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Bateman Has Momentum Heading Into Final Season Stretch
Jeffrey Porth - September 26, 2007
Roger Bateman and Friesen Motorsports/Nobel Biocare Racing team are riding high following a positive showing at the 23rd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Fall Nationals Presented by Castrol Syntec in Dallas, Texas this past weekend. Qualifying for the stout field was a task in itself as some major players in Alcohol Funny Car were competing there. Names such as Payne, Taylor, Chesterman and Jones all came to “play” at the only all-concrete drag strip on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Tour.
It took Roger and crew until the last qualifying pass, Saturday in the heat of the day to qualify at the tricky Texas track. Roger qualified #10 with a 5.714, 252.57mph and faced #7 Qualifier Dennis Taylor in Round #1. Roger got the starting line advantage on the Californian by 0.032 of a second and held on to beat Dennis as he encountered a motor problem banging the blower. Bateman won with a 5.758, 251.67mph to Taylor’s 6.046, 183.42mph.
In the next round Roger would face # 2 Qualifier Von Smith with Smith having the important lane choice. Both Von & Roger left together but Smith’s car had the power to slowly pull away from Bateman’s Noble Biocare Funny Car defeating him 5.648, 255.00mph to Bateman’s 5.696, 251.91.
The team is making great strides to consistency as this past weekend shows and they can hopefully turn on the win light some more times in the coming weeks as they head down the road to the final race of the season in Pomona, CA November 1st to 4th, 2007.
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