LEE HARTMAN RACES TO SECOND CONSECUTIVE THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS NO. 1 QUALIFIER
June 7, 2025
BRISTOL, TN (June 7, 2025) – Championship contending driver Lee Hartman took advantage of an early start in the final qualifying session today at the 24th Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals to run to the No. 1 qualifier position in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series. Hartman’s pass, a 7.885 second run at 174.46 mph, moved him around provisional No. 1 qualifier Mark Pawuk and secured his second No. 1 qualifier of the season.
“When you pull up next to Mark Pawuk, you better have your A game on,” said Hartman. “When we left, I thought, ‘Okay, my car is strong.’ I know that we had it on that pass. I was looking for a run like that, and that’s what we did. We put one on the board.”
The Flexjet Factory Stock Series drivers waited all day for their final qualifying run as sporadic showers shuffled the racing schedule at Bristol Dragway. The nearly two dozen teams of Dodges, Chevrolets and Fords filled the staging lanes for one more qualifying run when after two pairs of cars rain forced the cancellation of the final session and the field was set.
Photo credit: Auto Imagery
Track conditions played a critical role Friday and today as Hartman and the rest of the field battled atmospheric conditions as well as the altitude of Bristol Dragway to create horsepower for their factory stock race cars.
“When the track is so critical, as it’s been this weekend, you have to be ready,” said Hartman. “I think only two or three cars went down in Q1. You had to recognize what you could get from the track and those Stanfield Racing guys put the right set-up in the car to make it perfect. We had the hood open right before we pulled to the line making an adjustment on that final run. It was a critical situation, and we made the right call to go to No. 1.”
Hartman gets his power from Stanfield Racing Engines which is owned and operated by Greg and Aaron Stanfield, world championship drivers and tuners in Pro Stock, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X. The Stanfield duo of racing knowledge positioned Hartman to make a run for the top of the order.
“I can’t say enough about Aaron, Greg and the entire Stanfield team,” said Hartman. “We have two world champions making calls here. They are making the right calls and we’re doing all the right things. It paid off today. These guys are just amazing.”
This is the second race in a row for Hartman to secure the No. 1 qualifier position. In Chicago he was quickest in the category and raced to the final round before losing a close race to Jason Dietsch at Route 66 Raceway. This weekend Hartman is looking for his first win driving his eye-catching red Dodge Challenger.
“Getting that first win is the plan. We gotta stay focused and that’s our objective this year,” said Hartman. “We are trying to do everything right. If we have a hiccup here and there, we try and fix it. Last race, we didn’t have an outcome we wanted but we’ll fix it and move on. We have our nose to the grindstone and we’re staying on it.”
“I thought about that the other day, and I thought ‘Boy, that’d be great to do back-to-back at both places.’ We feel like a NASCAR team,” said Hartman. “We got the setup at these two tracks. We worked tirelessly on this car. Perry’s just been outstanding on getting the car set up, getting it to the line, and getting us in the perfect spot. We’ve worked on all that stuff over the wintertime, and they’ve been tuning this car day and night.”
After two sessions on Friday 2024 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world champion Pawuk and his Empaco Dodge Challenger were sitting at the top of the field with a 7.905 second pass right in front of Hartman’s 7.928 second and Scott Libersher’s 7.961 second passes. Hartman secured the No. 1 qualifier at the Chicago Route 66 Nationals three weeks ago.
Hartman will face Raymond Nash in the first round while Pawuk will face off with Jason Dietsch the Chicago Route 66 Nationals winner. Pawuk will head into the first round of eliminations chasing the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown $1,000 bounty. He will be the first driver with a shot at taking down Dietsch, the No. 15 qualifier, and securing the bonus cash in the first round of eliminations at Bristol Dragway.
Teammates Josh Hart and David Davies II will go head-to-head in the first round and Las Vegas winner Jonathan Allegrucci will race Tony Scott Jr. in the opening session. The first of four rounds of eliminations will get underway following the noon ET start of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
FIRST ROUND MATCH-UPS
- No. 1 Lee Hartman vs. No. 16 Raymond Nash
- No. 2 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 15 Jason Dietsch
- No. 3 Scott Libersher vs. No. 14 Taylor Dietsch
- No. 4 Jonathan Allegrucci vs. No. 13 Tony Scott Jr.
- No. 5 James Betz vs. No. 12 Mike Lloyd
- No. 6 David Janac vs. No. 11 Anthony Berge
- No. 7 David Davies II vs. No. 10 Josh Hart
- No. 8 Doug Hamp vs. No. 9 Kim Shirley
2025 FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SCHEDULE
- June 26 – 29: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio
- Aug. 27 – Sept. 1: Cornwell Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis, Ind.
- Sept. 11 – 14: Reading NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa.
- Sept. 26 – 29: NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis, Mo.
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