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to dream of driving a Funny Car, let alone have the kind of success we’ ve had. It’ s been nothing short of a dream come true.
When I joined the team full-time in 2018, they had a reputable team. I was just kind of the new guy to step in and drive, and we did very, very well. But it was one of those things where it was just like, OK, this is the way we’ re going to run the car in 2018. We did, and we won the championship.
In 2019, we had a couple of personnel changes, and we still kind of had that role. It’ s kind of funny – I feel like 2024 was an A ++, and 2019 was just an A. All my life, I would’ ve killed to have had an A season. I can’ t quite put my finger on it, but in’ 19, we were good enough to win the championship, but we were not perfect.
In 2021 – COVID – that was a weird season. Not to take anything away from any champions that won during those COVID years, but I just kind of feel like there’ s an asterisk next to them, and that’ s just my personal opinion.
2024 was the best team I had ever had, the best equipment we’ d ever had; the car was absolutely flawless. We worked through a couple of mechanical issues toward the middle and end of 2023. We knew going in that we had something special in 2024.
Then, there was that same old chip on our shoulder. That deal in Dallas, I’ m telling you, was a momentous event in the book that is Bartone Bros. Racing. It’ s that all the equipment had to be ready, the tune-up had to be ready, the team had to be ready, Steve and I had to be ready, and we were all ready. And that’ s why I think 2024 was so special. It was by far my proudest season. I felt like it’ s the season that I consistently drove the best throughout the year, and Steve made the car fast everywhere we went, which is nothing new to him, but we were consistently fast. Nobody wanted to race us.
The other side of that was I had a new rival in Maddi Gordon, and with her being the new kid, I wanted to show her a thing or two. They’ re coming hard, and she’ s talented, and the car is there, but I wanted to prove that I wasn’ t done yet. So, all of that together, 2024 was a special, special season. It was
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one of those years that had a big bow wrapped around it.
Boggs: Well, when you’ re 81 years old, you know you don’ t have many left. But when you think you should’ ve won some of the other years but didn’ t because of this or that, this was just icing on the cake.
It was just a special year to win the championship. Everybody did a good job – everybody contributed. I have people ask me,“ How do you win a championship?” I said,“ Let me tell you, first of all, you’ ve got to have a good driver, a good crew chief, and a good crew and the good owner.” Now, if you leave home
“ Determined to reclaim their status after the 2023 season’ s setback, Bartone Bros. Racing came out swinging and embarked on their 2024 Vengeance Tour.”
BOGGS AND BELLEMEUR HAVE A MUTUAL RESPECT THAT STARTED BEFORE THE TWO WORKED TOGETHER. IT WAS BOGGS WHO FIRST REACHED OUT TO BELLEMEUR ABOUT SOMEDAY DRIVING FOR THE BARTONE BROS. TEAM.
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without one of them, you sometimes shouldn’ t even leave home because you’ ve left one-fourth of your combination, and so I look at it like it’ s a team effort. Nobody does anything on their own.
Sean will be the first one to tell you – it’ s not just his driving, it’ s not just my tuning, it’ s not just Tony owning the team, and it’ s not just the crew. It’ s all of us. Everybody is 100 %, and I’ ll even call it 110 %, dedicated to doing the best we can do.
How do you guys celebrate your wins? Bellemeur: One thing that we really enjoy doing, and it speaks to the character that is Tony and the team – we’ ll go do our winner’ s circle pictures. Obviously, it is very, very tough to win an NHRA national event. Those Wallys don’ t come easy, and there are a lot of people who spend a lot of money trying to get that same trophy we’ re fighting for.
So, when celebration is in order, when we get back to the pit area, we have a surround sound system stereo in the trailer, and we fire up Frank Sinatra’ s“ New York,” we stop and toast and we listen to Frank Sinatra. Just in the classiness that is Tony Bartone and being from Long Island, it just kind of seems fitting.
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We take about a five-minute break. We pour our favorite beverage. We toast to Frank Sinatra and the job well done by all, and then it’ s about our business on to the next one.
You have such a tight-knit group of guys – the“ Killer Bs.” Give us some insight into that. Bellemeur: I consider the men and women involved with Bartone Bros. Racing family. That’ s something that’ s very important to me. It’ s just a pleasure to get to work with every individual on that team, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
I’ ve been a part of race teams over the years, and I can tell you which ones are successful and which ones are not. My father taught me that. My father raced for years and years, along with my mom, and the race teams that he had over those years, every one of them was successful with the right people in place.
In 2007, I drove for Bob DeVour and Ron Meer, and DeVour taught me more as a driver and how to be a champion, I think, than any other single person, other than maybe my dad. DeVour has a saying, and that saying is harmony brings speed. That has stuck with me since 2007.
With that said, the group of individuals that Tony has put together
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