Drag Illustrated Issue 156, May 2020 | Page 73

AARON STANFIELD TURNS HEADS, PROVES HE’S AMONG PRO STOCK ELITE DILLON VOSS POCKETS PRO 632’S BIGGEST PAYDAY FOURTEEN PRO 632 DRIVERS battled it out for $10,000, more money than the Pro 632 class has ever seen before. Dillon Voss and his nitrous-assisted 2016 Corvette had what seemed like the perfect weekend. He qualified No. 1 after the first qualifying pass, held that position all weekend, and ended up in the winner’s circle on Sunday evening. Voss said on Friday that he would be the No. 1 qualifier – and he was. He says that confidence played a big role in him getting the win this weekend. “[Confidence is] big,” Voss said in the winner’s circle. “I came into this race knowing we had a car that could win, and knowing that I’ve been working on being a better driver. And it’s paid off tenfold. Confidence is the biggest thing and it worked out well this weekend.” Voss says he struggled with his driving in 2019, but he’s worked hard on improving. And that’s evident by his reaction times in eliminations – starting off in round one with a .003 light and winning the final round with a .014. And that final round reaction time is the reason he ended up taking the win. Both he and his opponent, runner-up Chris Holdorf, both ran 4.247 in the final. But it was Voss’ reaction time, .014 compared to Holdorf’s .030, that put him in the winner’s circle. It was early in the year – and just a week before the country started to realize how the COVID-19 virus would affect the racing world – but not too early for Voss to say that 2020 may just be his year. “This feels better than my 2017 championship [PDRA Pro Outlaw 632], and if we carry this through the year I’m positive we’ll have another championship trophy on the shelf.” – ALLYSON JOHNSON DI AS IF WE NEEDED further proof, Aaron Stanfield once again proved he’s a legitimate threat in Pro Stock. He delivered in qualifying as part of the quickest side-by-side run in the EFI era and advanced to the semifinals in Orlando, losing out to Jeg Coughlin Jr. in a thriller. It was all a sign that Stanfield and his team, led by crew chief Brian “Lump” Self, continue to be major players in the class. He was clearly elated during the qualifying pass of 6.467 at 212.43 that went alongside Matt Hartford’s record-breaking 6.460. It was a massive career-best for Stanfield, who admitted that he’ll remember that run for a long time. “I never thought we would be running this fast,” Stanfield said. “Lump has done an unbelievable job on this car and I’m just very happy right now. It’s not just this race, but in Pomona and Phoenix we’ve shown some really good potential. Everything is really starting to come together for this team. These guys are very serious and they work really hard, and I’m finding my place in the driver’s seat.” Stanfield has been steady since joining Elite Motorsports last year, making continual improvements as his team gelled. The weekend in Orlando only added to the team’s momentum, which unfortunately got dealt a screeching halt with the coronavirus. But Stanfield has loads of positives to bank on, beating the likes of John Gaydosh and Alex Laughlin in eliminations. He went a whopping 6.475 at 212.46 to beat Laughlin, narrowly falling to Coughlin a round later. He went 6.502 to Coughlin’s 6.501, but it still proved to be a monumental weekend for Stanfield, who was thrilled with how the event turned out. “The guys have found some power and Lump has just been great at figuring out the car,” Stanfield said. “That was very, very cool. All my guys were excited. Everybody that has had anything to do with this event has done an unbelievable job. This is something we need more of. I think it helps attract more people to the class.” – JOSH HACHAT DI May 2020 DragIllustrated.com | Drag Illustrated | 73