Bartone Bros. Racing captured its second consecutive win in Top Alcohol Funny Car on Sunday, claiming the Wally at the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex.
Driver Sean Bellemeur piloted Tony Bartone’s “Pirate Ship” to a victory over fast qualifier Stan Sipos in a pedalfest final round. Both drivers battled to hook up their 5,000-horsepower machines to the track, with Bellemeur ultimately securing the win and crucial national points.
The victory strengthens the team’s championship campaign as it heads into the final three events of the season.
“Qualifying at a national event is a guessing game,” Bellemeur said. “Weather conditions, the cars that have run before us and track prep can change greatly, obviously making the tuning decisions difficult on any crew. We came out and ran a 5.41 on Friday morning when conditions were great, the track was good, and we knew we had a fast setup. It took a couple of runs in the heat and unfortunately a first-round All-Stars loss, but we were able to build a tune-up for the national event race to turn on win lights.”
He reflected on the challenging final round: “That final round is exactly why I became a funny car driver. Les Davenport and Stan Sipos have a great car. The conditions were hot again and when the car had the front end up and drove out of the groove, I knew it was going to be ugly. The team gives me their best every time and I just wanted to hold my own and do what we had to do to get the win light. Sometimes you look back at a run and say, ‘well maybe I shouldn’t have done that,’ but with what was on the line and at this point in the season, we did what we had to do to get the win.”
With three events remaining—including a regional and national event in Las Vegas and the season finale in Pomona—the team is focused on its goal of a fifth championship.
“The plan the rest of the way is simple,” Bellemeur continued. “Focus on the next run. We aren’t counting points. We’re focused on being smart and doing the best we can each time we hit the starting line. Everyone is gunning for us. There’s a lot of outside noise right now. The best way to handle that is to keep our heads down and focus on the task at hand. It’s going to be an exciting end of the season.”
Bellemeur credited the entire team for the Texas victory. “It was a great team win. Tony Bartone gives us the tools and we need to keep putting them to fast use. Steve Boggs is a legend and the best, and the work put into every run by Troy Green, Nick Stoms, Justin Taylor, Garret Bateman, Brian Gawlik, Lauren McMaster and Matt Krebs – gets us those win lights.”
The team extends a huge thank you to its incredible sponsors: Red Line Synthetic Oil, Roger Dean Chevrolet, Talon Air, LLC, NGK Spark Plugs, and Mastercam, 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 October 15, 2025. 
The post Sean Bellemeur, Bartone Bros. Racing Secure Second Consecutive Victory at Texas NHRA FallNationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
