CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
SEPT. 26, 2021
Chevrolet adds to manufacturer points total with big day in Midwest
• Erica Enders wins fourth Pro Stock race of season, 33rd of her career
• Brittany Force’s 337.66 mph run is third-best all-time speed in Top Fuel
• Aaron Stanfield clinches Factory Stock Showdown title in COPO Camaro
• Ryan Montford earns Stock Eliminator Wally in COPO Camaro
MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 26, 2021) – Reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders can’t put her finger on why her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS has been so strong at World Wide Technology Raceway through the years.
“I don’t know but I love it. I don’t question it,” said Enders, who picked up her third consecutive victory at the racetrack by defeating National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Rookie of the Year candidate Dallas Glenn in the final of the NHRA Midwest Nationals.
The event, which was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the third round of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Brittany Force’s streak of consecutive Top Fuel No. 1 qualifiers ended at eight, though the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster qualifier No. 2 at 3.663 seconds. In her first-round elimination matchup, Force blistered the track in 3.641 seconds at 337.66 mph – the third-fastest speed in NHRA Top Fuel history and a track record. Force holds the top three all-time slots in speed, topped by the 338.17 mph run at Las Vegas in October 2019, and four of the top five.
Force lost in the quarterfinals on a holeshot to Justin Hart for the second consecutive event, which dropped the 2017 champion to second in the standings.
John Force remained third in the Funny Car standings after falling in the semifinals in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS. He defeated teammate Robert Hight, the No. 7 qualifier in the AAA Missouri Camaro SS, in the first round.
Enders, who earned her class-leading fourth victory of the season and 33rd of her career, overcame Glenn’s .001-of-a-second reaction time to win by two-thousandths of a second. Glenn, driving the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS for KB Racing, has two wins in four final-round appearances through 13 races.
“I knew it was going to be close. I think I was shoving the throttle pedal through the firewall, but thanks to Elite Performance that make it possible,” said Enders, who is second in points with three races left.
Points leader Greg Anderson will have to wait two weeks before resuming his pursuit of becoming the all-time leader in Pro Stock victories as the No. 1 qualifier in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS fell on a holeshot in the quarterfinals to Mason McGaha in the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Camaro SS. Anderson, who a week earlier tied Warren Johnson for the class lead with 97 wins, moved to seven round wins of Johnson for second on the all-time NHRA list.
Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro, clinched his second consecutive Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown championship in the first round of eliminations and went on to earn his second Wally of the season. He defeated Len Lottig in an all-COPO Camaro final.
“It was a long, hard fight. We struggled some throughout the year, but at this race we started to turn it around a bit and found a little bit of power,” said Stanfield, the No. 1 qualifier at World Wide Technology Raceway. “I can’t thank my dad, my uncle – all of us work so hard in the shop – and Joe and David Janac and all they do for me. I could never dream of winning two championships in a row in this class. It’s pretty cool to win the championship and the race on the same day.”
Stanfield, 26, of Bossier City, Louisiana, won five of the six Factory Stock Showdown races in 2020 in the COPO Camaro. Drivers of the COPO Camaro have won six of the seven races in the eight-race series this season. David Barton, Jesse Alexandra, Chuck Watson II, John Cerbone and Stephen Bell have also notched victories.
Ryan Montford of Wichita, Kansas, earned his third national event victory and first in five years, driving his Omaha Track COPO Camaro to victory in Stock Eliminator.
“Couldn’t feel better to be back on this stage,” he said. “We took a break for a couple of years and didn’t run a lot of national events or divisionals and started back up again this year to do what we like to do.”
The Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis will host Round 4 of the Countdown to the Championship on Oct. 8-10. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 10.
FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 10.
An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (fourth win of season):
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE?
“I don’t know but I love it. I don’t question it. Steve (Torrence) and I were just talking about it. We’ve been coming here since we were kids, dragging our trailers with our Super Comp dragsters, so we’ve been doing this for 20-plus years. It’s a blast.”
IN THE FINAL, YOU HAD TO KNOW HE WAS RIGHT THERE.
“I did. I knew it was going to be close. I think I was shoving the throttle pedal through the firewall, but thanks to Elite Performance that make it possible. It makes me feel happy.”
WHAT A DAY POINTS-WISE.
“We’re looking forward to keeping that No. 1. We just needed Greg (Anderson) to stumble a little bit and we needed to go to work on making our program better. I needed to go to work behind the steering wheel; I’ve been struggling a little bit lately. Tim Freeman and Mark Ingersoll, my crew chiefs, said (.010-of-a-second reaction time) you can’t lose. I was 10, I don’t know how. Dallas (Glenn) was .001; these kids are keeping us honest and making us work for it. (The chase for the title) is going to be a dogfight. My crew works their tails off and have had to elevate me. They’ve dug deep, they’ve picked me up, stood behind me. We were able to park this Camaro in the winner’s circle today and that’s all that I care about.”
An interview with Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown race winner and champion AARON STANFIELD, JANAC BROTHERS RACING CHEVROLET COPO CAMARO:
YOU HAD QUITE THE WEEKEND.
“It was a really good weekend. The competition is tough right now. The Chevys are obviously running really fast. It was good to qualify No. 1 and come out on top.”
DO YOU GET MORE PRIDE FROM THE CAR RUNNING AS FAST AS IT DOES OR FROM DOING THE JOB INSIDE?
“I definitely can say I take a lot of pride on how the car runs. That’s part of the reason why I enjoy this class. It’s something that we’ve worked really hard to do well in.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO STAY FOCUSED WHEN YOU NOT ONLY HAVE YOUR CAR BUT OTHER CUSTOMERS?
“I’ve been able to figure out how to deal with all that. We all work really hard and work really well together, so that’s a big help. The Janac brothers have blessed me with the opportunity to drive this hot rod.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “Tough day for this Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team, getting beat in the second round. We had a hole out, but I also wasn’t there on the starting line. There’s still four races left in this Countdown and that’s plenty of time for us to regroup and move forward.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “Well, we went some rounds, kept ourselves up there in the points. My guys, this PEAK team. They’ve worked hard, four races in a row, it ain’t easy. Big picture, we’re OK. Four races left and we’re still in the hunt for this championship.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA MISSOURI CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier, fell first round to John Force): “Rough day for this AAA team. We had a good car, made some mistakes. I think if we keep our heads down, keep doing what we know how to do, including myself in that, we could still pull this off. There’s still time.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “”It feels great to be No. 1, but it’s such a slim edge. Anyone can win. You have to be perfect every time you go out there: on the tree, on the clutch and with the engine. On top of that, the good Lord has to be watching over you, and you have to have some luck.” (About teammates Dallas Glenn and Kyle Koretsky) “I’m proud of the racers they’ve become, the way they pay attention, and the way they watch what’s going on. They bend and they flex, they never get out of the game, and they bounce back in a hurry. It’s impressive to watch, but it’s tough going up against these guys. They’ve pushed me to be better, and I have no choice. They don’t fear anything, so you have to find a way to be better or go home.”
DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier, runner-up): “This Camaro has always been good here. I knew Erica (Enders) was going to be really tough in the final, so I just made a big, bold move on my clutch pedal and it almost worked. I felt like I was ahead until about 5 feet from the finish line. It was a good race, congrats to them. I can’t complain about a final round.”
BO BUTNER, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier, fell in first round): “My deal with Johnson’s Horsepower Garage, that’s a 2022 deal that we’ll debut at the first Pro Stock race next year. It’s going to be a big deal and I’m really excited about it. You might see me in Vegas or Pomona, but that’s still really up in the air. I mean, it’s a good thing to get some runs in and be back out here, but my main focus is on our program next year with Jason Johnson and Johnson’s Horsepower Garage. We’ve got a lot of things in the works.”
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