The Randy Meyer Racing team showcased strong performances during the Cleetus & Cars event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Matt Cummings drove the GUNK dragster to victory, marking his seventh career Wally and the team’s second win of the year.
Equally dominant, defending Top Alcohol Funny Car series champion Sean Bellemeur picked up the win, scoring the team’s third Wally in just seven days, solidifying their strong performance at the event.
“Second win of the year!” said Cummings. “I really feel like Randy and the team are learning how I drive this dragster. We dominated race day by over a tenth of a second. All the hard work my GUNK team goes through to prepare to win, it really shows.”
Cummings and teammate Gary Pritchett locked down the top two qualifying spots in the 8-car field. Cummings recorded a 5.22-second run as the No. 1 qualifier, while Pritchett followed closely with a 5.23-second run.
With only seven cars entered, Cummings received a first-round bye and clocked the fastest mph of the event with a 5.189-second run at 277.94 mph. In the semifinals, he defeated Jamie Noonan with a time of 5.175 seconds, outpacing Noonan’s 5.389.
Cummings posted a 5.261-second run in the final round to defeat Sampey’s 5.751.
With this victory, Cummings continues to extend his points lead in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster standings.
In Top Alcohol Funny Car action, Bartone Bros. Racing claimed another victory at the same event. Bellemeur drove Tony Bartone’s Nitro Injected Funny Car to victory despite a reduced nitro percentage heading into the weekend.
In the final against Chris Foster, Bellemeur cut a 0.065 light and recorded a 5.52-second run at 264 mph. After the burnout, the car wouldn’t shift into reverse, but the team acted quickly, with Tony Bartone guiding the car back into position.
“That is what this team is all about,” Bellemeur said. “I got on the radio and said, ‘Killer B’s, we’ve got a problem.’ Nick Stoms made eye contact with me and smiled—he knew exactly what to do. That’s a true testament to this team.”
Bellemeur added, “This was a full team win. Tony gives us the drive to win, and the crew gets us to those win lights.”
