STANFIELD CLAIMS PRO STOCK CROWN AT ARIZONA NATIONALS in a RJ Race Car

This Pro Stock gig is working out pretty well for Aaron Stanfield.

Stanfield, who signed to drive for Elite Motorsports for the final six races of 2019, has since proved he’s one of the best drivers in the class.

Stanfield’s latest time in the spotlight came Sunday when he won the Arizona Nationals.

Stanfield clocked a 6.526-second elapsed time at 210.50 mph to defeat his teammate Troy Coughlin Jr., who came in with a 6.539-second time at 210.24 mph.

“Today, I had a really good Hot Rod and all weekend I had a really good Hot Rod,” Stanfield said. “She bailed me out a couple of times and it definitely wasn’t my best day behind the wheel, but they say when it is your day it is your day. I guess I did just good enough as a driver to win. Man, I can’t thank the Elite guys enough for giving me a bad to the bone Hot Rod. It was just awesome today.”

And Stanfield, who drives the Janac Brothers Camaro, had a special reason to celebrate Sunday as his wife, Joleigh had their first child, daughter, Oakleigh Feb. 21. A week ago, Stanfield lost in the final round of the Winternationals to fellow Elite teammate Erica Enders.

“I don’t think you can write it any better than that,” Aaron said. “My wife she sent me a picture today of Oakleigh with her little onesie that said, ‘Daddy’s No. 1 fan.’ There was definitely a lot of emotions and a lot of good memories crammed into a couple of weeks. It is wild.”

This was Stanfield’s fifth career win – coming on the heels of three wins in the 2021 season and fifth place finish the points.

On Sunday, Stanfield disposed of Alan Prusiensky, Greg Anderson, Mason McGaha, and Coughlin Jr.

“It is a long season and by the looks of it, Elite has done a really good job of making some power this winter,” Stanfield said. “My goal is do a little bit better behind the wheel and if we can keep a consistent race car and I can do a little bit better job, I think our team is going to be tough to beat. But it is a long year, and we will see how it all goes.

“I know we work really hard at it and I’m very competitive and I don’t like losing. We are going to keep chipping away at it and try to stay consistent and good. When I show up to the racetrack I want to win and be the best, period. I have had a long road, I started when I was 16 years old bracket racing at local tracks. It has slowly progressed into more opportunities and I’m very blessed to be in the spot I am.”

Stanfield acknowledged the rivalry with KB is real. Greg Anderson of KB is the reigning world champion.

“I think it is intense,” Stanfield said of the rivalry. “I can put myself in their shoes from an engine building standpoint and you’re very proud of your work. It is definitely a personal thing when one team or another is getting outran. I don’t think you all (the media) are making it too big. It is a pretty big deal. It’s a lot of these guys livelihood and they take a lot of pride in their work.”

Stanfield said when Enders and Coughlin Jr. are driving well it is on his radar immediately.

“When they drive good, it pushes me,” Stanfield said. “It is a really big team effort, but when we put the helmets on and we run against each other we want to beat each other, there’s no doubt it. It is one big team, but each guy who is working on each car takes a lot of pride in each car.”

Stanfield set the tone for his win with a 6.503-second elapsed time in his first-round victory. That was the quickest run in almost two years in the Pro Stock class.

“I got on the radio as soon as I was done with that run and said, ‘Man that was a good run’,” Stanfield said. “In the seat, that was probably the best quality run I have made in a Pro Stock car.”