Bateman Captures Emotional First National Win in Vegas
Las Vegas, NV – Tears were shed at the top end of the racetrack on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor 
Speedway. Garrett Bateman had just won the Top Alcohol dragster race and was the NHRA Toyota Nationals champ. This was his first national event win, after four final rounds and fifteen years of desire.
“It feels like a thousand pound gorilla is off my back,” said Bateman. “I have been trying so hard for years it seems. I have been fortunate enough to have success at Bonneville and at the LODRS Regional level. My first goal when I started racing was to win a national event. At my first race I actually went to the final round. It was against a Randy Meyer car with Alan Bradshaw driving. We lost that race, and ironically enough, we beat both those guys this weekend.“
Bateman’s journey to the winners circle started on Friday with a round one qualifying effort of 5.477/265.90 which put the HipLink/NGK Dragster in the number six position. Round two Saturday morning was when the power of the Rick Henkelman tuned dragster stole the show. Prior to the run tuner Rick Henkelman saw something on the track he liked and decided to step it up. A 5.249/269.94 blast catapulted Bateman to the number one spot. The decision to sit out the final round of qualifying was then made to prepare for the first round.
In the first round of eliminations, Bateman faced Casey Grisel and a 5.331/269.46 took the win to a losing 5.454/260.71. In the second round it was Bill Litton in the other lane. Bateman rocketed off the starting line with a .024 light and a 5.285/267.00 bested Litton’s 5.384/270.54. On to the semi-finals, familiar foe Alan Bradshaw was in the other lane. Bateman advanced to the final with a 5.300/268.65 over his first-race ever opponent Alan Bradshaw’s 5.469/255.00.
In the final round Jackie Fricke lay in wait. Trying so hard for years, Bateman and the HipLink team made the decision to treat it like a test pass. The plan was to stop trying so hard and Bateman made it a personal goal to focus. The result of that focus was a 5.275/269.08 final round victory lap over Fricke’s 5.902/222.91.
“I just stayed calm and trusted Rick’s (Henkelman) tune-up,” added Bateman. “Rick deserves all the credit. We have a three person crew and my guys really stepped it up. It was great to have Russ Parker and his son Tyson helping out at this race because he was also at my first race. It was a Cinderella weekend and I couldn’t ask for anything more. Coming down the return road the crowd was standing and cheering. Just hearing the crowd was an emotional moment. I have to thank HipLink, NGK Spark Plugs, and Boost Performance along with CleanBoost Oil. This is two wins in a row for our team with four final rounds in row. Now all we have to do is keep the momentum going into this weekend’s LODRS Regional race back here in Vegas. I am really looking forward to this race and the NHRA finals at Pomona,” concluded Bateman.
As the NHRA season winds down, the HipLink/NGK/Boost Performance Team of Garrett Bateman is on a hot streak that they plan on holding on to. Their historic first national win at the 2015 Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will remain on their minds as they look for emotional win number two.
