Roger Bateman- NHRA Seattle Wrap-Up

Doc’s Holiday team roars into sixth career TAFC final at NHRA’s Northwest Nationals

SEATTLE — The West Coast straight-line set was treated to a little show of prairie power over the weekend.

The Winnipeg-based Doc’s Holiday top alcohol funny car (TAFC) team, with Calgary’s Roger Bateman in the driver’s seat, turned in a drag racing tour de force at the Emerald City, advancing all the way to the TAFC division final at the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) 22nd annual Northwest Nationals in Seattle late Sunday afternoon.

The Friesen Motorsports outfit rewrote its own national elapsed-time (ET) record for a Canadian-based TAFC team, and knocked off No. 1 qualifier Jay Payne of Claremont, Calif., en route to Sunday’s final, which saw Bateman bow out against Doug Gordon of Paso Robles, Calif.

“We had our five minutes’ worth of disappointment, but after that we realized we had a great weekend,” said team owner Dr. Brian Friesen, whose unsponsored Doc’s Holiday outfit is making a strong bid to repeat as the NHRA’s West Central Division, or Division 5, champion.

Bateman stomped on the gas during Sunday’s second round of eliminations with a 5.556-second run — eclipsing his own Canadian mark of 5.566 he’d set on June 5 at the NHRA’s Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., and shoving No. 1 qualifier Payne to the sidelines with the quickest TAFC quarter-mile of the weekend to date. Bateman also steered the Friesen Motorsports team’s 2009 Ford Mustang to wins over Brian Thiel of Pleasant Grove, Calif., in the Round of 16 and Sean Bellemeur of Tustin, Calif., in the semifinals.

In the TAFC final against Gordon, Bateman was forced to shut down early for a time of 9.047 seconds, while the Californian laid down a smoking 5.572-second run for his third Wally trophy at an NHRA national event.

“We smoked the tires in the final,” said Bateman. “We tried to soften the setup, take power away, but still smoked the tires. I pedaled it once, but smoked ’em again, so I just gave up on it and drove to the other end.”

Bateman and the Friesen Motorsports team are still searching for their first career NHRA national-event win; Sunday marked their sixth appearance in a national final.

“I’d like to tell you that I’m sniveling and crying because I lost, but I’m not,” said Bateman with a chuckle. “I was kidding (top alcohol dragster driver) Chris Demke just a minute ago; he’s been to five finals this year and hasn’t won one. I told him that on Monday morning, we were going to get fitted for bridesmaid’s dresses.

“We’re so close to winning a national final,” added Bateman. “They way I look at it, the way this car runs, we just keep going to finals. Even by mistake or bad luck, sooner or later we’ve got to win one, because we keep getting the opportunity.”

The Friesen Motorsports team has now reached the final in each of its past three meets, winning the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton on July 5 and finishing as runner-up at an NHRA Division 5 event June 27 in Great Bend, Kan.

Truth be told, the first day of these Northwest Nationals, part of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, was nearly catastrophic for Bateman and Co. A damaged motor on Friday’s second qualifying run left Friesen Motorsports clinging to the 16th and final spot on the TAFC eliminations ladder — and in serious danger of failing to qualify for the show.

But after the team put in some long hours with the wrenches, Bateman got back into the groove Saturday with a 5.696-second pass during the third and final qualifying run — vaulting the team into the ladder’s No. 9 rung, and allowing the fun to begin.

“We hurt the motor on the second qualifying run, threw some rods out of it,” said Bateman. “Everyone had to pitch in and work real hard to get the car running again.

“Once (Sunday’s) moment of loss was over, we realized we really had a great weekend.”

The Doc’s Holiday team had entered Seattle standing fifth in the NHRA’s overall TAFC standings. By outdistancing national No. 2 Payne, and No. 4 Sean O’Bannon of Ontario, Calif., the Winnipeggers can expect to be fighting for third place once national points are tabulated. Bateman also holds a comfortable 137-point lead over Vern Moats of Des Moines, Iowa for the Division 5 crown as part of the NHRA’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

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 www.docsholiday.com


Courtesy of Todd Kimberley