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September
12-14, 2003
OSH-WW2
Racing Wins 2003 Governor's
Cup
Nearing
midnight on Saturday and after much drama, Jim Murphy took the
win over Bill Dunlap on a holeshot in the quickest side by side
Nostalgia Top Fuel race in history. Murphy's 5.83 @ 239 narrowly
beat Dunlap's quicker 5.81 @ 245. It was a thrilling cap on the
most prestigious race annually held at Sacramento Raceway - an
event Murphy has now won five times in his career.
Top Fuel Qualifying
1. Jim Murphy 5.925 @ 207.94
2. Pete Kaiser 6.071 @ 230.74
3. Bill Dunlap 6.074 @ 232.78
4. Brendan Murry 6.098 @ 217.25
5. Denver Schutz 6.120 @ 226.05
6. Lee Jennings 6.128 @ 233.41
7. Glenn Hutchison 6.151 @ 239.88
8. Howard Haight 6.282 @ 214.60 |
Due to the late hour the traditional "winners
circle" shot in front of the tower was canceled and this
impromptu gathering was staged in the OSH-WW2 Racing trailer.
The "Governors Cup" sits atop the engine.
What
turned out to be a excellent weekend for Murphy and the OSH-WW2
Racing team started with this "easy" 6.07 (at just
197) run during the first qualifying session on Friday evening.
Later
Friday night, the second qualifying session saw Murphy go low
with the only "five" of the day with another easy pass
of 5.92 with a shut off early speed of just 207. This locked
the # 1 spot and gave the team a tune up for race day.
In Round
One Saturday evening Murphy was paired with the always tough
Howard Haight.
Barry
Byrne guides Murphy into his tracks after the burnout.
After this staging shot, both cars left the starting
line together but the race was over early and Murphy streaked
to a stellar 5.91 @ 247. Haight smoked the tires and shut it
off clocking a coasting 9.08 at 94 MPH.
Here's
a nice three shot sequence showing how hard the OSH fueler left
the starting line against Haight.
In the semi finals Murphy
faced the potent Chevy powered car of Lee Jennings Sr. Jennings
who was back on the break rule for Denver Schutz. Jennings ran
a very strong 6.023 @ 240.56 in his first round loss to Bill
Dunlap so the OSH team couldn't take him lightly.
Murphy heats up the
tires for round two.
Murphy
was out first as Jennings blazed the tires at the hit. Jim went
on to a shut off early 6.033 @ 205.81.
The final
was filled with drama and promised to be a good one if the repairs
on the Dunlap & Fuller car were done correctly. In the semi
finals Bill Dunlap won his race but had a major engine explosion
at the end. The car slid sideways and finally tipped over on
its side without touching a guardrail. The car sustained a lot
of damage but was repairable. With the help of other racers they
got the car back together but ran out of time to even start it
before coming to the line against Murphy. In a show a sportsmanship,
Murphy and the OSH-WW2 Racing crew gave the Fuller team extra
time to make the call as they wanted to race for the title and
not make a single run for the win.
The OSH fueler sounded very strong on the burnout.
The race itself turned out to be one for the record
books. Both cars left the starting line extremely hard with the
reaction time advantage (holeshot) going to Murphy (0.507 to
a 0.578). As it turned out that would be the difference in the
race as to everyone's surprise the Dunlap & Fuller car ran
a career best of 5.81 @ 245. Winning by less than three feet,
Murphy carded a stellar 5.83 @ 239. He won this one on the starting
line! What an incredible finish to a great event.
Scoreboard
The
crew celebrates as they toss some of the very popular OSH-WW2
Racing T-shirts to the screaming fans. |
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