TEXAS NHRA FALLNATIONALS: ELITE MOTORSPORTS QUALIFYING

Aaron Stanfield wins Battle for the Saddle with Career Best Lap

ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 17, 2026) – Aaron Stanfield and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / Janac Brothers Racing team won the “Battle of the Saddle” Saturday at the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex with a career best pass.

After the track dropped below safe temperatures, the Friday night session for Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle was postponed to Saturday morning. In ideal racing conditions on Saturday morning, Aaron handled the JHG / Melling machine to a 6.443-second pass at 213.76 mph, which briefly tied the national elapsed time record and earned him $8,500 in bonus money.

“From a driver standpoint, that was about as perfect of a run as you could possibly make. I mean, it felt really good inside the race car,” Aaron said. “Overall, those Elite Motorsports crew chiefs, they did a great job making the calls. It feels good to see this JHG / Melling / Janac Brothers hot rod starting to roll again. We’re back in a competitive spot and it feels good. It’s going to be some good racing here on Sunday. The competition is going to be tight, just how we like things. Puts it in the driver’s hands. I’m very excited.”

At the end of qualifying, Aaron’s 6.443-second run is tied as the second quickest in NHRA Pro Stock history and earned him the No. 2 qualifying position with a first-round match up against Matt Hartford. The Pro Stock field is the quickest in NHRA history, all 16 cars ran in the 6.40s.

In Top Fuel, Tony Stewart set both ends of his career best with a 3.668-second pass at 343.70 mph in the R+L Carriers dragster Friday night. He finishes qualifying in the No. 2 spot and will face off with Spencer Massey in the first round.

“It’s been a great few days of qualifying. We knew coming in here that there would be potential for records to be broken and history to be made. We got to be part of that for at least a short time,” said Stewart. “The weather has been great, the track has been awesome, and really, these R+L guys have been working their butts off. Mike Green and Joe Barlam are making all the right calls. It’s really a situation where all the pieces are coming together. That 3.668-second run at 343.70 mph is proof of that. Great team, great weather, great track. I’m excited for what’s going to happen on race day.”

Eliminations at the Texas NHRA FallNationals are slated to begin Sunday at noon. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a qualifying show Sunday at 2 p.m. ET followed by an eliminations show at 4 p.m. ET.