It had been nearly twenty years
since Jim Murphy last visited the winner circle at the March
Meet, with the most recent coming in 2004. In his final start
in the highly revered race, Amid the Wally Parks NHRA Nostalgia
Nationals, Murphy went all the way on Saturday at the rain-delayed
event, defeating Pete Wittenberg in the final round to claim
his fifth March Meet title overall, tying the legend "Big
Daddy" Don Garlits for the most all-time in Top Fuel eliminator
titles.
"It's really special, I
got to tell you," Murphy said. "We won it in 1998 and
1999. Won it again in 2003 and 2004, and we've been trying ever
since to tie Garlits with five. I didn't know if it was ever
going to come, and here it is at my last race. It's just awesome.
It's a storybook ending."