"Baby Gator" News

The first shoe dropped in what could be the story of the year in Top Alcohol Funny Car. The longstanding, since March 2018, top speed record in TAFC, held by Annie Whiteley was broken during qualifying yesterday at Gainesville Raceway. After the otherworldly performance of the Boggs, Bartone & Bellemeur" "Pirate Ship" at a test session at that same track last month, it was expected that the "Killer B's" would be the first to smash the speed record.

Despite recording a speed of 281.42 mph in the final qualifying session, driver Sean Bellemeur wasn't able to back it up within the required 2 % window. His earlier speeds of 275.73 and 276.41 fell just short of the required 278.60 mph to certify the record. So who did break the record? It was Mick "The Real Deal" Steele, as his first qualifying session speed of 277.15 was backed up by the second session 275.56 to give him the record. It might not hold up through eliminations though, as Bellemeur could run fast enough - or faster - to raise the mark over 280-mph.

Additionally, both Steele and Bellemeur have a chance to back up their qualifying e.t.'s, which are both under Bellemeur's current record, set six yearsd ago, of 5.352. Bellemeur's 5.330 and Steele's 5.339 are both below that standard, and they both came close to backing up those e.t.'s during qualifying. If conditions stay conducive to good performances today and the racers remain consistent, we could see some serious history being written. How that will affect the class as a whole remains to be seen, but this weekend will be the first shot in what might be a protracted war between the blown and injected factions in the "Alcohol" Funny Car world.

Stay tuned for more developments later today.

9:30 AM UPDATE: There is now a new elapsed time record in Top Alcohol Funny Car. In the first round of eliminations at the Southeast Division - East Region event at Gainesville Raceway, Sean Bellemeur backed up his low qualifying e.t., 5.330, with an almost as quick 5.349 to validate the record. However, his speed on the run, 271.30, wasn't anywhere near what was needed to back up a possible new speed record. Interestingly, Mick Steele ran another big speed of 276.52 to add to his accomplishments for the event. Both racers advanced to the semifinals so they have at least one more chance to reset the records, and possibly two if they meet in the final round later today.

8:00 PM UPDATE: It's now official that Sean Bellemeur owns both ends of the Top Alcohol Funny Car records. He set the e.t. mark with a 5.330 during qualifying, and backed that up with a 5.349 in the first round of eliminations. The speed record that was set on Friday by Mick Steele was erased when Bellemeur went across the finish line at 280.78 mph in the semifinal round, after putting up a 281.42 mph pass during qualifying. Quite a start for the "Killer B's" and if they can match or better those numbers at next week's Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, then there will be some very serious looks at the rules package by the NHRA Competition Committee.