2:06 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 74 degrees, relative humidity 45 percent, barometer 29.89 inches.

 

Leading off round two was Jim Murphy and Denver Schutz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both drivers left together.

 

 

 

From the 60' to the strip this was a great drag race.

 

 

Murphy got there first with a 5.789 at 253.73 with Schutz right on his tail clocking a 5.846 at 247.32.

 

 

 

The second pair to perform before a larger than usual Sunday crowd was Adam Sorokin and Pete Kaiser.

 

Kaiser got a slight jump on the lights but Sorokin's car moved harder.

 

 

 

However Sorokin rattled the tires loose at about 400 feet and he did a nice job of recovering but his 6.540 at 224.49 couldn't catch Kaiser' s 6.040 at 219.61. Fritz was going the the semis.

 

 

 

Pair three - round two ... Jason Richey and Shannon Stewart. Lot's of red and yellow in this match-up.

 

 

Both drivers left dead even.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final pair of round two pitted Brad Thompson and Rick White - the LG Bless car had lane choice.

 

 

 

 

 

Both drivers left together but Thompson's ride moved faster - great launch.

 

Thompson continued to pull away clocking an incredible 212.06 MPH at half track.

 

 

Thompson clicked it early and still clocked a 5.768 at just 229.65.

 

White, showering sparks, wasn't exactly a slouch in this deal as he clocked a losing 5.968 at 247.25 but that was paled by the 5.76 in the other lane.

 

4:20 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 70 degrees, relative humidity 43 percent, barometer 28.89 inches.

 

The semis started with Brad Thompson getting a gift single when the Nitro Fever car could not make the call. Denver Schutz was up for the break rule spot but their car was already in the box.

 

 

 

In this situation most racers would make a short squirt and click it to save parts. Not Thompson.

 

 

 

 

This was a true thing of beauty. How about the second quickest time in NTF history - 5.706 at 231.66.  Brad shut the car off at 5.1 sec and was doing 250 at that point and the data suggested the pass under power would have been a 5.67 or 5.66 which would have been the first 5.6 in NTF history.

 

 

The winner of this one would have a date in the final. Jim Murphy who was the only car running close to Thompson and Pete Kaiser who was a Tricky Tipser 20 to 1 shot coming into the event.

 

 

 

Kaiser did his job with an excellent 0.035 light but the advantage was short lived.

 

 

 

 

 

Before the 60' mark the Ground Zero car struck the tires and that was that.

 

 

 

Murphy stopped the clocks with a nice 5.815 at 242.52 which was good enough for the win but not lane choice against a red hot Thompson.

 

But that point was moot when they found irreparable damage to the the car (On the top end they broke a pinion in the third member which in turn hurt the clutch and clutch can. Unfortunately they did not have a spare third member or a spare clutch can so they were done for the day. Needless to say, the entire team was devastated that driveline, not engine damage denied them another head-to-head with Thompson. The two had paired up just three weeks earlier in Sacramento where Thompson's 5.820 just nipped Murphy's 5.826. Although Thompson had run slightly quicker than Murphy in his previous round, Beebe had not been leaning on the engine all day and was prepared to do so in the final and believed the old girl would have stepped up and run a high 5.60. Thus we, the fans, were denied what could have been the first side-by-side 5.6 race in history. Can't wait until these two hook up again at the March Meet.

 

6:10 p.m. The sun is beginning to set in back of the tower but there are still some hearty folks in the stands waiting for this final round.

 

With Kaiser back in on the break rule for Murphy, Thompson was on lap away from CHRR gold.

 

 

 

 

Thomson absolutely drilled Kaiser on the tree (0.073 to 1.140) and never looked back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although Kaiser never gave up, Thompson' s 5.721 at 261.62 (top speed of the meet) buried his 5.924 at 228.54. The big orange LG Bless car made the home town crowd proud with one of the most convincing Top Fuel wins ever.

1st Qualifying Session - Friday & Saturday

2nd Qualifying Session - Saturday

Eliminations - Sunday Part 1

Funny Cars & All Winners

Randy Walls Fire

Other Cars - Pits - People

 

 

NEW - Cacklefest 2006