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Behind the Scenes

 


 

"Only drag racers spend 60 hours a week to run a car for 6 seconds."

It has always been a wonderment to those outside of drag racing how anyone can spend an entire week preparing a race car that, in all reality, could only run for a matter of seconds before blowing up.

Answer: It's the nature of the beast.

From day one drag racing has been been a sport measured in tenths of a second. Now it's taken to the thousandths of a second. When the margin of winning or losing comes down to a heartbeat you better be sure your race car is prepared to the best of your ability.

WW2 Racing does not leave anything to chance. Their's is not a backyard operation. Jim Murphy and crew know that preparation is half the battle to winning races. Considering this is not a "professional" racing team in the sense that none of the principals rely on the success or failure of a race for a living... nonetheless they treat it is as such.

garageWhen you visit WW2 Racing your first impression is the exterior of their custom built shop. Located in Santa Rosa, CA. this massive structure has but one purpose... to house the Top Fuel dragster of Jim Murphy and crew. When Jim isn't working at his construction business and the crew can slip away, they can all be found in this garage behind Jim's house. Everyone involved does this out of love for drag racing and loyalty to Jim Murphy.

 

shopOn any given week night (or weekend) you can find Ron, David, Barry, Jeff or Gary doing their thing within the well equipped shop Murphy has given them to work in. And if the crew is there it's a safe bet that Jim is working right along with them. WW2 Racing takes the sport back to its roots and without sponsor support, know going in they can't possibly win enough prize money to pay for their passion.

 

WW2 on standsAfter each race the car is stripped and put up on... well, sawhorses. Every piece is taken off and apart to assure there is no internal damage not visible to the naked eye. There is a job for everybody and everybody knows their job. When you have a common goal, there is no finer group than a drag racing crew. Especially when they are doing the job out of sheer love.

 

 

DonovanThis is the heart of WW2 Racing. An aluminum Donovan engine manufactured for one purpose and one purpose only. To drag race. Based on the age old Chrysler 392 hemi, the Donovan is the state-of-the-art block for nostalgia Top Fuel racing. Like the car itself, the engine is completely disassembled after every race and inspected with a fine tooth comb. Any suspect parts are replaced before its reinstalled in the car and the crew makes sure nothing is left to chance.

 

high shot of shopHere the Donovan blown fuel hemi is being maneuvered back into the chassis after refurbishing. Like every other aspect of WW2 Racing, this is not a rush deal. Even though the engine has been in the car many times before, it is always dropped in as if it were the first time.

 

 

 

trailer 1You don't spend 60 hours a week preparing a race car to put it on an open trailer (not these days anyway). WW2 Racing transports their "traveling road show" via an enclosed trailer that is equipped with all the tools essential for maintenance at the races. Needless to say, the sides of this 38 foot rig are ripe for sponsorship representation. A virtual rolling billboard.

 

 

trailer 2Inside the WW2 Racing trailer is pure business. Spare parts, tires, tools, work benches, fuel, computer... everything is layed out and maintained immaculately. When you only have 60 minutes between rounds your crew must know where everything is. WW2 Racing has no problem in this area.

Class begets class. With an extensive background in professional racing, Jim Murphy and the WW2 team put the same effort and pride into their Nostalgia Top Fuel program. And there is a popular consensus within the motorsports world that this form of drag racing may well be the future of the sport. "Nostalgia isn't what it used to be" could prove to be the most prophetic phrase of the Twenty-first Century.

For sponsorship information go to: Support WW2 Racing

 

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