The team struggled through qualifying and could only muster a ninth best 5.696-second, 253.75 mph and had to give up lane choice in the first round. "On our second (qualifying) pass we hurt the motor" car chief Todd Murray stated. "We had to work late into the night to fix the racecar". "Once we got the car set up, we knew we had to massage the car for the first round (of eliminations)". The track was hot Saturday evening for the first round of eliminations where Roger faced off against Brian Thiel of Pleasant Grove, CA. Bateman handled Thiel 5.682/ 252.95 to 5.729/ 250.88. "We got lucky with that one" Murray commented. "We did not have a good car in that round and had luck on our side" Bateman echoed. "I hope we can get our act in gear for round two on Sunday".

Roger faced off against Claremont, CA native, Jay Payne in round two. In an early afternoon showdown, Roger handled the former Top Alcohol Dragster Champion 5.556/ 256.84 to 5.627/ 258.86. "We tried something drastic for that round and it worked" Murray stated. "That run helped our tuning decisions for the next round". With a new set up and confidence brewing the team would face off against Sean Bellemeur. As the mid-afternoon sun beat down on Pacific Raceways Roger and crew stared down the Tustin, CA resident with the hopes of a win. With the choice of lanes, Bateman defeated Bellemeur 5.684/ 254.71 to 5.694/ 252.47. "I had to pedal the car for that one" Roger exclaimed. "That was a driving challenge!"

The team would meet up in the money round against a Pacific Division heavy hitter, Doug Gordon of Paso Robles, CA. "It is a privilege to race them", Murray remarked. "They are a great team over there". As the day's festivities were winding down, the Californian and the Calgarian faced off on the 118degrees Fahrenheit quarter mile. Bateman left first but that is were the lead ended as he shook and smoked the tires almost instantly handing Gordon the win 5.572/ 258.91 to a less than stellar 9.047/ 94.18. "We just didn't back the car down enough in the final" Murray remarked. "The track got sloppier and we didn't calm the car down enough!" Roger and crew were one of the first to congratulate Gordon on his win with Todd Murray commenting afterward, "It was a great privilege to race that team and we are really happy for (Doug) Gordon". "We can't take anything away from them; they deserved it" Roger agreed. Other Complements given by the team were received by Doug and crew showing the true sportsmanship and family values of the sport that would have made the sport's founder, the Late Wally Parks proud.

The team will pack up and get some rest before they travel to the land of 10,000 lakes for the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, MN August 12th - 15th and hope to capitalize on the fact that they won there months earlier.

Courtesy of Jeffrey Porth