Matt Hartford and his Total Seal team have struggled in 2022 but they keep sharing with anyone who will listen that they are better than their record shows. In Denver, they proved that with a win to kick off the Western Swing.
Racing against low qualifier Aaron Stanfield in the final, Hartford did exactly what he needed with a .004 reaction time and his best run of eliminations, a 6.967. Stanfield was alongside Hartford for much of the track, but faded before the finish line as his engine began to have problems.
“We came here in 2019 and should have won but Greg [Anderson] had a better car,” said Hartford. “This Total Seal Camaro is coming around and I’m starting to drive better. Aaron is mean. His car is fast and he’s another one of the best drivers in the class. At the last race the Elite camp got mad at me. I appreciate their games against me. This time, he went in and staged He went in and staged immediately. As soon as I pre staged, they told him to go in.
“That .004 light in the final; I’m gonna borrow a line from Jason Line and say my foot must have slipped off the clutch,” Hagan said. “I’m still looking at the time slip and a 6.96 in these conditions. That’s bad ass. We wouldn’t have turned it around without the assistance of the KB guys. This deal isn’t over yet. We’re coming.”
Hartford hadn’t been past the quarterfinals in any of the previous eight races this season and with the victory has five career Pro Stock wins.
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