Belli has got need for speed

In less than five seconds, Jack Belli can travel 330 feet.

Of course, that’s when he’s in his 330 heads-up car, but nevertheless, Belli, a Corona del Mar High sophomore, is the fastest on the West Coast.

Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. Jack be winning, too.

Belli (pronounced bell-eye) captured the 330 West Coast Championship in the 13-17-year-old division last month. He was the overall champion of the season after winning two of the seven races in the series and attaining a record-setting finish in 4.27 seconds, the fastest on the West Coast, on May 20 in Sacramento.

He did that in his heads-up car. There are two types of cars in junior drag racing, the other a bracket car, that goes up to 85 miles per hour in an 1/8 mile. Those cars are made for when racers dial in a time they think they’ll finish at. The closest to the dial-in time, without going under, wins.

Belli has been able to excel in both classes. In the heads-up car class, where he went 79.50 miles per hour in 330 feet, the 16-year-old became the record-holder because of his need for speed. The desire goes all the way back to when he was 9. That’s when he was introduced to drag racing.

“I remember wanting to go faster,” Belli said of the first time he tried the sport. Ever since, he’s been hooked.

But most wouldn’t know it, by looking at him. He looks at least two years younger than his actual age. From his appearance to his choice of words, he is unassuming.

With eyeglasses and a mop-top hairdo, he could come across more as a bug collector than a drag racer. But over the past seven years, Belli has proven he was meant to be racing.

“My dad [Dave] raced all his life, so it was bound to happen for me,” Belli said.

Yet the switch came on for Belli when he first got behind the wheel in drag racing. From there, the passion intensified. The trophies in his room multiplied. And his love for the sport grew.

During that time, father and son drew closer. There is plenty of competition in drag racing for Belli. He beat out 22 other competitors to become the champion of the circuit known as the Wicked West Coast.

However, away from the action and excitement, Belli, the humble teenager that he is, realizes the bottom line.

“It’s more of just a fun hobby for me and [my dad] to do,” Belli said. “It could pan out where it is a professional thing I do. But as of now, it’s fun.

“Five years from now, it’s hard to say. I don’t know where I’m going to go from here, if I am going to go in a bigger car and race. I think I want to try.”

It seems with drag racing, Belli has always had the want-to. He got the record-setting time during a qualifying run, the day before the main race. He was planning to improve off that performance in the main race, but it was rained out.

Another example of Belli’s passion came in September. That was when Belli went to compete on his own without the usual up-close guidance from his father.

Dave Belli was in Michigan to attend his mother’s funeral. He spoke with his son over the phone, instructing him to prepare the bracket car before a race at the California Speedway in Fontana. Jack Belli ended up winning the race.

Jack Belli also displays his motivation to win on the “Christmas tree.” That’s the set-up of the starting lights Jack Belli has in his family room. He has pedals wired to the lights that indicate if he’s pushing the pedals at the right time, according to the order of the lights

He’s supposed to hit the pedal when the last yellow light shows to try and get the perfect start. There is a four-thousandths-of-a-second span between that last yellow and the green. Jack Belli has gotten the “perfect light” on several occasions, Dave Belli said.

And, that practice helped Jack Belli become the West Coast champion. Getting the record didn’t hurt either. If he didn’t set the fastest time, he wouldn’t have been the overall champion. As it was, he finished seven points ahead of Brendon Frye.

Dave Belli compares his son’s close-shave win to Tony Schumacher’s run this season in the NHRA. Schumacher completed the biggest comeback in NHRA history when he won his third straight Top Fuel season title, and it was mainly because he had set a national record.

The similarities are remarkable, Dave Belli said.

But only time will tell if Jack Belli ventures on to the pro circuit.

For now, it’s fun.

Today: Jack Belli, a Corona del Mar High sophomore, has found great success in drag car racing.

Sunday: Willy Axton, a 7-year-old from Costa Mesa, overcame a slow start to finish second in the state.