better , if that makes sense . I heard somebody say the other day that we ’ re one of the only sports that pay to entertain the crowd . I think payout would be a good talking point .

But as far as everything else goes , I think it ’ s in a good place as far as attracting new , young drivers . The opportunities are there . If you have connections with KB and Elite and the McGahas , you can hop into a competitive car . It ’ s up to you to see what you can do with it .

We ’ ve seen numerous “ greats ” in Pro Stock retire or step away in recent years , like Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin Jr . Do you aspire to someday be one of this generation ’ s “ greats ” in another 10-20 years ? COUGHLIN : Absolutely . Every time you go to the dragstrip you ’ re wanting to win and set the world on fire . That ’ s definitely one of my goals , to become a world champion and continue to learn the class and make the best runs I possibly can . But most importantly , just continue to learn the class , learn the driving and never stop . KORETSKY : Yeah , a hundred percent . I ’ m trying to leave this sport with a reputation that everyone ’ s going to remember forever so eventually one day my kids can look up and see that their dad or their uncle was one of the best . I feel we have the team . I feel like I can do it . Just a little bit of time and a little bit of experience and we can take out the top dogs any time we line up against them . GLENN : Yeah , absolutely . If I can be blessed and lucky enough to continue racing that long , I would hope to be able to get somewhere in the realm of as many race wins or championships as they have . I try to look at everything as one race at a time . You look at Greg with 98 wins . It ’ s like , jeez , if I ever wanted to try to catch him , I ’ m going to have to win like 10 races a year for nine years . When you think about it that way , it ’ s crazy . He ’ s been doing it forever it seems like .

All I want to do is go up and have fun and try to do the best that I can every single run . If somebody wants to call me the greatest in 10 years or whatever , if I ’ ve done my job , that ’ s fine . There ’ s so many great drivers in this class that I don ’ t think you could ever really pinpoint one specific driver and call them the absolute greatest because each and every driver brings something else to the table that another one doesn ’ t . Especially with how amazing everybody is in this class , every round is usually tough . Just to be in the group of drivers who are good is just an honor , in my opinion . STANFIELD : For sure , I would definitely want to be one of the greats . Anything I drive , I don ’ t always accomplish it , but I want to strive to be the best – the best I can be . I think I have a long way to go , but I plan to try to continue to grow . I hope I get to race Pro Stock as long as possible , but any opportunity that I can get to race at a high level , that ’ s what I want to do . DI

HIRD-GENERATION drag racer Aaron Stanfield has been on the national radar for almost 10 years , as he grew up racing in NHRA ’ s sportsman ranks alongside his father , former Pro Stock driver Greg Stanfield . Even since moving up to Pro Stock , Stanfield has continued to perform at a high level in the sportsman classes , including the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown program . Stanfield is one of the most accomplished drivers in the class , having won the

2020 and 2021 world championships with engines developed in-house at Stanfield Racing Engines .

“ Man , it ’ s just cool ,” says Stanfield , who won three Factory Stock Showdown races this season . “ We talk about building programs with your own hands , and that ’ s something we ’ ve done on the Factory Stock side . Our team — Collin [ Jackson ] and Connor [ Statler ], myself , my dad , my uncle , and everybody that races with us — it ’ s something we have built , so it ’ s cool to see your hard work thrive .”

Stanfield says the Factory Stock Showdown program is similar to Pro Stock in terms of performance and competition levels . Still , it can be challenging to go back and forth between the two different cars and the intricately different driving styles .

“ I think it keeps me on my toes ,” adds Stanfield , who credits the Janac brothers and JD and Teresa Coffman of JC3 Energy for supporting his racing efforts . “ It makes it where if I want to be successful I ’ ve gotta figure out how to adapt , so I don ’ t think that ’ s a bad thing for me . But I ’ ve got some really good people that have my back . It ’ s made it , I wouldn ’ t say easy , but it ’ s made it easier for sure , just all the great people I have around me .”

84 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 172