And that, Bissessar admits, is something he simply could not pass up.

Sheldon Bissessar has taken Top Dragster by storm with record-setting passes. (IHRA)

“Over the years Quick 8 racing has, for one reason or another, become a dying program leaving a void in racing for a lot of teams like us. It was a perfect fit for Aaron and myself; our specialty type of racing,” said Bissessar. “We were basically in limbo at the end of 2009 trying to decide what kind of program of racing we would pursue in 2010. At first we were considering going TAD racing over at NHRA, but as soon as we saw the release on the Elite 8 we were hooked.

“We knew it would be a hit and a growing aspect of IHRA that we definitely wanted to participate in.”

Already considered one of the fastest sportsman racers in the sport today, Bissessar traveled to the IHRA Nitro Jam season opener at Palm Beach International Raceway in late January with the goal of competing for his first national event win, but more importantly, walking away as the first ever Harland Sharp Elite 8 winner.

With the entire nation of Trinidad and Tobago watching, Bissessar began the weekend with the top qualifying spot, a 5.804 e.t. at 238.76 miles-per-hour, and plenty of confidence that this was his weekend.

He coasted to a first round bye on Friday, but trouble on Saturday threatened to end Bissessar’s weekend much earlier than expected.

While performing his burnout early Saturday Bissessar’s reverser locked up, ending his bid for a national event victory in only the second round. With the Elite 8 still ahead, Bissessar turned his disappointment into motivation as he and his crew began working on his dragster with the goal of coming back and winning the Saturday night feature.

Bissessar and his crew worked throughout the day getting ready for the Elite 8 showdown while on the track Mark Brown cruised to the Top Dragster victory over Charlie Cullotto.

With the stage finally set for the Harland Sharp Elite 8 moments after the first round of professional eliminations Bissessar rolled into the staging lanes in front of the largest crowd of his career and began his assault on the Top Dragster field.

The man known as the “Trinidad Rocket” dispatched of Daniel Seidel and Dean Brazell in the opening rounds before meeting Eddie Careccia in the final. Careccia, also considered one of the best in the business, knew he had a tough matchup in the final which may have played a role in his run as he left before the tree giving Bissessar the win and one of the proudest moments of his career.

“Winning is great, but when you can do it with friends, family and a great crew by your side, and to know that all the decisions you made along the way were right, makes it that much better,” said Bissessar. “I may be known back home as the fastest man in Trinidad, but to win the first Elite 8 IHRA event and set the new Top Dragster world record at the season opener with my tuner Aaron Sipple, it was definitely the highlight thus far in my racing career.”

With the first ever Elite 8 victory added to his resume and a brand new record, Bissessar has new plans to attend as many Nitro Jam events as he can with the hopes of continuing his dominance over the class.

But don’t think for a moment Bissessar doesn’t realize that anything can happen, especially with plenty of new faces waiting for their chance to take his spot at the top.

“We are always concentrating on taking things to a new level, but it will only take a race or two before Fast Eddie, Troy Stone, Jody Stroud and others will be hot on our heels,” said Bissessar. “Aaron and I have been together for about two years and we are really starting to hit our stride together and make waves.

“We were very happy with the steps we took in ‘09 and have a lot to look forward to in 2010.”