Joe Bettencourt (left) took the Top Fuel crown at the Inaugural National Sand Drag Association event held at Southern California’s newest drag strip San Jacinto Raceway.  Bettencourt’s day job is a technician at Bingham Toyota in Clovis and he builds racing engines for his clients in his own shop.  His dragster is a 1991 Uehara chassis originally campaigned by Dick LaHaie and Joe has been racing a nitro dragster for two years having been a sand racer since 1974.

Bettencourt in the left lane lined up against Jeff Janoe for the Top Fuel Final round on Sunday afternoon.  Bettencourt took the win, running a 2.788 elapsed time 140 MPH to Janoe’s 2.958 down the 300-foot sand dragstrip.

Jeff Janoe (left) from Gilbert, Arizona is in his second year of nitro racing on sand with Crew Chief Mike Rinehart and was the 2005 ASDA Top Fuel Champ.  On a budget, he’s racing with the chassis Tony Schumacher drove for the Peek Brothers in 2000, a rear end from Kalitta Racing and engine components he bought from Kenny Bernstein.

Jeff was pleased with this Inaugural NSDA event and hopes the standards set by the new organization will be noticed by other event promoters.  Prior to the Top Fuel final against Bettencourt, Janoe commented, "The track-prep has been amazing, NSDA has stepped-up where other sand drag promoters have not… These guys have a class act!"

Owner/Driver Dennis Rieck (far right) and his "Hammerdown Racing" team from Carlsbad, California were the winners of the Top Alcohol Eliminator category.  Rieck has been working day and night to make horsepower on his Alan Johnson splayed-valve, PSI Supercharged, forged-billet small block from CN Engine Blocks in Texas.

Bill Swim, driving his supercharged "Wild Willie" dragster, defeated Steve DeNunzio in the final round of Pro 1.  Swim took the win with a 3.630 elapsed time on a 3.60 dial-in, he also took on announcing chores during Friday’s Test-n-Tune sessions.  Swim towed the consistant dragster from his home in Van Alstyne, Texas.

Jeff Mamer in his unique "sidewinder" chain driven, mid-engine dragster met Chris Adamson driving the Hammerdown Racing fuel injected big-block Chevy dragster.  Mamer, from Brawley, California, took home the trophy in Top Eliminator running a stout 3.010 elapsed time in the final round.  His turbocharged Pauter-built aftermarket Volkswagen engine sports 1000-horsepower.  He’s raced this dragster in competition since 1997. 

Mamer talked of the win, “In my 30 years of racing, this (NSDA event) is the best first race I’ve ever been to."

The Pro 2 Final brought Jorge Covarrubias in his red V-8 Chevrolet-powered Jeep against Phil Soper from Laughlin, Nevada.  Jorge towed from his Cuervo, Mexico home to take the win by a narrow margin.

Fans of Jorge Covarrubias’ quick Jeep went wild over their favorite driver’s victory in the re-run of his semi-final race in Pro 2.

One of Sunday’s early elimination winners was Joey Weaver who lives only five minutes from the new San Jacinto track.  The 19-year old Hemet native took home the Motorcycle trophy on his Yamaha Raptor 700 along with a cool $1,000 winner’s check in his first-ever drag racing event.

In Sunday’s last Top Fuel qualifying session Joe Bettencourt (on the left) was ahead of Jeff Janoe’s dragster nearing the 300 foot finish line.

Drag racing legend Larry Minor has had a passion for the sand long before he began winning championships on the asphalt quarter mile.  Many competitors and fans thanked Minor and Hemet businessman Al Griffith for their support to help make this first NSDA event a success.

Larry is changing the nitrous bottle on his personal Larry Minor Motorsports custom-built “Jeep” sporting an 800 horsepower Lukovich Performance Chevy small block.

Las Vegas Nevada’s Shane Switzer makes a qualifying pass in Top Alcohol Dragster.

The track prep on this drags strip is a huge effort handled by the John Deere crew with equipment from Larry Minor’s Agri-Empire.

Jeeps, Jeeps, Jeeps… the sportsman entries are the backbone of any drag racing organization, but at an event on the sand you’ll see lots of Jeeps in many colors and shapes.

Many of the fast Jeep runners came out of Larry Minor’s motorsports shop.

Vincent Nuñez Jeep leaves the starting line.

Kenny Thomas’ flamed Jeep from Yuma, Arizona.

You gotta start them early, Grandpa Kurt Brown explains the sand drags to his young Grandson…

Larry Brown launches his Riverside, California-based dragster.

Glenn Hickey from Las Vegas, Nevada in his winged altered.

The Blazaro 4x4

Friday’s Test-n-Tune had a few more cars under the lights at Sunset. 

Gates open at 6AM Saturday morning with Time Trails starting at 7AM at the Soboba Indian Reservation, located near the foothills of the San Jacinto mountain range.

Graham Frasier from Bakersfield, California launches his beautiful Hummer “pro stocker” in the sand.

Jim Hammond, from Ontario CA, launches in his orange Top Alcohol dragster.

Dennis Rieck leaves the line in his potent Top Alcohol Dragster.  The chassis was built from scratch in his Carlsbad, California shop.

Just off the starting line the “Animal Control” turbocharged rear-engine dragster driven by D.L. King from Apple Valley let go with a ball of flames!

Jim Williams in his Top Eliminator dragster from Ontario, California.

This supercharged ‘69 Camaro classic from Oklahoma heads to the starting line on Friday evening.

The Toyota of Jorge Covarrubias was waiting in the Staging Lanes ready to run.

Joe Bettencourt ran low elapsed time of the day in his Top Fuel Dragster with this 2.758 on a check out pass during Test-n-Tune Friday at San Jacinto.

Kyla prepares for her afternoon pass!

Kyla Belville is almost 8 years old and came with her dad and mom from Chandler, Arizona to the National Sand Drag Association event at San Jacinto Raceway.  Friday was a test and tune for the early arrivals and Kyla was ready, making a slower than expected elapsed time pass in her family’s racer down the 300 foot dragstrip.  Kyla’s crew chief (and dad) Johnie said they are having fuel management problems on their alcohol-fed Tecumseh engine.