Roger Bateman- IHRA Rocky Mountain Wrap Up

Doc’s Holiday funny-car team enjoys an Albertan Rocky Mountain high


EDMONTON — The Doc’s Holiday top alcohol funny car team couldn’t have drawn up a happier homecoming.

Making its first competitive appearance on Canadian soil in two years, the Winnipeg-based Friesen Motorsports team entered the history books on four separate occasions over the weekend at Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway during the International Hot Rod Association’s (IHRA) River Cree Rocky Mountain Nationals.

Calgary-based driver Roger Bateman drove the unsponsored team’s 2009 Ford Mustang to victory in the Alcohol Funny Car (AFC) class, defeating fellow Albertan Ken Webster in Sunday evening’s final and becoming the first Western Canadian to win a major IHRA class in the seven-year history of the Rocky Mountain Nationals.

Bateman also rewrote three track records before a packed house at Castrol Raceway, shattering the elapsed time (ET) mark twice and the miles-per-hour standard once during the Rocky Mountain Nationals, the sixth event on the IHRA’s national Nitro Jam schedule.

“It was just a really great weekend, one of those everything-went-right weekends,” noted Bateman. “All seven runs we made were better than the track (ET) record used to be.”

Added team owner Dr. Brian Friesen: “We dominated. We had a good time; we had a good car; the team worked well together. We’ve been sneaking up on this state for a while, and now we’ve finally found the zone. Hopefully we can keep ourselves there.”

Friesen Motorsports, defending champion in the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) West Central Division, is making a strong case for a repeat, with two victories and one runner-up finish after three dates on the 2009 divisional calendar.

The Doc’s Holiday team served some serious notice through four rounds of qualifying in Edmonton. During Friday’s first round, Bateman laid down a 5.655-second quarter-mile pass to grab Castrol Raceway’s low-ET mark in the AFC category. One night later, in the fourth and final round, he rattled off a scorching run of 5.615 seconds at 254.23 mph, resetting both ends of the track record and settling in as No. 1 qualifier.

And in Sunday’s eliminations, Bateman methodically mowed down the competition, sidelining Edmonton’s Jordan Pawlick in the quarter-final, old friend John Evanchuk of Edmonton in the semi and Webster in the final, running a 5.669 to Webster’s 5.909.

“It was a very smooth weekend, definitely,” said car chief Todd Murray. “It was our best seven passes in a row so far this year, that’s for darn sure. It was like running a bracket car all weekend.”

Although Bateman and Co. were battling a handful of Edmonton-based hometown outfits for crowd support, Friesen said his team basked in the glow of a tremendous exhibition weekend back in Canada.

“This is why we love coming here,” said Friesen, a Winnipeg-based dentist. “It’s Canadian fans. We feel special, because they talk to us, and they’re following our progress. It’s exciting.”

The Doc’s Holiday team is slated to participate next in the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., from Aug. 13 to 16.

For sponsorship opportunities, or for more information on Friesen Motorsports, please visit http://www.docsholiday.com


Courtesy of Todd Kimberley