Well, it seems as though the off-season preparation has paid off, as Sean went to the final round at the 2007 Winternationals in his first outing with the team. The field was loaded with veterans like Frank Manzo, Jay Payne, Steve Gasparrelli, and Dennis Taylor, but that didn't hamper the efforts of the Meer Homes crew. It was a tough field, but Bellemeur qualified 12th at 5.74, while the bump spot was 5.78. Sean came out of the box like a veteran swinging for the fence, using a reaction time of .035 coupled with a 5.70 to upset Taylor in the first round. His march continued in round two by beating a troubled Bob Tasca III, while Manzo went red (-.002) handing the semi-finals victory to Sean. The final found Bellemeur beside Jay Payne and a brilliant .010 reaction time sent this kid on his way. However, an exciting day ended when the car got way loose and collected the 330-foot timing block, giving the Meer Homes car an immediate disqualification. First outing - final round - not too shabby!

At the Pacific Division 7 opener, Meer, Devour and Bellemeur found themselves in another final round, where they runner-upped again. However, the third time's the charm, as that elusive final-round win light came on at the second Division 7 event just a week later. By then, Sean had seen almost every situation he needed to experience: tire shake, being out of shape, and well, just being in the heat of the battle. This cat's cool under pressure and thanks to his commonly stellar reaction times, journalists began calling him Sean "Gone" Bellemeur.

Back on the national event stage in Las Vegas, a strong qualifying effort landed the Meer Homes car fourth on the roster. Here again, Sean takes charge in Eliminations and rolls through with reaction times of .027, .040 and .024 only to set up another final round appearance with Jay Payne. Bellemeur drills the tree with an otherworldly .010 light only to suffer severe tire shake (the same fate as Payne), but came up short by a tenth of a second on the big end.

Just one week later, The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway hosted its annual Division 7 event, and the Meer Homes team failed to qualify. Bob DeVour explained, "We just got behind on the tune-up. I thought it (the track) would take a ton of clutch, but it wouldn't hold it. We just never got it calmed down enough to establish a good baseline. We'll be alright." Alright indeed. Two weeks later, they won the Fontana Division 7 race.

Bellemeur attended Pasadena City College and completed a certificate program to attain a degree in Fire Technology and Emergency Medical Services. He's put that experience to good use as an SFI-Certified instructor for raceway incident response training. He also serves as a member of the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Fire and Safety Operations Team.

Between rounds, Sean handles the clutch maintenance and makes the necessary adjustments according to DeVour's master plan. While all that's going on, Ron Meer analyzes the fuel system's needs and makes those calls himself. All in all, DeVour and Meer have a great working relationship and they're supported by a hard-working crew. Besides the car owner, crew chief and driver, the balance of the work is handled by Dustin Yoho, Ken Smith and Scott DeFrancisco. As we take this issue to print, the Meer Homes team is headed towards its best season on record. And with no crystal ball at our disposal, all we can tell you is watch out - you could see a different name at (or near) the top of the heap when all is said and done. DR