NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After ending the 2017 season on a low note after his COPO Camaro had an encounter with the guard wall in St. Louis, Steven Bell returned to claim his first victory in the increasingly-popular School of Automotive Machinists and Technology NHRA Factory Stock Showdown during the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Bell, the No. 5 finisher in last year’s standings, won the final with an 8.176, 167.17 run after teammate Aaron Stanfield spun the tires on the starting line.

“We are so excited right now and it’s all the people standing behind me that made it happen,” said Bell, who was the first Stock racer to exceed 170-mph and one of just a handful of Super Stock racers to run in the sevens. “To have both of our team cars in the final; this could not be a better day. I give credit to the Stanfield family. They are the best. End of discussion. I couldn’t have done this without [engine-builder] Greg and his son, Aaron. That kid is great. I just got lucky in the final round.”

Bell showed no ill effects from last October’s incident with a strong 8.108, 168.77 in qualifying for the No. 6 spot, and moved to the final following wins against Joe Welch, Chuck Watson, and Leonard Libersher. Bell’s car was quick, but he also did his job on the starting line with a holeshot win over Libersher in the semifinals. While other teams struggled to get traction when trying to apply over 1,000-horsepower to the rules-mandated 9-inch wide rear slicks, Bell was extremely consistent with four race-day runs of 8.124, 8.154, 8.167, and his 8.176 in the final.

Racing for the first time as a stand-alone class, the SAM Tech Factory Stock Showdown, a showcase for factory-built race cars from Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet, showed tremendous growth with a record field of 31 cars competing for one of just 16 available qualifying spots. Given the sheer numbers, it was a major achievement for most drivers just to make the field. While the highly-anticipated seven-second run did not materialize, defending event winner and series champion David Barton set the pace in qualifying with an 8.020, 171.36 from his Bob Wolkwitz-owned COPO Camaro. Puerto Rico’s Wildemar Rodriguez anchored the tough field with an 8.188, 164.41 best. The field also included current Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett in a Dodge Drag Pak Challenger prepared by the DSR team.

Third-generation racer Stanfield, already a winner in Super Stock and Top Dragster, and an experienced Pro Stock driver, began his march to the final from the No. 9 spot after an 8.130, 168.18 run. He won the first round after Barton spun the tires, and then defeated Robert Falcone and Randy Taylor to advance to his first final round in his Factory Stock debut. Against Taylor’s Gray Motorsports entry, Stanfield also showed off his starting line prowess with an 8.186 to 8.179 holeshot victory.

The next event in the seven-race SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown will be the NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, April 27-29.