|
|
March 8-10, 2002
OSH-WW2 Racing Photo
Highlights
Jim
Murphy - 5.81 @ 255!
After a full year of frustration and bad luck, Jim Murphy and
the WW2 Racing crew had it all come together at the 2002 March
Meet. With new Crew Chief Tim Beebe on board, the Orchard Supply
and Hardware sponsored fueler laid down a first round pass on
Sunday that raised the bar in Nostalgia Top Fuel a bunch. A whole
bunch! OSH-WW2 Racing wants that #1 back on their car and this
definitely serves notice that they're serious about it.
After
qualifying #5 with a very respectable 6.03, Murphy and crew did
a routine engine swap on Saturday night. During which they found
some metal shavings in the fuel system that were traced to a
re-vamping of the fuel tank. This gave the re-united duo of Beebe
& Murphy the clue they needed to tune the car for Sunday.
Tune it they did. First Round of Eliminations: 10:05 AM Sunday
morning, the OSH fueler made a run for the ages - picture perfect
from start to finish - 5.81 seconds at an astonishing 255 miles
per hour. No one on the property even questioned the times as
everyone knew they'd just witnessed history.
Photo
Sequence of Record Run
Mark Malde had the unenviable
task of facing Jim Murphy in round one. Not that it mattered
but Mark had all kinds of problems right off the line and ended
up in Murphy's lane about 400' out. By then Jim was long gone
on his incredible run and all Malde could do was look at his
chutes on the horizon. Come to think of it, maybe Mark just wanted
a better look at history?
Even
though the computer showed that Jim shut the car off 5.65 seconds
into the run, it was marching so hard that the rear tires are
still squared some 200 feet past the light.
To say the least,
the OSH-METRINCH-WW2
crew was ecstatic following their stunning run. Here they are
on their way to pick up the car.
Crew
Chief, Tim Beebe does what he does best - finesse the fuel system.
Jim Murphy is more than elated to be reunited with his old partner
as, "Tim coming on board has made my plate manageable".
A new trailer (below) doesn't hurt either. Starting with a shell,
the WW2 crew outfitted this first class rig over the winter in
their Santa Rosa shop.
Following
the blast heard around the world, Team OSH-METRINCH didn't have
a lot of time to bask in the glory as they had to prepare the
car for round two of racing.
In the
pits everyone has a job and they do it very well. A Top Fuel
crew must work as a well oiled team in order to maintain the
constant integrate of the car and engine. Even a small mistake
could be very costly.
With
everything back together the "fine points" are tended
to.
Jim
Murphy's out of the box 6.03 at just 216 qualifying run on Friday
just served notice of what Sunday would bring. Here's the chute
coming out before the lights. Up on the tires - not a whip of
smoke from the headers. Hummmm?
On Saturday the OSH team just "played".
This shut-off 6.16 in the first of two sessions told them one
thing, there was something wrong in the fuel system and it was
not anything obvious. Their 6.25 in the second session confirmed
it. This prompted the Saturday night thrash that revealed the
aluminum shavings in the lines. That fixed the rest is history.
Following
qualifying on Saturday it was decided to install a new engine
for eliminations on Sunday. Although this is a beautiful car
when its together, its not an attractive site during surgery.
The
spare short block is stored out of sight in the trailer until
needed.
Once
the short block is out, all the components are bolted on.
Team
OSH works into the night to make sure everything is right for
Sunday morning. The record run dictates they didn't miss a thing.
The
heart of the car is its computer. After every run Tim Beebe downloads
the information and analyzes it so they'll know what changes
to make for the next run.
Without
a doubt one of the cleanest and best laid out trailers in the
pits. The new rig allows the team to perform their necessary
tasks easier and faster.
Prior
to every run the car is warmed up in the pits. This not only
puts heat in the engine but also tells the team that there are
no leaks and that everything is functioning properly.
Wearing a seven layer firesuit, on warm days sitting
in the cockpit of a dragster can be very uncomfortable. In such
times Murphy has only the comfort of a good old fashioned umbrella
to block the direct sun light. Here Jim waits for his second
round match up with Gerry Steiner.
Prior to every run, Murphy does a "burnout"
(smoking the tires in water) which not only heats up the tires
but the racing surface as well.
In the second round, Murphy's Donovan broke a rocker
arm 2 seconds into the run, Gerry Steiner was able to catch and
pass him for the win. Jim banked a hundredth on the tree and
was on his way to backing up the 5.81 pass when the rocker broke.
Jerry ripped off a stout 5.88 to Murphy's slowing 6.08. Look
how close they are in the lights (below) - NOT your basic 2+
tenths spread.
Jim Murphy at Work |
Photo
Sequence of Record Run
Return
to Photo Archive
|
