NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The three-time championship-winning Killer Bs team of driver Sean Bellemeur, tuner Steve Boggs, and team owner Tony Bartone will launch its pursuit of a fourth NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car crown at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

The team is coming off a 2023 season that was highlighted by a late-calendar run of winning big at Indy, Maple Grove, Las Vegas (national and regional), and Pomona as the Killer Bs had the Pirate Ship dialed in
 
The team has coined the hashtag #GoingFor4in24 as a motivator to win the squad’s fourth Lucas Oil Drag Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car championship this season. In addition, the team has reversed the livery of the Pirate Ship to mirror that of the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 car that competes in the SRO Motorsports Fanatec Europe GT Championship.
 
“The worst thing that could’ve happened for us was to have the 2023 season end,” Bellemeur said. “We were reeling off a lot of round wins and taking a lot of pictures on Sunday afternoons. That makes the goal easy for this year, don’t change a thing. We have the exact same group of guys coming back. We have the same parts, some new knowledge, and the same Killer B’s attitude: to tear it up out there.
 
“Our motivation is simple. Rip that number 2 off the car at the end of the season. We want the number 1 back. It won’t be easy, but we feel we can do it if we stay focused.
 
“The focus this offseason has been more about keeping the consistency that we had in the second half of last year. The elephant in the room is the injected nitro car of course. We’ve been making slow progress on that car and hope to be testing it at some point before the summer.
 
“It’s hard to describe what it’s like being a member of the Killer Bs with Tony, Steve, and the boys. Tony’s drive, focus, and work ethic has been embedded into the way we run the race team and it’s a really cool thing to be a part of. We all hail a common goal. Work together and win. With that and the relationship that Tony and Steve have had over the past 30 years makes the foundation of the team as strong as can be. Tony has recruited the best team between Troy Green, Nick Stoms, Justin Taylor, Garrett Bateman, Seth Shebester, Matt Krebs, a couple fill-in roles and a uniform mentality that is to constantly go for the throat. I’m honored to be his driver.”
 
Bartone has the team focused on getting back on top of the Top Alcohol Funny Car ranks this season.
 
“We are fortunate to have a great group of guys, all of which are coming back for ’24,” Bartone said. “Sean is dialed in to go for our fourth Championship and Boggs is ready to put the power to the Pirate Ship. With the way we ended the ’23 season, the team is looking to get out of the gate strong at Gainesville in three weeks. We have a great schedule together for ’24 that will also have us defending our JEGS Allstars title in Texas.”