Bartone Bros. Racing opened the 2026 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series season in emphatic fashion Sunday, winning the Top Alcohol Funny Car class at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Driver Sean Bellemeur piloted Tony Bartone’s “Pirate Ship” to victory over Chris Foster in the final round, claiming the first 75th NHRA Anniversary Silver Wally trophy in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category. Bellemeur cut a .025-second reaction time and powered to a 5.43-second pass at 268 mph to secure the win.
The victory carries added significance for Bellemeur, who was named one of the Top 75 drivers in NHRA history. The win (49 national) moves him within one of joining the prestigious 50-national-win club.
The on-track success capped an unforgettable weekend for the team, which also celebrated the Thursday evening induction of team tuner Steve Boggs into the International Hot Rod Hall of Fame.
“This weekend proves why Steve Boggs belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Bellemeur said. “When we unloaded the car, it wasn’t happy. The computer was giving us some goofy data and misled us for a couple of runs. Race Data came over and helped us out. Then Steve went to work. The car kept getting better and better, and last night we laid down low ET of the weekend. In the middle of that run, I knew we had our hot rod back. It was just a matter of managing the racetrack in the final today.”
Bellemeur praised the resilience of the “Killer B’s” crew throughout a grueling race week.
“It was a week of fatigue for these guys,” he said. “It’s proof of what this team that Tony Bartone has assembled is all about – they are a bunch of warriors. All of the hours day and night, no sleep and early mornings, they kept their focus.”
Bellemeur extended gratitude to the team’s partners and crew.
“I want to thank our partners Red Line Oil, Talon Air, McLeod, NGK Spark Plugs, and Roger Dean Chevrolet,” he said. “I appreciate the team of Tony Bartone, Steve Boggs, Troy Green, Nick Stoms, Justin Taylor, Garret Bateman, Brian Gawlik, Lauren McMaster, and Matt Krebs for the long hours and hard work this weekend. No one got discouraged, and we took our second Gatornationals win in a row and our first – of I hope many – 75th NHRA Silver Wally trophies of the season.”
The team extended a heartfelt thank you to its sponsors: Red Line Synthetic Oil, Roger Dean Chevrolet, Talon Air, LLC, NGK Spark Plugs, and McLeod, along with product supporters Simpson Performance Products and Taylor Motorsports Products.For more information on Bartone Bros. Racing, including race recaps and photos, please visit the team site at www.BartoneBrosRacing.com.
This story was originally published on March 9, 2026. 
