Boise, Idaho
- August 11-13, 2006: The 35th Nightfire Nationals was a race
that will be remembered for years to come. For all the fans in
attendance, it was without doubt the single most impressive event
in the track's thirty-nine year history. Nearly perfect weather
greeted a record field of racers and jam-packed grandstands to
four incredible days of racing. Daily highs saw unusually low
temperatures in the 80's and because of it performances across
the board were stunning.
From qualifying
right through eliminations, the Top Fuel Dragsters were flying
and were by far the fan favorites. Fifteen of the best fuel cars
in the world towed to Boise for the 8 car show. Who would've
ever guessed a 6.01 bump at a track with a mien of 5,500 plus
feet of corrected altitude. 5.80's and several cars over 250
MPH - AT BOISE! Just incredible.
Jim Murphy came
to Boise with high hopes and left scratching his head. He and
his WW2 Racing team were relatively confident that the car was
returning to its previous winning form and after a 6.09 on his
first pass, Murphy felt the car had a lot more left in it...
and it did. Their ET improved on each qualifying pass ending
up in the # 4 spot with a 5.971 at 238.66.
In spite of qualifying
in the top half of the quickest and fastest field in Firebird
Raceway history Jim and Crew Chief Tim Beebe felt they were still
leaving a lot on the table. So prior to the first round of eliminations
Beebe "changed every part he could" to find the missing
link. This proved not to be the answer as the car slowed down
(especially on the bottom end) and lost to Sean Bellemeur with
a 6.11 at 244 while the winner carded a strong 5.92 at 253.
WW2 Racing's
next outing will be the Governors Cup at Sacramento September
15 -16. Murphy is hoping to get a total handle on the car before
the prestigious California Hot Rod Reunion in October.