GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series got off to a dramatic start with No. 2 qualifier Ricky Hord, from Orlando, Fla., winning for the third time in his career.
Hord outran veteran driver and 2025 Bristol winner David Janac in a close Chevrolet COPO Camaro versus Ford Mustang Cobra Jet final round.
The Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown category provided thrilling action throughout the day as Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks battled for the Gatornationals title. The win for Hord was extra special considering he closed out the 2025 season with a win in St. Louis.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in that we just won the Gatornationals,” said Hord. “After winning St. Louis at the end of the year, we took the motor out, sent it back the Stanfields [their engine program]. We put the car up on the jacks and turned the lights off. Last week, we took it off the jacks, put the motor in it and brought it back here. Our goal was to try and make the same kind of passes and go rounds. We are just going out there every run trying to be consistent, chip away at every pass and just do my best to drive off the starting line.”
In the final, Hord was first off the starting line with a reaction time advantage of .047 seconds to .052 seconds and he never trailed in the drag race. At the finish line stripe, Hord’s Camaro tripped the lights at 7.735 seconds, 178.28 mph in front of Janac’s 7.792 second run at 180.69 mph. Hord’s final pass was his quickest of eliminations and made the driver 3-0 in Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown final rounds.
In the opening round, Hord took the win with his clutch pedal jumping off the starting line first and defeating rookie second generation driver Kyle Pawuk, son of two-time world champion Mark Pawuk, with a slower elapsed time. Hord was able to react quicker off the starting line and take the win with a 7.752 second elapsed time. It was a close race as Pawuk was closing at the finish line and simply ran out of racetrack to catch Hord.
“We started building good momentum this weekend,” said Hord. “I felt really good in the car all weekend. I was happy to see Kyle come out and race. He deserved that win, but I was a little quicker on the tree. We’re so excited. We’re ready for the next race. We’re gonna just go back to the drawing board, make sure the car is all happy. Go back there and just make the small things better. We just want to make good A to B passes.”
Hord took out another second-generation driver in the quarterfinals trailering Matt Hartman, son of championship contender Lee with a quicker 7.741 second pass at 177.25 mph. Hartman was first off the line but Hord’s COPO Camaro had too much horsepower and chased him down for the win.
In the last round before the final round match up with Janac, Hord faced a brand-new opponent Richard Brierie in the semifinals. Hord was exceptional on the starting line with his best reaction time of the day, a nearly perfect .019 second jump and he never trailed in the race.
“I believe that parity is very important in this class, and seeing all three manufacturers helps potentially bring more cars out. We had 16 cars here, which is a good turnout, but we can always have more,” added Hord.
