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Murphy Qualifies # 1
- Falters in Round One
In spite
of their best efforts, racing luck has abandoned the OSH-WW2
Racing team in 2004. After a stellar world championship season
in 2003, with the exception of a March Meet win, the 2004 season
has been filled with disappointment. A first round loss at the
16th Las Vegas Nitro Nationals put Murphy behind the eight ball
in the points standings. He had to do well at the 7th Pomona
Nitro Nationals to stay in the 2004 championship points race.
After qualifying # 1 on Friday his chances looked very good but
an upset loss in the first round of Saturday all but ended the
teams bid for a second consecutive World Championship. Such is
drag racing - a sport measured in thousands of a second that
offers no second chance for the slightest of mistakes. One very
quick race - one winner. The loser goes home, the winner goes
to the next round. A cruel and fickle mistress indeed. You've
got to be good and lucky to win a championship - luck has not
been in the equation for team OSH since March.
Final Order of Qualifying
for Top Fuel
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'A' Field
1. Jim Murphy 5.917
@ 249.65
2. Jack Harris 5.925 @ 251.39
3. Howard Haight 5.941 @ 245.16
4. Rick McGee 5.966 @ 246.17
5. Rick White 5.997 @ 242.65
6. Bill Dunlap 6.036 @ 238.15
7. Troy Green 6.065 @ 237.78
8. Mark Hyla 6.099 @ 210.67 |
'B' Field
9. Sean Bellemeur 6.105
@ 236.84
10. Bob Muravez 6.110 @ 215.62
11. Jason Richey 6.116 @ 233.94
12. Jeff Diehl 6.138 @ 234.74
13. Rick Rogers 6.190 @ 235.54
14. Brendan Murry 6.206 @ 227.67
15. Denver Schutz 6.300 @ 222.66
16. Lee Jennings Sr. 6.357 @ 234.80 |
For several
reasons including warm weather and Fathers Day, the format for
this event was only 2 days (Friday and Saturday) with racing
from morning 'till night. The large car count and a 10 pm curfew
at Pomona forced the Goodguys to further alter the schedule and
limit the Pro classes to only two qualifying sessions - both
on Friday. For Harris this was not a problem and by most accounts,
it did not upset most of the other fuel teams. The first session
was held in the heat on Friday afternoon.
The temperature was about 87 degrees
and the track had been in direct sunlight since early morning.
The crew chiefs were making adjustments right up until the cars
were fires. Here Murphy makes his first burnout of the weekend.
Murphy
and Rick Rogers back up after their burnouts.
Tim Beebe was doing tweaks
after the burnout.
Murphy,
sporting the first full face helmet he's ever owned, approaches
the staging lights.
Murphy
threw up a lot of clutch dust at the hit and it appeared that
the car was pretty soft.
Nonetheless,
Jim strolls down the quarter mile at a very respectable 6.044
@ 244.63. This would leave him high on the list after the first
session (# 3).
After
the first session the crew did a complete "maintenance"
program on the car. Everything was checked and if need be, replaced.
They knew this was a very important event.
Here is a stripped TFX
(Rodeck) billet block up close and personal. The crew takes out
all eight pistons after every run. The clutch assembly (rear)
also comes apart to the flywheel.
The second session was
scheduled for 7 pm but did not get under way until 9 pm which
was fine with both the racers and fans as there's nothing better
than nitro at night.
Murphy stages for a
single run when the Cheetah III car had to shut off.
Unlike the first session,
the car was ready for the track and left like a rocket.
The results were just
what the team wanted - the # 1 qualifying spot.
Race Day
First round of racing wasn't until 5 pm so after
the car was ready, the crews did what they could to beat the
heat and relax - some even took a nap.
At about 4 o'clock it was time to warm up the engine.
Jeff Shamrock waits for the starter and computer to be hooked
up.
Tim Beebe primes the engine and starts it.
Everything looked and sounded fine... they were ready.
Murphy's first round opponent was rookie Mark Hyla
who qualified # 8. If the OSH car could even come close to its
qualifying time the race would be theirs.
As always, David Thornhill backs Murphy up after
his burnout.
Murphy did his job on the starting line and put a
big holeshot on Hyla. However, the car was very loose all the
way down the track and started to nose over at the 1000' mark.
When he couldn't see (or hear) Hyla he lifted early which proved
to be a big mistake. Hyla had just enough to catch Murphy right
at the finish line to take the win. Big first round upset as
the #1 qualifier is out.
As you can see here, Murphy had a comfortable lead
at half track. The final times were Murphy's 6.179 at just 196.54
to the winning 6.070 @ 227.61. This was a huge and heartbreaking
loss for everyone on the team. There are still several races
left in the season and no doubt they will win some of them but
with only one Goodguys/VRA event left, the points race is over.
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