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"I've
been involved in many motorsports through the years and know
for sure that drag racing done properly is as tough as it gets.
For something that appears so simple it is terribly complicated."
Pat Foster
For Jim Murphy
and the OSH-WW2 Racing team the 2004 season has been a mirror
of Foster's quote. In fact, this year Murphy has fallen victim
to his own law. Yes, what can go wrong, will go wrong. After
qualifying # 2 with a 5.96 and winning round one of eliminations,
a supercharger failure cost him a loss in the semi finals. With
two major events remaining, Murphy and crew have vowed to "throw
the kitchen sink" at the competition.
What's wrong
with this picture - its not 100+ degrees at Sacramento! Thanks
to a cold front that covered the West Coast, the temps at the
normally blistering SRP were in the 70's (track temp 90) making
for ideal racing weather. That said I'd like to acknowledge the
great effort of Jason Ellis for the shots on this page. It's
nearly impossible for one person to cover an event but Jason
did one hell of a job at this one. Needless to say, there are
several cars that were missed during any given session or round
and again, that's the price you pay when there is only one photographer.
Qualifying: Jim
Murphy and Mark Malde were the first pair out at 6.45 pm. Jim
clicked it off at 1100 ft at 5.97 which would be good for the
# 2 qualifying spot. Malde, in Arnold Birky's car, shut of early
with problems.
Final
Top Fuel Qualifying
1. Brendan
Murry, 5.906 at 243.11
2. Jim Murphy, 5.961 at 227.27
3. Jack Harris, 6.012 at 221.58
4. Bill Dunlap, 6.021 at 214.91
5. Howard Haight, 6.104 at 218.06
6. Adam Sorokin, 6.150 at 227.87
7. Lee Jennings, 6.296 at 222.43
8. Jason Richey, 6.537 at 163.06
DNQ
9. Fred Farndon, 6.649 at 174.01
10. Mark Malde, 6.704 at 212.45
11. Chuck Tanko, 6.943 at 104.13
12. Jeff Diehl,
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Eliminations
The third pair
of the first round of eliminations was Jim Murphy in the OSH-WW2
Racing entry and Fred Farndon at his second outing with a Butch
Blair hemi. Farndon shutoff at half track while smoke came out
of Murphy's engine on the top end. Murphy took the win with a
6.091 at just 191.00.
The track temperature
was over 110 degrees so the track would be tricky.
Between rounds
its apparent that the team had no clue of the impending problem.
Pair
two in the semis paired Jack Harris with the reigning World Champion,
Jim Murphy - a race the fans always love to see. Both cars left
together and it was a close side-by-side race to three-quarter
track when both cars had engine trouble. Murphy suffered the
worst damage with a blower expulsion. Sparks coming out of Harris'
engine signaled some nipped pistons. Jack took the win with low
ET to that point with a 5.845 @ 232.77. Murphy slowed to a 6.006
@ 201.54.
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