NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In 1990, a young Greg Stanfield raced his way to the Super Stock world championship, and in 2024, the second-generation drag racer earned the sixth world title of his career as he powered to victory in the Holley EFI NHRA Factory X season standoff. In the 34 years between his first and most recent championships, the man who calls Louisiana home tallied four additional Super Stock world titles and enjoyed a successful stint in Pro Stock, finishing as high as No. 2 during the 2010 season in which he recorded a meaningful and highly sought-after NHRA U.S. Nationals victory.

This year, the inaugural season of Holley EFI Factory X, Stanfield etched his name in the pages of history once more as he bookended the season with trophies en route to a championship that narrowly missed being a double for the family as son Aaron was also in the thick of the Pro Stock fight. 

Stanfield came from drag racing stock, following in the footsteps of father Howard and Uncle Allen, and he passed that drive along to now 29-year-old Aaron. But handling a race car from behind the wheel isn’t the only story for the family –- they make their living in the Stanfield Racing Engines shop building bullets for drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown as well as the still-new Factory X category. 

Both father and son were invested in nurturing Factory X, and Stanfield was the first to bring the class to the public eye as he debuted his classic-look Rod Shop Camaro at an exhibition during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk in 2023. As more drivers entered the scene in their 2019 or newer manufactured cars, eager to show that they could tame the beast and manually shift the lightweight, supercharged entries to victory, the competition intensified. Stanfield won three exhibition races that first year, the first of which was held during the U.S. Nationals – where he defeated Chris Holbrook and his Varsity Ford Mustang – and then at the fall races in Charlotte and Las Vegas, both over Allen Johnson driving Geoff Turk’s Blackbird X Challenger. 

As the class began to find its way in the exhibition season, Johnson was the first to score a spot in the Jesel 200-MPH Club with his 202.55-mph pass in St. Louis in 2023, and the mood heading into the first season of true championship competition was even more exuberant. In addition to joining Johnson in the Jesel 200-MPH Club, another coveted target was on the table: being the first to go quicker than seven seconds and earn a spot in the ARP Six-Second Club. Adding fuel to the fire, Aaron joined the Factory X fold in 2024 alongside his father driving the Janac Brothers Lee Shepherd/Reher-Morrison tribute car. The young man became one of his father’s biggest -– though friendliest –- rivals.

After the elder Stanfield won the class season opener in Las Vegas this season, he fell in the first round at the Charlotte NHRA 4-Wide Nationals to Aaron. The tables turned, though, in Chicago when his father was .006 at the Tree and 7.140, 192.25 mph at the finish line stripe to handily strike down his youngster’s .057 and quicker 7.1222 on a holeshot. 

“That was the highlight of the season,” said Stanfield, who solidified the 50th national event win for Gil Kirk and the historic Rod Shop team with the accomplishment. “That was pretty cool. And any time you can beat Aaron, you’ve had a great day. He definitely brings out the best in me.”

A challenging summer preceded the Texas NHRA FallNationals, where Stanfield returned to the winner’s circle after a great race with Jesse Alexandra, who made the quickest run in the history of the class earlier in the weekend, bumping right up against the sixes with a 7.009 that was matched by Stanfield to the thousandth. 

“We made a great run [in the final] on a hot track, and there was some great racing, for sure,” Stanfield emphasized at the conclusion of the event. “Holding one of those Wallys, it’s special – especially for the guys that put all the work into this. I’m just the lucky one who gets to drive.”

The victory was pleasing, but his engine-building heart was set on seeing a 6.99 or better on the scoreboard. Every driver and team in the class had their sights set on a six-second time slip. 

The next event was to be the last of the season for the Holley EFI Factory X crowd, and it was to take place at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Conditions were welcoming on Friday night, and Alexandra became the first driver to join the ARP Six-Second Club with his 6.998. Aaron became the second member of the exclusive group later that evening with a 6.995, while Stanfield’s 7.003 was again right up against the target. 

In the final round that decided the championship, Stanfield finally broke through, clocking a 6.983 at 193.05 next to Holbrook’s 7.274. His pass will stand as the quickest in Holley EFI Factory X. 

“It’s been kind of a weird season, and I’m glad it’s over – but I’m glad to be here,” said Stanfield, who thanked Rick Kirk, Gil Kirk, and the Rod Shop; Pat Quinn; David and Joe Janac; Ben Strader; Ross Wilson; and the team at Stanfield Racing Engines, including wife Cynthia and Aaron. “I would like to see this class build and get better. It’s going to take a lot, but I hope it does. Aaron and I are going to step out of the seat next year and help support the class. That’s our plan.” 

Read more 2024 NHRA world champion profiles