MARSTONS MILLS, Massachusetts (October 18, 2018) – The 2018 drag racing season for the Permatex/Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car Chevrolet Camaro has ended on a high note.
At this past weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, the team reached the final round before losing in its final run of the season.
However, there was nothing be upset about, as the FAD team fell to 2018 NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion Sean Bellemeur. If you’re going to lose, there’s no better opponent to lose to than the season champ.
In the final round Sunday at Charlotte, FAD driver Phil Burkart had a better reaction time (0.061) than Bellemeur (0.082), but Burkart’s car began to spin the tires about a fourth of the way down the racetrack and Bellemeur rolled on to the win.
Competing in his third and final round of the year against Bellemeur, all which have ended in losses, Burkart finished with an elapsed time of 6.832 seconds at 159.83 mph to Bellemeur’s ET of 5.403 seconds at 271.13 mph.
“Of course, it’s frustrating whenever you lose, and we know we have one of the best teams in the NHRA, but we realize who we’re racing. Steve Boggs is very smart and Sean Bellemeur is one of the best drivers there is.”
All told, Burkart is currently sixth in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national TAFC final season rankings, and second in the LODRS East Region rankings (he won the East Region last season).
Now that its 14-race season is over, the Follow A Dream crew will look back on how 2018 played out and take the lessons learned from this past season and apply them to 2019.
Indeed, the Follow A Dream team admittedly struggled at times in 2018, but it was not for lack of effort or trying.
“We started the year with many struggles, but the team worked together,” Blake said. “For instance, we went to Charlotte in the beginning of the year and it was total torture.”
“We go back to Charlotte this time and we we’re laughing and smiling and we’re basically in the 40s (5.40s ETs) all weekend and made it to the finals.”
“So, I’m very proud of what the team has accomplished, very proud of how the team worked together, there were new people on the team and they never gave up and never got discouraged. They just kept trying to get better and better.”
“Phil Burkart Jr. did a hell of a job driving and Anthony Terenzio did a hell of a job tuning the car. And the entire team did an awesome job all season. Everybody should be incredibly proud of what they accomplished this year.”
Blake will spend much of the four-month off-season speaking for Follow A Dream’s non profit organization. Giving his “Five Tools for Your Life’s Tool Box” motivational presentation.
