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Murphy Ends 2002
Season With Huge Win
T/F
Eliminator - Low ET - Top Speed
The 2002
nostalgia drag racing season ended much as it started -- at Bakersfield
featuring some incredible performances mixed with stunning upsets.
Three days of perfect racing weather saw Jim Murphy in the OSH-WW2
Racing fueler qualify in the #1 slot with a stout 5.85 and proceed
to sweep the table.
Final Top Fuel
Qualifying
1. Jim Murphy 5.857 251.74
2. Jack Harris 5.885 243.50
3. Gerry Steiner 5.893 250.06
4. Bill Dunlap 5.949 238.09
5. Bill Alexander 5.999 199.86
6. Denver Schutz 6.003 233.10
7. Rick McGee 6.033 226.13
8. Brendan Murry 6.044 237.27 |
9. Lee Jennings 6.175
208.71
10. Todd Meikle 6.361 211.26
11. Mike Lockman 6.441 184.46
12. Pete Kaiser 6.443 170.58
13. Bob Hallock 6.601 157.26
14. John Shoemaker 8.050 105.80
15. Tim Gibson 12.445 61.71
16. Open |
At the first event of
the year (VRA March Meet) Jim Murphy made the quickest and fastest
pass ever in a NTF car (5.81 @ 255). With that it looked like
the OSH-WW2 Racing team had overcome the gremlins that haunted
them throughout the 2001 season. But this is drag racing - a
demanding and unforgiving mistress that will give you a big kiss
then whack you in the head with a broken connecting rod. And
so Murphy and company spent the better part of this season getting
hit in the head with rods (and other assorted parts) before they
came close to enjoying the performance yielded at the March Meet.
Yes, there was a problem and yes, they finally found it. At the
Gold Rush Nationals at Sacramento (Oct 19-20) Murphy set low
ET (5.87), Top Speed (252) and won the event. This left the team
very confident coming into the Fuel & Gas Finals. Their confidence
was not only warranted but prophetic. Murphy left Bakersfield
with his second win in as many weeks setting low ET (5.85) and
Top Speed (251) in the process.
After an easy single in round one (bye-run as low
qualifier) in round two Murphy leaves hard and cards a nice 5.92
@ 246 to send "Wild Bill" Alexander and the "Ground
Zero" team packing.
As
the sun set and the track got a little "Patch Moisture"
on it, Murphy and Murry staged for the final race of the final
event of the season. With identical reaction times, the two cars
stayed side by side to the 600' mark when Murry started to "skate"
toward the center line. Albeit a final round, Brendan used good
judgment and reeled the car in as Murphy scored a top-end tire
spinning 6.15 at a click-it early 213 win.
This shot illustrates
how far ahead Murphy was after his final round win.
Most race car drivers
like and respect each other. This is the case with Murphy and
Murry. Although he was far behind Jim at the finish, Brendan
was out of his car first and on the spot to congratulate his
opponent for his win.
Runner-up
(Brendan Murry) and buddy Jim Murphy share a happy moment before
the crews get to the top end to pick them up.
As Jim and Brendan were dismounting, the crew was
waving to the cheering crowd as they made their way to the far
end to pick up the car (and Jim).
Can you
say - HAPPY CREW? The entire OSH-WW2 Racing team starts the celebration
over a half mile away from were the car left the starting line
less than 5 minutes before.
In the semis Murphy was paired with Gerry
Steiner - a show in itself. But what should have been the best
race of the event went sour when Steiner gets way loose and is
forced to lift. Steiner was a tenth behind at the start - combine
that with his traction problems and he clicked it off. Murphy
slows to a 6.26 at just 189 but that was good enough to meet
Brendan Murry in the final.
Backing
up to qualifying, Murphy's weekend started on Friday with this
"easy" 5.946 at only 220.48. The wheels-up launch was
picture perfect. First pair. First five. Murphy was trailing
some smoke through the lights as if some internal pieces were
consuming themselves and that would explain the slow speed.
The
crew was happy with that one! And so were the thousands of fans.
The off-track highlight of Saturday was
the presentation of the Goodguys VRA 5-Second Club trophies.
At the time 11 of the 12 available spots were filled (Murry filled
# 12 just 24 hours later). From LtoR; Rick McGee (the only one
of the group under 60), Rance McDaniel, Jack Harris, Gerry Steiner,
Lee Jennings, Jim Murphy, Bill Alexander and Bill Dunlap.
This could be titled: "Murphy talks and the
others listen". Just a guess. LtoR: McGee, Harris, McDaniel,
Dunlap, Alexander, Steiner and Murphy.
Intense competitors on the track - good
friends off. That's would describe the relationships of 90% of
all drag racers.
For
some reason Murphy was finding much humor in the process and
Marc Meadors (yellow shirt) seems to be very lost in the format.
Nonetheless, it was a great honor as only 12 people will ever
receive this award.
Murphy
does his burnout in preparation to the last qualifying session
on Saturday.
Although
Bob Hallock was ahead of Murphy at the 300 foot mark (because
he red lighted) the end result for the OSH-WW2 Racing team was
a stout 5.857 @ 251.74 which was good for the # 1 spot and a
give-me single in the first round on Sunday as only 15 cars qualified
for the 16 car show.
All weekend
the OSH-WW2 Racing pit was filled with fans and crew. Jim Murphy
was constancy signing autographs for the young and old.
The OSH-WW2 Racing team, their win didn't
come easy. After a fairly laid-back Friday (above), the crew
had major maintenance to do after every run on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday night was especially intense
as the crew knew it was their race to win. To do that everything
had to be ready for Sunday. The engine came out of the car and
was completely gone through to be sure all was right.
With
the race engine back in the car, Crewchief Tim Beebe (blue shirt)
and Murphy made sure that their game plan was in tact.
The crew goes through a routine warm-up
(putting heat in the engine and making sure there are no mechanical
problems or leaks) during eliminations on Sunday.
As Jim
Murphy pours the nitromethane into the tank, team WW-2 preps
the car for the final round against Murry.
Back to the good stuff
- the crew savors the victory as they wait their turn in the
winners circle for the trophy and media photographs.
This says it all - Jim Murphy sitting
in the Goodguy's office waiting for THE CHECK! |
WW2
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