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The Trinidad Rocket, Sheldon Bissessar Takes the Win at Snowbird Nationals While Setting New National Records!
While across most of the country people are battling frigid temperatures and tangled Christmas lights, those at Bradenton Dragway in Florida were experiencing a beautiful weekend with some spectacular racing at their annual Snowbird Nationals.
Christmas came early for standout driver Sheldon Bissessar as well as his family and close friends who were there to celebrate with him. The Trinidad Rocket not only took home the win, but set the new National Record during round two of eliminations, laying down an incredible 5.77 pass at 241 mph! Sabastian, who was defeated by Bissessar during that record round commented, "What I thought was impressive, was that he went 3.77 at 201mph just in the 1/8."
Sheldon has been on the scene and in the spotlight since his appearance at the IHRA Rockingham National Event. Tuner, Aaron Sipple, of ASE & IRONMAN Chassis commented, "Rockingham was our first race out in this car for the year, and since then we've made several changes on the car in preparation for running the Snowbird Nationals. Even though we fought bad tires at the start of the event this past weekend, and a broken throttle cable in the finals, the tune-up was there and we proved that this car can flat out fly and still has much more to be improved upon." The dynamic duo of Aaron Sipple and Sheldon Bissessar has certainly accomplished in two short races what it takes most years to do.
Keep an eye out for these guys in 2009. In addition to stepping up to the NHRA Top Alcohol division, Bissessar and Sipple will be a top contender in the southeastern Pro Top Outlaw circuit. Odds are we are going to see some more impressive numbers and records set by this team, not to mention some competitive upsets!
Rain, cold temperatures, excessive oil downs, eliminations upsets, unexpected drama, and an anti-climatic ending to the points championship were all a part of the story at the Rock this weekend. The most anticipated race of the season came on the brink of both well-needed, but highly inconvenient rain showers for most of the day Friday. The event was called on account of the rain after only one qualifying round for only a part of the sportsman classes putting everything severely behind for Saturday and Sunday, leaving many of the elimination rounds and even some qualifying rounds to be completed late into Monday after further delays due to safety concerns with the cold temperatures and an excessive amount of oil-downs.
The cold temps definately contributed to some exciting moments in qualifying on Saturday though, giving everyone an extra boost of power on an excellent track. We were even graced by the presence of this year's rookie owner of the IHRA, attending his first ever national event with his family in tow. Again, rumors and drama took center stage with their appearance at the track, given the lack of interest that seems to loom over the owner due to the rumors of the purchase only being made to also obtain an ownership of a Monster Truck division and the additional rumor that there may not even be an IHRA next year. Again, pure speculation here...I guess we'll all have to wait and see. However it does make for some interesting round table discussion as to what effects the dissapearance of the IHRA could have on the racers, sponsors and sport. Would everyone run to the NHRA, exploding the association and provide more sponsorship and competition for the assocation who has also fought just to have a full field in some categories over this past year? Only time will tell.
And while no one can control the disruption of the event due to rain and cold weather, what's up with the lack of interest that seems to exist on race day? I haven't been able to attend a National Event myself in a while, but it was easy to see even at Rockingham that all of the interest and excitement seems to lie in qualifications these days. Who can run the fastest and be number one at the end of the day is what everyone wants to brag about. The stands were packed on Saturday even given the cool weather. But Sunday.....no one. By noon half of the racers have packed up and left, leaving the track to look half empty and depressing, while even the pros race for the finals and the points championship with virtually no fans in the crowd or support from their fellow competitors. Doesn't anybody care who wins the race anymore....apparently not.
To prove my point about qualifying....check out these stats! While all of the top sportsman racers laid down some incredible passes and fought for that #1 Qualifying spot, every winner of every class qualified no higher than the #28 spot!
Top Dragster winner, Marco Abruzzi was even the alternate in the #33 spot! (W) Marco Abruzzi TD 6.74 0.031 7.949 1.209 (L) Russell Leach TD 6.54 -0.001(R)14.106 7.566
Top contenders for the Top Dragster field duked it out during qualifying however, with International Superstar, Sheldon Bissessar from Trinidad laying down an amazing 5.83 at almost 233mph in only his third 1/4 mile pass in his new tricked out Top Dragster, built and tuned by Aaron Sipple of ASE and IRONMAN Chassis. Edward Careccia barely bumped Bissessar out of the #1 spot with a 5.805. Keep a look out for Sheldon, the Trinidad Rocket, next year to be a regular in the spot light. He's got the driving abilities of a pro, so you might even see him moving up the ranks to Funny Car in the near future! At any case, he's definately a crowd pleaser and will provide some much needed entertainment and competition for the 2009 season!
Top Sportsman saw Sandy Wilkins taking the win........ (W) Sandy Wilkins TS 7.10 0.013 7.118 0.018 #31 Qualifier
(L) Glenn Teets Jr. TS 6.93 0.011 6.994 0.064
Super Stock results were as follows.........
(W) Gil Carty Jr. PFA-2 10.23 0.006 10.215 -0.015 #29 Qualifier
(L) Anthony Bertozzi SS/BS 9.13 -0.005(R)13.069 3.939
Super Rod was no exception to the trend............ (W) Jim Lintner SR 9.90 0.020 10.529 0.629 #28 Qualifier
(L) Darrell Estep SR 9.90 -0.006(R) 9.902 0.002
Hot Rod had Chip Johnson, #36 Qualifier, take the green light........ (W) Chip Johnson HR 10.90 0.020 10.915 0.015 #36 Qualifier
(L) R.L. Koontz HR 10.90 0.026 10.913 0.013
And Quick Rod was just one more of the same.......... (W) Josh Martin QR 8.90 0.075 11.145 2.245 #37 Qualifier (L) Troy Williams Jr. QR 8.90 -0.005(R)13.071 4.171
While Top Fuel is always a crowd pleaser, they weren't without their own exciting drama this weekend. After the driver and others associated were dismissed from the Interstate Equipment team owned by Doc Sipple due to disloyalties to the the team, infractions and discrepencies that will go unnamed, 26 year-old Jeff O'Neal was brought on to drive the car for the Rockingham race. In another unexpected change of events, Friday night, O'Neal fell ill after an alarming allergic reaction to a medication and wound up in the local ICU, completely unaware that he had just lost his chance at racing a top fuel car at a national event. Things seem to work themselves out for a reason however, with this year's Nitro Funny Car Champion, Terry Haddock playing double duty and jumping into the driver's seat at the last minute. After their share of up's and down's over the season, not just this past weekend, Team Sipple laid down some amazing passes during qualifying even though interim driver Terry Haddock had not recieved any practice or training time in the car and had to draw on his knowledge and experience from his championship Nitro Funny Car. Guess Team Sipple just needed to get rid of a few gremlins apparently causing all of the often disputed trouble. Its all about having the right combination, and I don't just mean the motor. Their 4.77 pass during Saturday night's qualifying session put them at #6 and allowed them the opportunity to hopefully take out points leader Spencer Massey in first round. Jeff O'Neal retured from the hospital Sunday and was able to make it to the starting line for the first round of eliminations. Haddock and the Sipple Top Fuel Team gave it all they had, but fell short on the score board due to a broken throttle cable. Bruce Litton, the weekend's #1 qualifiier and second in the points chase, also lost out first round, sending young rookie, Spencer Massey to the winner's circle for the points championship early on in the race. However, Tim Boychuk made his way to the finals against Mike Strasburg who beat out Massey in Round 2. Boychuk took home the last Ironman of the Top Fuel Season.
In Nitro Funny Car, Jack Wyatt was a no show in the finals, giving the win to John Lawson. But #1 Qualifier, playing double duty this weekend, Terry Haddock won the points championship.
Pro Mod's Scott Cannon makes another strong five ninety run in eliminations and takes the win from the number seventeen position as the first alternate following suit to the Top Dragster category winner Marco Abruzzi!
Alcohol Funny Car had some great action this weekend as well. Tony Bogolo's car, tuned by Rick Hickman, had the most exciting moment for the field winning last man standing and running his personal best in the second qualifying round of alcohol funny car, putting himself in the number one spot, topping off the all 5 second field and bumping veteran Mark Thomas out of the race. However Bogolo lost in first round to Neal Parker, and Laurie Cannister was the last one standing to take home the trophey for Alcohol Funny Car.
In Pro Stock, Frank Gugliotta in the York Motorsports Mustang, ran a 6.270 at 221.45mph to set the national record, and earn the #1 qualifier spot. He made it to round three, and the results of the finals are as follows: (W) John Montecalvo (Montecalvo Inc Cobalt) 0.027 6.317 221.27 (L) Elijah Morton (Morton Trucking Mustang) 0.008 6.337 218.87
It was a full weekend of action trickling over into Monday morning after many agonizing delays and hours spent waiting around huddled up in sweatshirts, jackets and for some blankets. The season is over and Fall is definately here with Winter quickly approaching. If you are done racing for the year, take this time to enjoy your family, friends and the holidays. Just try not to let the recession, looming election and fact that IHRA might be down the drain next year get you down to the point where you pack on all those extra holiday pounds and have to have a bigger cage built for next year....but if you do, I know a great chassis builder! See ya in 2009!
Mountain Park Dragway of Clay City, Kentucky kicked off October and the first weekend of beautiful fall weather, with their annual Mopar Southern Classic and a great turnout of die-hard Mopar racers traveling from the Bluegrass Area and from as far as Canada. Along with a Quick 8 Race, Car Show, Swap Meet, and a special appearance from Sheldon Bissessar of Trinadad & Tobago testing his new Top Alcohol Dragster for the first time with Aaron Sipple of ASE & IRONMAN Chassis, the weekend was a definite crowd pleaser, full of activities for everyone.
Friday night and Saturday were kicked off with qualifying runs for the Quick 8 and Mopar races, with Glenn Robinson taking home the win for the Quick 8 by nights end with a 5.33 at 125mph over Billy Varner in the final. Jim Shehan got the green light and the win for Top ET, while Ryan Foley dominated in the Modified category, and Steve Foley accompanied him for the win in Super Street. On Sunday, Billy Varner came back out with a win in the Quick 16, and Ryan and Steve Foley doubled up for a second win each in Modified and Super Street. Lonnie Smith took over the win spot for Top ET, while Don Edelstein won the Super Stock Hemi category, Dirk Hale won the Max Wedge, and Brendon Owens took the win in Street Rage after Billy Varner red lighted in the finals. For a complete listing of the results at the Mopar Southern Classic visit Mountain Park Dragway's website at http://www.mpdragway.com/.
Sheldon Bissessar, a well-known racer in Trinidad & Tobago and on the Pro Top Outlaw Circuit here in the States, made a special appearance at the Mountain Park Dragway for testing out his new ride for the Rockingham Nationals coming up October 17-19. The Top Alcohol Dragster, tuned and completed by Aaron Sipple of ASE and IRONMAN Chassis, put on a great show, running a 3.96 in the 1/8 mile and a 6.18 in the ¼ mile after only a few passes.
Now I have to tell you that I have personally been around and deeply involved with the world of drag racing for the past eight years, but I wasn't born into it. I've had to school myself, educate myself, and spend countless hours listening to the never-ending conversations of my husband, friends, customers and family members. My husband and I own a Chassis shop where we offer everything from tuning services to complete car builds. Of course I leave most of that up Aaron; if you come in as a customer I'll process your paper work but I won't be tuning your car anytime soon. But I'm a fan and can keep up with most everything drag racing related on a regular basis! I know the components of the cars, the motors, and all. I can talk the lingo and give you the stats. I know the history, most of it, and stay up watching the NHRA races on ESPN long after my husband has fell asleep. I tell you this to show I am not a total flake, because Saturday afternoon as we all sat around in the trailer enjoying the cool fall air, I turned to Aaron and quietly, as to not embarrass myself, asked, "What is Mopar?" To which he replied " I don't know, what do you mean?" I responded, "Are you kidding me, you can't tell me what it means!?!" I was shocked my husband, who has professionally been in and around drag racing for 18 years couldn't explain to me the significance of Mopar. So I looked around and saw the logo and said, "Ooooh, okay, I know, Gary Scelzi! So it's a product right?" "Well yeah," Aaron said, "its products of Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge & Jeep, if that's what you meant by what is Mopar." "Oh! So I drive a Mopar everyday!" We are big Jeep fans. We have a Wrangler and Commander and have owned a Grand Cherokee in the past. "Sure." Aaron said. "Your true Mopar guys won't be caught driving anything but a Dodge truck.....see that guy hauling his car with the Ford....not diehard. But look around and most of these guys are in a Dodge."
I still wanted to know the significance of Mopar and how the term associated with Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep manufacturing came about. So I came home and Googled it. Simply put, in the 1930's, an Activity Council, led by Nelson Farley of the Chrysler division, had to come up with a product name to put on cans of Chrysler Motor Parts antifreeze that was being used in their cars. The geniuses kept it simple, using a combination of the words "motor" and "parts," and the greatness of "Mopar" was born. The logo we all know today didn't take form until the late 60's. The technology of the 70's and 80's made Chrysler's products for their vehicles under the name of Mopar truly a success. By 1990, Chrysler was flourishing and expanded their parts operation and made Mopar a household name by gaining recognition in industries such as drag racing. The Mopar logo became significant in distinguishing genuine Chrysler parts from other aftermarket and counterfeit parts.
Of course, the most significant of all Mopar motors over the years has to be the coveted Hemi, of which many proudly displayed this weekend at Clay City. So after my history lesson and realization of the meaning of Mopar after this weekend at the Mopar Southern Classic at Moutain Park Dragway, I'll proudly give a wink and a wave to my fellow Mopar drivers out on the road the next time I'm out cruising in my Jeep Commander! And oh yeah, it's got a Hemi.
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The Trinidad Rocket, Sheldon Bissessar Takes the Win at Snowbird Nationals While Setting New National Records! 
