BELLARD RACING

*Driver Profile and Achievements*
This year, 2007 marks the fourth year of competition for 12 year old Brandon Bellard in the Jr. Dragster Racing League. Brandon began at 9 years old in the Sportsman Division, where we all struggled to learn the ins and outs of Jr. Drag Racing. As Crew Chief, I had many items to manage and maintain. As a driver, Brandon had to learn how to handle the car, maneuver the car, stage and react to the Staging Tree. We struggled with three brand new engines throughout the Rookie season. But in the end, while competing for points at one of the most competitive group of Junior Dragster Drivers in the nation, Brandon managed to win some rounds and completed his Rookie season in 10th place out of 32 Sportsman Drivers ages 8-12. This alone was quite an accomplishment had the year ended. But, we traveled to the NHRA Division 4 Finals where Brandon finished Runner-Up out of a 36 car field, just missing collecting the coveted Wally in his first season. Brandon’s second year of racing focused on the point’s race at Houston Raceway Park. He finished the 2005 season in 7th place out of 37 Sportsman drivers. He had a win at Houston Motorsports Park in the MLK Shootout, a Runner-Up finish at Pine Valley in an IHRA points race. We competed in the 2005 NHRA Division 4 Finals, where Brandon made it to the Semi-Finals, losing only because of a Crew Chief error. The final race of our 2005 season was at Pine Valley for the Halloween Jr. Nationals. With 187 Juniors competing for the trophies, it was some of the toughest competition Brandon has ever faced. Again, Brandon went rounds to make a Semi-Finals appearance only to lose again to Crew Chief error. Overall, 2005 showed signs of Brandon’s maturity as a driver, completing many rounds of great competition. It also showed that our Crew Chief, still had some learning to do, but with every race more experience is gained and a lesson is learned. The 2006 season provided many exciting times. Brandon completed his last season in the Sportsman ranks at HRP in 3rd place of 34 Sportsman Jr. Drivers. He won 3 Finals, and had 3 Runner-Up finishes. After holding 1st place for most of the 1st half of the season, we suffered an engine failure. The spare engine we ran the rest of the season was not very consistent, causing Brandon to fall down to 3rd for the season. We have very high expectations for our 2007 racing season and with the purchase of the latest most advanced engine, we hope to have at least two perfect seasons on this engine. Here’s a little history of Jr Drag Racing. The age groups are 8-12 for Sportsman and 13-17 for Advanced. The 8-9 year olds can run no faster than 12.90 seconds, about 45 mph, over the 1/8 mile distance, the 10-12 year olds can run 8.90 seconds or slower, about 73 mph, and the 13-17 year olds can run 7.90 seconds or slower, about 85 mph. We compete mainly at NHRA sanctioned events, but we will attend a couple of IHRA events. Our Points Series at HRP had 65 Juniors compete for points in 2006.