Old School With a New Twist
Nostalgia drag races, sponsored by the Goodguys Vintage Racing Assn. for pre-1980 equipment, conjures visions of old geezers in top-fuel dragsters and funny cars restored and refurbished from backyard cobwebs.
Such is far from the case.
Sean Bellemeur, one of the hottest drivers on the VRA circuit, is 23. The nitro-powered top-fuel nostalgia dragster he will drive this weekend in the Goodguys’ Nitro Nationals at Pomona Raceway is as new and modern as any fueler in the NHRA Powerade series.
“It looks like one of those old slingshot dragsters of the ‘70s, with the engine in front, but it has all the technology -- full onboard computers, supercharger, all the modern stuff,” said Bellemeur, a second-generation driver from Fullerton whose father Gregg raced fuel altereds from 1970 to 1983 and whose mother Nancy was track operator at long-gone Orange County International Raceway.
“Other than having the engine in front, the only difference is having 12-inch tires instead of the 17-inch ones the NHRA uses today,” Bellemeur said. “At 250 mph, racing on a 12-inch tire can be pretty exciting.”
Bellemeur is coming off a top-fuel win in the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion at Bowling Green, Ky., his second in succession. He also drives a family-owned funny car in the NHRA Powerade series.
“The driving styles are 100% different,” he said. “The speeds are nearly identical, but it’s a lot busier in the funny car. I always say, ‘A funny car, you drive it; a dragster, it drives you.’ The only similarity is that the engine is in front in both, so I’m used to looking around the motor. With both my parents in drag racing, I grew up around it, so I feel at home in both series.”
Bellemeur became the youngest member of the Goodguys 200-mph club when he was 17.
A licensed firefighter, he will be at home at Pomona, where he once was head of the raceway’s fire safety operations. He also is a member of the NHRA Safety Safari.
A special feature will be night qualifying tonight and Saturday, starting at 8. There will be all-day qualifying and practice for other classes both days.
“Nitro cars at night, there’s nothing better than that,” Bellemeur said.
Funny cars, which must have a 1980 or earlier body style, are relatively new in nostalgia racing, but according to Goodguys spokesman John Drummond they are creating the most buzz.
“Fans get a real kick out of seeing the funny cars look the way they remember them 25 or more years ago,” Drummond said. “Many are originals from back in their era. The Goodguys’ funny car champion, Randy Walls, competes in the same [Chevy] Nova that he drove in 1970.
“I’d say about 80% of the cars are new, built to look old, and about 20% are old cars brought up to date with strict 2005 safety standards.”
Ron Capps, who drives a Dodge Stratus funny car on the NHRA circuit, is taking advantage of a week off to drive Jeff Gaynor’s 1970 Plymouth at Pomona in the nostalgia funny car class.
“People get very emotional and enthusiastic when they think back to the good old days,” said funny car legend Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen, who will be honored by the Goodguys along with longtime drag racing announcer Dave McClelland. “A lot of guys have gone back and restored their old drag cars. ... Nostalgia is really hot right now in drag racing.”
Final eliminations are Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. Race officials say they expect more than 30,000 for the three days.
Southland Scene
Damion “the Demon” Gardner has 10 victories in the USAC/CRA sprint car series to one for Rip Williams but still is 50 points behind the defending champion going into Saturday night’s 30-lap main event at Perris Auto Speedway.
Gardner won twice at Skagit, Wash., last weekend. The driver from Concord also won a USAC western midget race July 9 at Bakersfield, driving for NHRA funny car driver Cruz Pedregon.
Greg Pursley and Rip Michels, who won national NASCAR short track championships driving at Irwindale Speedway in super late model and late model classes, respectively, return to the half-mile oval Saturday night as part of NASCAR’s Elite Southwest Series.
With four races left in the 14-race series, the big push is to make the top 10 and qualify for the $500,000 Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale on Nov. 11-13. Pursley is now seventh, Michels ninth.
The Stock Building Supply 150 will be complemented by main events for late models on the big oval and Grand American modifieds on the third-mile infield track.
Robert Dezarov was suspended for the final four races of the season and fined $500 for his actions after last Saturday’s Vista Paint Super Stocks race at Irwindale.
The Chevrolet Camaros driven by Dezarov, who finished 10th, and Steve Gilmore, who was 11th, collided after crossing the finish line. Dezarov then backed his car into Gilmore’s car.
John Norris of Los Angeles, driving a 325i BMW, and Jonathan Martinez of Bakersfield, in a Dodge Viper, are the first winners of the newest Cal Club prize, the Andy, after wins last week at California Speedway. Named for Andy Porterfield, legendary veteran with more than 200 wins in SCCA competition and the longest competing driver in the sports car club, the trophy goes to winners of designated “featured races” at club events.
Sports car driver Bill Pollack is one of two recipients of the James Valentine Memorial Award presented by the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians. Pollack, whose name was inadvertently omitted from an item last week, was honored for his book, “Red Wheels and White Sidewalls: the Confessions of an Allard Racer.” Louise Ann Noeth was the other winner.
Allstate 400
If you haven’t looked closely, you might not know that this is what was once the Brickyard 400.
Tony Stewart, a native of Indiana and a favorite to win Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning three of the last five races, is among many not pleased with the change.
“I’m furious,” he said in a teleconference. “It would be like saying the McDonald’s 500 instead of the Daytona 500. I don’t understand what they were thinking. There is one thing in breaking some traditions, but to commercialize everything? I think they could have done it different. ... We don’t make the rules and I guess it’s not our pockets we’re worried about filling, but I’m very disappointed by it.”
Racing Women
Katherine Legge of England, driving in Toyota Atlantic, the Champ Car development series, won her third race and second in a row Sunday on the San Jose street course.... Sarah Fisher, a rookie in NASCAR’s Grand National West series, led seven laps before finishing 11th at Monroe, Wash.... Danica Patrick, after starting eighth in the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan, had handling problems and finished 20th in the Indy Racing League race.
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This week
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP Allstate 400
* When: Saturday, qualifying (TNT, 8 a.m.); Sunday, race (Channel 4, 11:30 a.m.).
* Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (rectangular oval, 2.5 miles, 9 degrees banking in turns).
* Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.
* 2004 winner: Jeff Gordon.
* Next race: Sirius at the Glen, Aug. 14, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
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NASCAR BUSCH Kroger 200
* When: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.), race (TNT, 5:30 p.m.).
* Where: Indianapolis Raceway Park (oval, 0.686 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns).
* Race distance: 137.2 miles, 200 laps.
* 2004 winner: Chad Chaffin.
* Next race: Zippo 200, Aug. 13, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS Power Stroke Diesel 200
* When: Today, qualifying (3 p.m.), race (Speed Channel, 5:30 p.m.).
* Where: Indianapolis Raceway Park.
* Race distance: 137.2 miles, 200 laps.
* 2004 winner: Kyle Busch.
* Next race: Toyota Tundra 200, Aug. 13, Lebanon, Tenn.
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Times special correspondent Steven Herbert contributed to this report.