Stanfield’s Pro Stocker Grenades Engine At Joliet

In the NHRA professional ranks, the nitro cars are known for their brutal application of horsepower, while the hallmark of the Pro Stock cars is their laser precision. It’s not uncommon to see a nitro-powered machine grenade an engine in spectacular fashion, it’s rare to see a Pro Stock car scatter an engine during a run. At the Route 66 Nationals, Aaron Stanfield’s Camaro put on the wrong kind of smoke show at the top end after his 500 cubic inch mill gave up the ghost.

NHRA Pro Stock cars have to be driven with extreme precision. The teams have to work within the 10,500 rpm rev limit, so that means they have to be shifted on time, every time. Engine builders, like Stanfield’s team Elite Motorsports, have nearly perfected the 500 cubic inch combo these engines run and are always looking for more power.

Stanfield lined up against his Elite Motorsports teammate Fernado Cuadra Jr. during round one of the Route 66 Nationals. While Cuadra went red and gave the race away, Stanfield absolutely mowed the tree down with a .002 reaction time. It looked like a normal run for Stanfield, until he crossed the finish line with a 6.610 ET at 206.86 mph. As Stanfield pulled the chutes, the engine expired in a giant ball of smoke, filling the cockpit of the car with said smoke, and basically making it impossible to see.

In this video from the NHRA’s YouTube channel, you get to see Stanfield do a masterful job bringing his car to a stop without going into the other lane or touching the wall. The Elite Motorsports Team was able to swing another bullet into Stanfield’s car before the next round. Stanfield ended up making it all the way to the final round where he fell to Dallas Glenn, a pretty impressive day considering how things went in the first round.