"Our job is definitely to keep him away from the 97th win as long as possible," said Stanfield. "I would imagine eventually one day he's gonna get it but we want to make it as hard as possible. The KB Racing/Elite rival rivalry it's great. They're both very competitive teams and it's just it's cool to cool to be in the middle of it and have a chance to win, so we're I'm very grateful for the opportunities I've been given.
"It was a tricky race, a tricky race track today. The crew chiefs had their work cut out. And right before that final round they really made a lot of changes. And, obviously, it seemed to work out really well."
In the first round, Aaron Stanfield faced Kenny Delco who's first Winternationals was back in 1987. Stanfield is unbeaten in previous matchups with Delco with a 3-0 record. With a .024 reaction time, Stanfield had the start he needed and wins with a 6.637 ET at 205.79 MPH.
Matt Hartford was next in line in the second round and this was a great matchup to the finish. While Stanfield has statistically struggled in the second round only winning 43% of the time, he again led from start to finish to earn a spot in the semi's. Stanfield ran a 6.673 ET at 205.29 MPH.
As the Wally gets closer in NHRA Pro Stock, if you are going to fight for the win, you can normally count on Erica Enders and Greg Anderson to get in your way. The third round for Stanfield was against one of those giants, Enders and this has not been a matchup that had gone Stanfield's way previously with an 0-3 record against her.
Running a 6.684 ET at 204.76 MPH, a close finish seen Stanfield get the win by a mere 2 feet at the line and not only earned Stanfield his first win against Enders, but a spot in the final against the other giant, Greg Anderson.
Greg Anderson, still looking for his 97th Pro Stock win would not have the mustard to beat Stanfield on this day as he would take home the Wally from the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Presented By ProtectTheHarvest.com.
Stanfield posted a 6.652 ET at 207.69 MPH to Anderson's 6.660 ET at 207.08 MPH to win by approx. 10 feet. Stanfield improved on his 3-2 record against Anderson in previous events including a 1-0 record in the final round. Along with being the second victory in a row for Stanfield, this was his third of the 2021 season and the fourth of his career.
Could Stanfield put up a fight for the championship with both Enders and Anderson? He is certainly looking strong enough to beat the giants!
See the recap on NHRA.com by Phil Burgess: