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KNOWN AS ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKING GUYS IN THE TOP ALCOHOL PITS, BOGGS IS ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT WHAT HE CAN DO TO FIND MORE PERFORMANCE IN THE BARTONE BROS. MACHINES.
then I drive one of the most badass cars there are to drive. Many say they’ re more difficult to drive than a fuel car. Then, when I crawl out the roof hatch, out of breath, Tony hands me money. I mean, it doesn’ t get any better than that, right?
Then, a lot of times, I get to go back, listen to Frank Sinatra, and throw my arms around my best friends – it does not get better to me, and at this point in my life, I will be Tony Bartone’ s driver as long as he will have me.
Now, Steve, tell me, how did you get bit by the drag racing bug? Boggs: When I was a kid. I grew up on a farm, and you can hear a lot of guys say this: they grew up on a farm.
My brother and I were gearheads. We wanted to soup up lawnmowers. My dad’ s farm tractor, we had put more compression in it, a bigger carburetor on it. Then we started building race cars, and it just went from there.
Back in 1965, we built an A / Altered chassis ourselves, and it wasn’ t anything like they are now; it was just weld-on black iron tubing together. Built a whole car, put a motor in it, a transmission and a Fiat body on it and started racing. Then we built that Funny Car in 1972. We had been running that car in the UDRA( United Drag Racers Association) out of the Chicago Funny Car Circuit. We traveled around the central part of the United States
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and match-raced on the weekends in alcohol.
Did you look up to anybody while you were building all those cars and racing? Boggs: Oh, sure, everybody looked up to Don Garlits, but in our categories, Dale Armstrong, Ken Veney, which I knew them all, and Wilford Boutilier, who was an alcohol Funny Car racer.
In’ 70, they built that new track in Ontario, California, and had an event called the Supernationals. I think in’ 75, Billy Williams, Dale Armstrong, Ken Veney, Wilford Boutilier, my brother and me and other people, towed from Ohio to California with a half-ton pickup truck and a little trailer. So, you know you were pretty determined. Those were the good old days when it was really hard, and you had to do everything, build everything yourself, and do everything.
What does race day look like for you? Do you have a routine or any superstitions? Bellemeur: I typically do not. One thing that I do is I like to keep things loose. I joke with my team. We are very sarcastic around each other, and we keep things loose, even on the bad days. Tony even tells me,“ Turn off the comedy show,” and to be perfectly honest, I can’ t. When I turn off the comedy show, that’ s when I’ m not in my zone.
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“ It’ s the people – some of them are spectators too – that I’ ve met over the years, and you’ ll never forget that.”
Race day for me is, you eat light, you stay frosty, and you just stick to the plan and be ready for whatever may come your way. I know that on race day, if something does get out of that routine, I’ ve got nine brothers and sisters by my side ready to pick me up off the ground, and we all have that for each other. It’ s funny – I don’ t really have to have a giant routine because I know that I’ ve got a team around me that our routine is do the same thing as yesterday.
Lastly, beyond the obvious, how do you define your job? Bellemeur: I’ m going to look something up here – this was actually in my speech at the NHRA banquet, and you want to know something actually terrible? I had pneumonia at the banquet. My wife literally took me from the banquet to the hospital, so I don’ t even remember most of it. Crazy, right?
I pulled a line from the famous
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quote that Lou Gehrig said.“ Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” I get choked up every time I think about it. Can you hear it in my voice right now?
I firmly do. I define my job as the best job in the world. I get to drive a car that I, as a little kid, stood outside of watching go down the racetrack and dreamed of wondering what it would even be like to get to drive. I get to drive the fastest one in the world with the best people and the best team owner, and my friends and I get paid to do it. How on Earth could I ever complain about that?
Steve, what will you take away from this whole experience if and when you retire? Boggs: My whole lifetime, I have been around drag racing, and of all the people I’ ve met – from Tony Bartone to Joe Penland to Morgan Lucas to all the people like Ken Veney, Dale Armstrong, Don Prudhomme, and all the people that I was around years ago – most of those people I’ m still real good friends with.
I met Tony Bartone in 1992, and we’ ve been friends ever since, and when I quit racing, we’ ll still be friends. It’ s the people – some of them are spectators too – that I’ ve met over the years, and you’ ll never forget that. Like right now, I still have people call me all the time asking me questions about this car, that car.“ What should I do with this?” From California to Florida to Texas to the whole country, and that’ s one thing that I can take away from it are those lifelong friendships.
Most people don’ t have that. There’ s no amount of money that can be put on what that’ s worth.
You are one of the legends of our sport and arguably one of the greatest tuners of all time. What is it like being a legend in drag racing, and do you let that ever sink in? Boggs: Maybe a little bit, but if you let it sink in too much, you’ re going to get a big head and be a dumbass. I try to be humble. DI
For the full interview with Sean Bellemeur and Steve Boggs, check out DragIllustrated. com.
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