is going to be a really good memory. It had been awhile since my dad had won a world championship.”

Aaron drove the same exact Super Stock car – a 1987 Camaro – that his father drove to win three of his four Super Stock world championships. Greg bought back the car in 2010 and had it restored so Aaron could race it. Greg won NHRA Super Stock championships in 1990, 1992-94 and now in 2021 in the same 1987 Camaro.

Aaron said his racing plans for 2022 are going to stay the same with one new addition.

“We had a really good season with the Pro Stock car,” Aaron said. “We struggled a little bit toward the end but throughout the year we had a really good year. Our plans are to race Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Stock and we are going to begin working on this new Factory experimental car and we are building a Camaro. I think this (FX) class is going to be really cool. I think this FX class is supposed to have cars running 6.90s and 7.0s and I think they will go a bit faster than that. Hopefully somewhere around the middle of the Year (2022) we will be able to make some runs in our new Camaro.

“In Pro Stock, Elite did a great supplying me with a car I could win races with. We struggled with the car a little bit at the end of the year and I struggled a little bit at the end of the year but the plan is to keep getting better and see if we can compete for a world championship. I will have support from the Janac Brothers again. They are sponsoring me in Pro Stock, Factory Stock and (FX). The (FX) is the new program we are working on now.”

NHRA recently announced a new Factory X (FX) exhibition racing class for the 2022 season. Known as NHRA Factory X presented by Holley, the FX category will bridge the gap between Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Stock and will be reserved for 2019 and newer manufactured automobiles, including the Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, and Ford Mustang Cobra Jet. 

The FX class will have a minimum weight limit of 2,650 pounds, which is nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than a Factory Stock Showdown car, and a manual transmission is mandatory. FX will be included in the 2022 season with Competition eliminator across all seven NHRA Divisions and will debut as a 2022 exhibition category beginning mid-year at select NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events.

 “The manufacturers have changed so much since Pro Stock was originally formed and came around so this is kind of every manufacturers race engine and parts they sell to the street,” Aaron said. “I'm super thankful about what I get to do. There are so many drivers all over drag racing who are extremely good and may not ever get the opportunity or the funding to get to experience it. I have some really good people around me helping me race.”