NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Lee Hartman and the Stanfield Racing Engines team have taken another significant step in what is quickly becoming one of the strongest comeback stories in the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown.

Just two weeks after Hartman delivered a record-setting performance in Michigan, his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak went even quicker Friday at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, blasting to a 7.548-second run at World Wide Technology Raceway to establish a new benchmark for the quickest run in Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown competition.

For Hartman, the number was another validation of the work being done behind the scenes by Aaron Stanfield, his father Greg Stanfield, and the entire Stanfield Racing Engines operation.

“Things are starting to come back,” Hartman said. “And we’ve got a comeback story that’s not finished yet.

“I can’t say enough about what masters the Stanfield team is. Greg and Aaron, everybody there. They work really, really hard to make sure it’s not good, it’s great.”

Hartman’s Challenger had already demonstrated its potential at the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in Michigan, where it produced what was then the quickest elapsed time in Factory Stock Showdown history.

Rather than make wholesale changes after Michigan, Stanfield and the team arrived in St. Louis with essentially the same combination.

“Pretty much everything is exactly the same because we felt like we had a really good race car in Michigan,” Aaron Stanfield said. “The air is just a tick better and the track is still really good, like it was in Michigan, and it just allowed us to go a little bit faster here.”

Stanfield Racing Engines handles the powerplant in Hartman’s Mopar, but its involvement extends well beyond simply supplying horsepower. Aaron, Greg and the rest of the group collectively make the tuning and chassis decisions between runs.

“We make the tuning calls between runs collectively as a team,” Stanfield said. “Between my dad and Lee and all of us, we get our heads together and make the calls.”

That process was particularly evident Friday.

Hartman’s first attempt showed the Challenger had plenty of horsepower available, perhaps too much. The car left hard before shaking the tires and forcing Hartman to abort the run.

“We shook the tire,” Hartman said. “It rolled out of the hole real strong and shook the tire, but that just showed Aaron how big it was. He said, ‘Well, we can fix that, no problem.’”

The challenge was taking away just enough power to get the Challenger through the critical portion of the racetrack without sacrificing its record-setting potential.

The Stanfields found the balance.

Hartman knew almost immediately that the second run was different.

“You can feel it right away,” Hartman said. “When it’s leaving and you’re over three Gs, you’re thinking, ‘Wow, this thing is on a run.’ As long as you can keep the front tight enough and keep it down, and the track is good enough, you know it’s going.”

Seconds later, the scoreboard confirmed it: 7.548 seconds, the quickest Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown run to date.

The performance also illustrates just how narrow the tuning window has become at the front of the Factory Stock field. The same combination that can produce a record run can overpower the racetrack when pushed only slightly too far.

That is where Hartman believes his relationship with the Stanfields has become particularly valuable.

“I’ve been there two and a half years,” Hartman said. “You couldn’t find better guys. Honest, truthful guys, and they live and breathe it. For Stanfield, Hartman’s increasing confidence behind the wheel is becoming another part of the equation.

“The smile gets bigger and the E.T.s get better,” Stanfield said. “When both the driver and the tuner start to get some confidence, things start to get a little bit easier.

“He’s done such a great job, and he’s been such a great customer and friend. He’s allowed us to really push on this Mopar, and it’s pretty cool.” That confidence has been built quickly. Michigan demonstrated what Hartman’s Dodge was capable of. St. Louis moved the target again. And after a 7.548-second trip down the World Wide Technology Raceway quarter-mile, Hartman and the Stanfield team aren't talking like a group satisfied simply to have their name beside the record. They believe there is still more to come.

“We’re really working hard,” Hartman said. “In my day job I tell my team 'You can do a good job, but you’re not going to keep your customers by doing a good job.' You have to do a great job. That boils down to the same attitude and perception in everything we do.”

From now on, 7.548 is the number everyone else in Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown is chasing.