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 http://www.docsholiday.com
ABOUT FRIESEN MOTORSPORTS: The Winnipeg-based Doc's Holiday outfit is the premier top
alcohol funny car (TAFC) drag racing team in the nation, holding both ends of the all-time Canadian
record. Friesen Motorsports is defending TAFC champion in the National Hot Rod Association's West
Central Division, or Division Five. Driver Roger Bateman of Calgary, who'd previously won an NHRA
divisional crown in 1998 with the Showdown outfit, has guided Friesen Motorsports to two NHRA
top-10 overall TAFC finishes since he began driving for the team in 2006.
