MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Doug Foley’s final-round appearance in Top Fuel at the 53rd annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals on Sunday was the culmination of planning, hard work and a vision set in place by Foley and racing partner Tim Lewis years ago.
When the PROTECS Inc. dragster reached the final round, it was proof that the Foley Lewis Racing team is heading in the right direction.
“To go from going no rounds at the first two races of the season to going to the finals was definitely pushing hard on the guys, but they did a great job,” Foley said. “It was really exciting for the whole team. We were one of the few cars that made it from A to B every lap, which gave us the opportunity to get to the final. We were far from the fastest, but we went down the track every time and it worked out pretty well.”
Top Fuel teams had just one qualifying session due to rain and Foley and his Aaron Brooks-led team used that opportunity to throw down a 3.775-second pass at 313.44 mph to qualify 10th out of 21 cars.
Foley marched through eliminations, defeating Spencer Massey, former IHRA rival Clay Millican and 2020 Rookie of the Year Justin to reach his first final round. His 3.806 at 307.37 mph wasn’t enough to beat Tripp Tatum, but the significance of the moment was not lost on Foley.
“This is a team that’s been to several semifinals but had never been to a final,” Foley said. “You don’t realize how much you appreciate it until the opportunity comes along and you realize, wow, it’s not easy to get here. You start to see why you do all of this.”
A runner-up finish this early in the season is exactly what Foley and his team needed to generate some momentum going into the next stretch of the season.
“We’re not a full-time team so we’re not sitting here counting points, but to say that this Foley Lewis team is eighth in the standings is pretty cool,” Foley said. “That motivates us to keep going and keep pushing and keep going through the process that we laid out.”
Foley shared the Gatornationals success with Lewis, who joined the team at Gainesville after having to miss the first two races of the season. Foley and Lewis first partnered in the late 1990s and enjoyed numerous race wins together in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster and IHRA Top Fuel. Over 20 years into racing together, Foley Lewis Racing is on the cusp of that coveted NHRA Top Fuel Wally.
“If it wasn’t for Tim Lewis, I would’ve never gotten this opportunity years ago,” Foley said. “Even in times that we weren’t competing, we always had intentions of building something like this. It just had to be the right time. Bringing in Aaron Brooks, building a new car, moving the team to Indy – it all happened at the right time. With more time and more runs, it’s only going to get better.”
The next scheduled race for Foley Lewis Racing is the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals April 29-May 1 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.