|
|
Murphy - OSH-WW2 Racing
Retain VRA Points Lead
All things
considered, Jim Murphy and the OSH-WW2 Racing team came out of
the Goodguys 6th West Coast Hot Rod Happinin' in good shape.
Battling hot and tricky track conditions all weekend, the guys
left Pomona with a semi final finish and still holding on to
the # 1 spot in the 2003 VRA Top Fuel Championship Points race.
Even before the season started most everyone agreed that Murphy
and Jack Harris would be the pace setters in Top Fuel. With only
one VRA race left (Fuel & Gas Finals) the two are indeed
on top of the heap and in a very close battle for the 2003 TF
Championship. Murphy holds a slight lead (275 to 264) which means
Bakersfield in November will be a nail biter for both. Who ever
goes one round further than the other will be the Champ.
Final
Top Fuel Qualifying
1. Jack Harris 5.879 256.33
2. Jim Murphy 5.887 225.39
3. Howard Haight 6.015 242.13
4. Jeff Diehl 6.027 243.70
5. Bill Dunlap 6.061 238.22
6. Lee Jennings 6.083 238.91
7. Bob Muravez 6.092 236.96
8. Denver Schutz 6.102 229.47 |
9. Bill Alexander 6.134
219.94
10. Rick McGee 6.158 212.11
11. Brendan Murry 6.188 222.44
12. Troy Green 6.258 226.64
13. Rich Howell 6.372 200.80
14. Bob Hallock 6.384 171.03
15. Rick Rogers 6.504 208.04
16. Chuck Tanko 6.811 206.56 |
Although the teams set
up on Thursday, for all intent and purpose the weekend started
for the Top Fuel cars on Friday afternoon. Due to the fact that
these types of cars hadn't run at Pomona in two years meant their
past data was near useless. And then there was the heat and extreme
track temperatures to consider. The first qualifying session
was full of unknown factors.
4:30
PM - track temp 139 degrees. Both Jim Murphy and Lee Jennings
Jr. had very good "base" tune ups and got down the
hot track together. Murphy ran a conservative 6.23 @ 228 while
Jennings carded a 6.24 @ 232.
In this
lights it was close. A nice side by side qualifying race.
There's nothing like
Top Fuel dragsters under the lights and this event featured two
such qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday night. With cooler
track temperatures and better air, the nitro cars should (at
least in theory) run much better than they do during the day.
The Friday night session proved to be an exception to that rule.
Only two cars improved over their earlier attempts and Jim Murphy
wasn't one of them. The OSH-WW2 Racing fueler was on a great
pass (the data recorder had it in the 5.90s) when the car got
loose at the 1000' mark and headed for the center line. Murphy
reeled it in but not before barely hitting the timing lights.
This resulted in a negated run and a dented front wing.
The third qualifying
session went off late - 5:15 PM. This was a good thing in that
the temperature had dropped to the high 80s and the track was
ONLY 140 degrees (down from 145). This session paired up Murphy
with Bob Muravez.
As
seen from the grandstands, both cars left hard and it was a great
drag race for 900' when Muravez shut it off.
Murphy
had no intentions of cutting his run short and went right down
the middle of the hot track to record a nice 6.14 @ 235.
Towing back to the pits.
Speaking of towing back
to the pits ... without a doubt the most popular promotion of
the event was the give-away OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) T-shirts
that the WW2 crew threw out to the fans. To quote one lucky catcher,
"This is the coolest thing I've ever got! For sure front
line in my racing wardrobe!" And OSH thought the buckets
were a big hit!
As always, Tim Beebe
poured over the data collected on the previous run. He figured
going into the night session on Saturday the car would run in
the fives with the cooler temps and better air.
Session #4 - Saturday night. This
is what the fans came to see and what a show they got. For the
only time all weekend the #1 (Jim Murphy) and #2 (Jack Harris)
VRA Top Fuel points leaders squared off. The masses expected
a side by side 5 second race and nobody was disappointed. Murphy
leaped up to the #2 qualifying spot with a stout 5.88 @ 225 with
Harris trailing with a 5.92 but ran the backup for the speed
record - 256.55.
As a side note, this
pass could well have been the quickest in history if not for
a broken rocker arm at half track. The data computer indicated
that it should have been (had the engine stayed in tact) a mid
to low 5.70 pass. For you fans who are into numbers, check out
the stats between the 5.80 run at Bakersfield in March against
the numbers from this pass at Pomona.
Bakersfield
1.058
2.682
3.927
4.935
5.804
256.84 |
Pomona
1.053
2.667
3.901
4.950
5.887
225.39 |
To quote Murphy, "As
you can see the cylinder dropped and then a rocker broke at 4
seconds and the last half of the run was on 6 cylinders. One
of these days we'll put it all together and be famous (LOL)."
First round Sunday morning pitted
Jim Murphy and Rick McGee. Had the Tedford & McGee car been
healthy this could have been a great match up. The cars left
together but it was over early for McGee when he blew the tires
off at the 200' mark. Murphy repeated his 5.88 (low ET in eliminations)
qualifying time and run a ton faster at 241.15.
After their first round
win over McGee, the crew busy swapping short blocks.
With track temps once again rising
into the 140 area, traction was becoming a rare commodity. In
round two, Jim Murphy and Lee Jennings Sr. illustrated that in
spades. It was one ugly drag race with both cars leaving hard
then going up in smoke before the 200' mark.
At this point both cars had blazed
the tires, tried in vane to recover and shut off (note closed
throttle blades on the injectors). Jennings had no way of knowing
that the OSH-WW2 Racing entry had a broken throttle shaft and
was literally dead in the water. Had he known, he may have given
the gas one more whack but there's that big word "if".
At any rate, both drivers peddled their hearts out and in spite
of the broken throttle shaft, Murphy coasted through first. 8.64
to 8.91.
After dodging a bullet,
Murphy replaced the broken throttle shaft in preparation of his
semi final meeting with Jeff Diehl.
After all the second round antics,
the Top Fuel semis were a crap shoot. After his coasting match
with Jennings, Jim Murphy was paired with Jeff Diehl (who in
a questionable call was back in on the break rule for Chuck Tanko).
Murphy wanted this round badly - maybe too badly.
Just off the line Murphy
strikes the tires (see it starting in the shot below). With Diehl
streaking to a 6.09 @ 235 pass, all the throttle peddling
and break pulling in the world wouldn't catch him. Making the
most of his reinstatement, Jeff is going to the final. The weekend
is over for the OSH-WW2 Racing team.
Saturday afternoon saw
a gathering of the Kings of Speed - the very exclusive "250
MPH Club". From left to right: Jack Harris, Howard Haight,
Jim Murphy (who ran the first 250 ever) and Gerry Steiner. Sponsored
by WDIFL.com, the club will follow a Bonneville format in that
there are no set spots available. Since the 250 mark is the last
frontier for the Nostalgia Top Fuel cars (and very hard to do),
anyone who runs the speed will become a member.
Return
to Photo Archive
|
|
