SC: Tony Bartone Belle Rose summary

BARTONE AND BOGGS BEST IN THE BAYOU

Belle Rose, La. - In NHRA drag racing, being the quickest and fastest car is not always as important as being consistent. Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Tony Bartone and his crew chief Steve Boggs proved this as they captured the event victory this weekend during the Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA. Bartone, from Boca Raton, Fla. and his car owner Rick Jackson, Santa Clarita, Calif. won for the third time in the 2009 NHRA season.

Bartone's Center Pointe Collision Centre/ FireIce sponsored team had to battle not only the other entries in the Top Alcohol Funny Car division this weekend, but temperatures over 90-degree and high humidity. These type of conditions provided a challenge for Jackson Racing crew chief, Steve Boggs, but he was up to the task. Boggs tuned Bartone to a 5.66 second elapsed time in qualifying, placing Bartone in the number 2 position in the six-car field. "The weather gave everybody fits this weekend," noted Bartone. "But Steve (Boggs) has raced in these conditions more than a few times in his career. I felt pretty confident having him in my corner this weekend."

In the first round the Jackson Racing Funny Car matched-up against Arlington, Tex. based Kebin Kinsley. Both cars left the starting-line with Kinsley capturing a slight reaction time advantage. The Boggs tuned flopper caught Kinsley by the 330-foot mark of the 1,320-foot race track. And Bartone took the round win recording a 5.680 E.T. in the process. The victory set up a semi-final appearance against Burl Brown, Gainesville, Tex.

Brown had difficulties staging the car and triggered the red-light, handing Bartone the automatic round win. In an attempt to capture lane choice for the final round, Bartone drove his 2009 Ford Mustang Flopper down the No Problem Raceway quarter-mile in 5.683 seconds, only 0.003 seconds slower than his previous round victory.

The final round saw a rematch of the Division 2 LODRS TAFC final in Atlanta, Ga. Steve Harker from Gainesville, GA, captured the win last week when Bartone left the starting line too early and lit the red light. This time Bartone took the event championship recording a 5.688 E.T. at a speed of 252.05 miles per hours as his opponent lost traction at the hit of the throttle.

"Boggs turned this car a bracket car today," noted team owner Jackson. "It feels great to break through with a win this weekend and I am so proud of the effort this team put forth this weekend."

Boggs was the winning crew chief in TAFC this weekend. He also tuned Brandon "the Kid" Lewis' A/Fuel Dragster to a victory in the Top Alcohol Dragster division as well. He also set a track record for the TAD division in the process.

-credit: jr