Bartone Bros Racing won Top Alcohol Funny Car at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals run at Maple Grove Raceway during the weather-induced postponed race on Monday.
The team was one or two in qualifying all weekend. The Killer B’s were all set for the final yesterday afternoon when rain canceled the remaining schedule at “The Grove.” Not fazed, the team used the extra time to max prep the “Pirate Ship” for the final run at 11 a.m. this morning. Sean Bellemeur lined up against Matt Gill, who had lane choice. The Bartone Bros Racing driver put down a pass of 5.46 and 266 MPH to take his second Wally in a row, winning Indy two weeks ago. The team has now won National events at Charlotte (four-wide) and Indy, to go along with Regional wins in Las Vegas and Norwalk.
“Steve (Boggs) has a lot of history here at The Grove,” Bellemeur said. “Looking ahead at the weather for the weekend, he was pretty excited. The conditions were going to be cool, and the track would be fast. So, he let her rip right away and we did a 5.42 in qualifying. That showed what this Killer B’s team is made of and how much horsepower we can make. At that point it was about racing smart, putting the horsepower to it when we needed and turning on win lights.
“The track today for the final was unbelievable. We underestimated it going 5.46. We were racing between raindrops. Mother Nature was still trying to wash us out all morning long. We went up to the line with a plan. Matt Gill is a good driver. We knew we had to go hard. The track was a little better than we anticipated but the team got the job done. Thanks to Tony Bartone for the resources to win and the guys: Steve, Troy, Justin, Seth, Nick, and Matt.”
The team will travel to the betway NHRA Carolina Nationals to run at zMAX Dragway, September 22-24.
The team would like to thank team sponsors Red Line Oil, Roger Dean Chevrolet, Talon Air, NGK Spark Plugs, and Mastercam, along with product sponsors Simpson Performance Products and Taylor Motorsports Products.
This story was originally published on September 18, 2023. 
