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09-04-05 Kent,
WA. After the trouble plagued Nitro Nationals at Pomona, Jim
Murphy and WW2 Racing needed a good showing at the Goodguys 1st
Northwest Nationals. With a string of five second runs and a
close semi-final loss they got what they were looking for - a
return in the kind of performance the team is noted for. Now
that they are back on track Murphy is confident that Crew Chief
Tim Beebe can now "do his magic" on the tune-up. That
will be tested during the final three events of the season...
the big one being the 14th California Hot Rod Reunion in October.
The first qualifying
session was held on Friday afternoon in almost perfect weather
conditions and a very tight track. Murphy was paired with Terry
Cox.
For their first pass
with the new mag and fuel pump Murphy had a "soft"
tune-up but still carded a 6.058 at 244.43. This gave them the
baseline they needed.
The second qualifying
session was held Saturday morning and again the conditions were
conducive to great times. Here Murphy and Tim Beebe wait for
the call to fire the engine.
Paired with no one,
Murphy had the whole track to himself.
The car left very good
and never missed a beat to a very stout 5.980 at 250.55. The
huge mile an hour was a sign that their horsepower was back.
Final
Top Fuel Qualifying
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Psn Driver
ET
Speed
1. Sean
Bellemeur 5.860 @ 250.60
2. Brett Harris 5.940 @ 252.10
3. Rick White 5.946 @ 244.69
4. Jason Richey 5.977 @ 252.19
5. Jim Murphy 5.980 @ 250.55
6. Rick McGee 6.003 @ 246.39
7. Jack Harris 6.020 @ 239.23
8. Terry Cox 6.021 @ 244.29
9. Bill Dunlap 6.076 @ 246.17
10. Brendan Murry 6.076 @ 237.75
11. Phil Ruskowski 7.232 @ 185.59
12. Dale Carlson Swan |
The first round of eliminations on Sunday found Murphy
racing Terry Cox.
Beebe activates the data computer just prior to Murphy
staging.
As sometimes happens (thankfully not often), a drivers
concentration is thrown off and that's what happened to Murphy
as he caught a red light negating a nice 5.971 at 230.49. Cox
also red lighted but after Murphy which gave him the win.
Due to the "break rule" Murphy, as the
quickest loser from round one, had a chance to redeem himself
in round two against Rick White.
Not one to make the same mistake twice, Murphy get
the holeshot and then pulls away for the 5.923 win and the 253.09
mph says he was really hauling on the big end. White was right
on his tail with a nice 5.957 at 242.67. In short, it was a great
drag race.
Round three pitted what most consider the two best
cars in the class. Murphy would meet Brett Harris in Nitro Thunder.
In another great race
... a close one as the pair left together but Harris eked out
the win with a 5.836 at 239.61. His speed was down as it appeared
he made a sacrifice to the aluminum gods. Murphy carded a very
nice 5.914 at 252.52.
WW2 Racing now has
very high hopes for the rest of the season!
See the WW2
Racing Schedule for upcoming events
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