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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.
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