Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 75

The Champions of 2019
[ NHRA TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR ]
Sean Bellemeur
B
ack-to-back championships
in a category like Top Alcohol
Funny Car are the stuff dreams
are made of, and SoCal racer Sean
Bellemeur is absolutely living his dream. Give him
a chance, and the ever-enthusiastic second-gen
driver will gladly tell you all about it. First, though,
he’ll give credit where credit is due.
“Tony Bartone [team owner] makes sure we
have the equipment to get it done, and the com-
munication within our team this year has been
really good,” explains Bellemeur. “The addition
of Troy Green as car chief, and his relationship
with [crew chief ] Steve Boggs, was as relevant as
anything in terms of winning this championship.
Troy being there gave Boggs the ability to really
focus attention on the tune-up, the changing
weather, and the track prep. I think all of that
was critical to what we were able to accomplish.”
Bellemeur had another incredible season, par-
ticularly in national event competition. He won
in Gainesville, scored a regional title in Reading,
won another national in Topeka, then another in
Norwalk, which kicked off a remarkable five con-
secutive national events in which the Bartone Bros.
Hussey Performance Camaro was unstoppable.
Strangely, a large amount of value came from
something many would perceive as negative –
the team’s second-round loss at the Chevrolet
Performance U.S. Nationals.
“That race was pivotal,” says Bellemeur. “We
learned something that turned our whole season
around. We’d had some success, set the national
record at Gainesville and won the race, but we’d
also struggled a little. The conditions in Indianap-
olis were tricky, and that gave us the opportunity
to learn something the car did not like. We were
hard to beat after that.”
Another challenge was shared by everyone in
the class, but Bellemeur may have had an ad-
vantage with seasoned tuner Boggs on his side.
“We’re seeing the development of ‘super teams,’
like Shane Westerfield with Rick Jackson and
Jonnie Lindberg with Brian Hough,” Bellemeur
says. “They came out swinging and absolutely
made their presence known. You could feel people
breathing down your neck this year, and I expect
more of that. But the team we have under us is
strong. Next year, we’re going to go out, have a lot
of fun, and try to continue what we’ve been doing.
It’s been a heck of a ride so far.” – KELLY WADE
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
Haley James
Ja n u a r y 2 0 2 0
NMRA RENEGADE
//
B rad Schehr
NMRA MODIFIED STREET
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