Boise, Idaho - August 11-13, 2006: The 35th Nightfire Nationals was a race that will be remembered for years to come. For all the fans in attendance, it was without doubt the single most impressive event in the track's thirty-nine year history. Nearly perfect weather greeted a record field of racers and jam-packed grandstands to four incredible days of racing. Daily highs saw unusually low temperatures in the 80's and because of it performances across the board were simply stunning.

From qualifying right through eliminations, the Top Fuel Dragsters were flying and were by far the fan favorites. Fifteen of the best fuel cars in the world towed to Boise for the 8 car show. Who would've ever guessed a 6.01 bump at a track with a mien of 5,500 plus feet of corrected altitude. 5.80's and several cars over 250 MPH. Absolutely incredible.

Harris Racing came into the prestigious Nightfire Nationals full of confidence as they have been nearly unbeatable here in recent years. They came armed with the Nitro Thunder Top Fuel dragster and the new addition to the Harris stable, a vintage 1955 Ford Crown Victoria Funny Car.

But before long the weekend began to take on an ominous tone for the red cars from Utah. Jack came to Boise under the impression he could run the funny car in the open 8 car show. However a movement soon started in the "Whiner Car" (formerly known as funny cars) pit area to ban the Vickie from competing because it didn't have a "legal magneto". Even though at least three of the cars that did compete were 150 lbs or more light (the track was not weighing the pro classes) and one was illegal due to the lack of a mandatory horizontal head restraint, they voted (with one exception) to not let Harris compete. In short, they were afraid of the little 392 powered Ford. Needless to say, this did not make Jack happy and embittered many of the other racers toward the outspoken flopper folks. Above all, drag racing is entertainment and the Nitro Thunder funny car is very entertaining. More on this fiasco below.

The next omen came in the first qualifying session Friday night when the Brett Harris driven Top Fuel car had its engine expire at 3/4 track. Harris Racing would ultimately go through three engines by the final round - something that is unheard of from a team that rarely hurts parts at all. Fortunately, after assessing all the damage, Harris found the problem (faulty oil pump plungers) and deemed most of the parts fixable.

The weekend highlights were few for a team that normally has many. There was the dragster going to the final and setting top speed of the meet (in spite of the parts carnage). And, in spite of being banned from even trying to qualify for the Funny Car field, Jack went out for two exhibition runs. Here is how the track reporter described them:

"A special thanks goes out to "the Sheriff" Jack Harris for putting down the two quickest Nitro Funny Car runs of the weekend. Driving his totally over-the-top Crown Victoria, the fans went positively nuts when the "Nitro Thunder" AA/Funny Car went 6.21-232.79 (Fri) and backed it up with an out of the ballpark 6.14-229.29 (Sat). To say it was outrageous would be an understatement. On behalf of the New Crew and track staff - along with the overflow crowd, we tip our hat to Jack for puttin' on one hell of a show. That is one bad animal!

With two cars and two trailers Harris Racing took up a considerable amount of real estate.

 

Since the first qualifying session wasn't scheduled until 8:00 p.m. Friday was pretty laid back.

When both cars are in play the crew is divided to make sure each gets the proper attention. Don Tyrell is the Crew Chief on the Funny Car.

All started out fine with the Vickie passing tech with flying colors. Not one word about the 44 amp magneto that would soon be the center of controversy.

 

After Jack traveled the pits taking a count of the funny car (aka whiners) teams that didn't care if he ran "the meeting" was called at one of the FC pits. At this point Harris had more teams in favor of him running that not. Unbeknownst to him, most of those teams had folded under pressure from the adamant forces (Gorr, Gaynor, Amaya et al) and would ultimately oppose his entry. The only team that remained on the "let him run" list was the Jennings. Probably because they understand what drag racing is really about. Here, prior to the whining, Jack chats with eventual event winner (a very popular win), Lee Jennings Jr.

No definite word came from the meeting and the ultimately the decision was left to the Firebird staff who told Jack they would let him know. Harris never heard a word from anyone but it got back that he was out. Evidently the majority ruled in this one and all the other racers in the pits hope they are proud of themselves.

 

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With the funny car fiasco behind them, the team focused on the Top Fuel car. At 8:30 Brett heats the tires for his first qualifying attempt.

Harris moves into the staging beams.

In the left lane was 4 time VRA World Champion Jim Murphy. Both cars left good but problems set in for Harris at the 900' mark. The engine let go and he was forced to shut off to a dismal 6.78 and just 146 MPH. The team would have to return to the pits and install the second of three engines they used over the weekend.

 

 

After Funny Car qualifying Jack Harris brought the Vickie out for what, at this point, was an exhibition run.

 

Rayce Muchmore backs Harris up from his burnout.

 

At this time low ET for the floppers was an unimpressive 6.34 at just 220. Harris had a point to make and he made it with a nice 6.21 at 232.79. More than a tenth quicker and 12 mph faster than the low qualifier. Could explain whey they were afraid to race him.

 

Saturday was a little more pressing than Friday as there was two qualifying sessions - the first at 3:00 p.m. Although they did not plan to run the funny car is session two, they got it ready early for Saturday night. The dragster was ready to go from the night before.

 

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the second session was held under the hottest conditions the cars would see all weekend. In spite of the low 90's temps, the track remained in excellent condition.

 

In spite of the heat the car left hard and went for a full pull carding a 5.971 at 244.23 which would move Brett all the way up to the # 3 qualifying spot.

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After coming back relatively unscathed, the crew first got the dragster ready to go for session three.

 

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At 5:00 p.m. on Saturday all the Top Fuel drivers gathered for an autograph session held in the middle of the main pits. You would have had to see this to believe it. There was a constant LONG line of fans that never seemed to end. They were truly excited about meeting all the guys (and Mendy) and had them sign just about anything you can imagine. Lucky most of the teams had handouts (which several ran out of) which the fans really loved. And speaking of the Boise fans - they are second to NONE! Across the board the racers constantly commented on how friendly and enthusiastic everyone was. Racers at the event for their first time all vowed to come back and the fans were are big part of their reasoning.

 

Ironically Brett Harris was seated next to the man he beat in a wild, wild final at Pomona earlier in the season. He is also the driver he would face in the final here the next day. These are two of the classiest guys in the sport.

After over an hour the line finally waned leaving Sean Bellemeur and Brett Harris as the last two drivers to stop signing. Neither would leave until they were sure everyone had been taken care of.

Saturday evening Jack decided it was time to warm up the flopper for his run that night.

At each fire-up any fan within walking distance soon surrounded the pit.

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Third Qualifying Session - Saturday Night

The third and last session kicked off at 8:20 p.m. With all the cars in the staging lanes Brett Harris gets suited up. His Hans device (neck protection) is the last piece of safety equipment to go on.

By the time it was for Harris to do his burnout the air temp was a nice 80 degrees.

Brett clicked it early to a 6.116 at 223.82. He would remain in the # 3 slot.

 

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Final Top Fuel Qualifying

1. Brad Thompson -  5.883 @ 245.70 2. Mendy Fry  -  5.931 @ 235.66 3. Brett Harris  -  5.971 @ 244.23 4. Jim Murphy  -  5.971 @ 233.88 5. Sean Bellemeur  - 5.985 @ 247.52 6. Rick White  -  5.996 @ 241.09 7. Howard Haight  -  5.998 @ 250.83 8. Rick McGee  -  6.017 @ 237.90 DNQ Jason Richey  -  6.021 @ 251.11 Scott Mason  -  6.037 @ 237.27 Bill Dunlap  -  6.057 @ 246.71 Mark Malde  -  6.079 @ 230.71 Adam Sorokin  -  6.118 @ 241.80 Brendan Murry  -  6.212 @ 233.16 John Shoemaker  -  6.517 @ 218.28

This was the quickest and fastest field in the history of Firebird Raceway. Considering the quickest run made during the entire 2005 event was 6.02, the 6.017 bump spot left everybody stunned.

 

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Following the final sessions in the pro categories Harris came up for another exhibition pass. No other funny car had yet touched the 6.21 he had run the night before. So, he just went and set the bar even higher running a stunning 6.14 at 229.29. Two full tenths quicker than any other flopper would run all weekend.

 

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With round one of eliminations scheduled to go at 5:30 p.m. it was a very laid back afternoon.

 

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Round One of Eliminations - Sunday Evening

 

But at 5:30 laid back was OVER. Harris heats the tires for his match up with reigning VRA World Champion, Rick White.

 

 

 

 

 

Harris took the lead at the hit and never looked back. While White was smoking the tires, Brett carded a 6.031 at 245.29 win. But the win would prove costly as they killed the second engine of the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

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This is one of those a picture is worth 1000 words. The combination of a plugged fuel nozzle and faulty oil pump resulted in a destroyed piston and rod. This forced the team to put their last spare engine in the car for round two.

 

After the engine swap the crew assembled the top end of the spare short block.

During the warm-up of the new engine ace photographer Jason Ellis tried to get in close for a photo. The high volume of nitro won the war.

 

Round Two of Eliminations - Sunday Night

Harris met a tough customer, Howard Haight in round two.

At the strip it was Big Red with a 5.91 at a huge 255.17. Haight was there with a game 6.07 at 248.

The Top Fuel final was your proverbial storybook ending. The two quickest cars on the property - # 1 qualifier meets the # 3 qualifier. Brett Harris vs. Brad Thompson. In the semis Harris ran a quicker 5.91 to Thompson's 5.92. Both cars are extremely fast and if there every was a toss-up - this was it. Harris was one up on Thompson this season after a near disastrous win at the Goodguys 9th Nitro Nationals at Pomona in May.

In the rematch Harris had lane choice and the "Nitro Thunder" team selected the right side. Brett had a slight starting line advantage but his engine started eating itself up at the 900 foot mark and Thompson just motored on to a stellar 5.88 at 253.30 win. Harris clicked it to a slowing 6.14 at 210 but it wasn't over.

 

Harris, covered with oil into the shutdown area, could not see. His car drifted into the center of Thompson's lane, and the two cars bumped rear wheels, parachutes-tangled, as both drivers tried everything they could to avoid disaster. Fortunately both drivers emerged a-ok, with very little cosmetic damage to either car. When you consider weight and magnitude of the situation this one could have been uglier than Pomona. One would think these two are not anxious to meet each other in a final any time soon.

 

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Nitro Thunder Photo Archives

Final Top Fuel Qualifying

1. Brad Thompson -  5.883 @ 245.70 2. Mendy Fry  -  5.931 @ 235.66 3. Brett Harris  -  5.971 @ 244.23 4. Jim Murphy  -  5.971 @ 233.88 5. Sean Bellemeur  - 5.985 @ 247.52 6. Rick White  -  5.996 @ 241.09 7. Howard Haight  -  5.998 @ 250.83 8. Rick McGee  -  6.017 @ 237.90 DNQ Jason Richey  -  6.021 @ 251.11 Scott Mason  -  6.037 @ 237.27 Bill Dunlap  -  6.057 @ 246.71 Mark Malde  -  6.079 @ 230.71 Adam Sorokin  -  6.118 @ 241.80 Brendan Murry  -  6.212 @ 233.16 John Shoemaker  -  6.517 @ 218.28

This was the quickest and fastest field in the history of Firebird Raceway. Considering the quickest run made during the entire 2005 event was 6.02, the 6.017 bump spot left everybody stunned.

 

---

 

Following the final sessions in the pro categories Harris came up for another exhibition pass. No other funny car had yet touched the 6.21 he had run the night before. So, he just went and set the bar even higher running a stunning 6.14 at 229.29. Two full tenths quicker than any other flopper would run all weekend.

 

---

With round one of eliminations scheduled to go at 5:30 p.m. it was a very laid back afternoon.

 

---

 

Round One of Eliminations - Sunday Evening

 

But at 5:30 laid back was OVER. Harris heats the tires for his match up with reigning VRA World Champion, Rick White.

 

 

 

 

 

Harris took the lead at the hit and never looked back. While White was smoking the tires, Brett carded a 6.031 at 245.29 win. But the win would prove costly as they killed the second engine of the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

This is one of those a picture is worth 1000 words. The combination of a plugged fuel nozzle and faulty oil pump resulted in a destroyed piston and rod. This forced the team to put their last spare engine in the car for round two.

 

After the engine swap the crew assembled the top end of the spare short block.

During the warm-up of the new engine ace photographer Jason Ellis tried to get in close for a photo. The high volume of nitro won the war.

 

Round Two of Eliminations - Sunday Night

Harris met a tough customer, Howard Haight in round two.

At the strip it was Big Red with a 5.91 at a huge 255.17. Haight was there with a game 6.07 at 248.

The Top Fuel final was your proverbial storybook ending. The two quickest cars on the property - # 1 qualifier meets the # 3 qualifier. Brett Harris vs. Brad Thompson. In the semis Harris ran a quicker 5.91 to Thompson's 5.92. Both cars are extremely fast and if there every was a toss-up - this was it. Harris was one up on Thompson this season after a near disastrous win at the Goodguys 9th Nitro Nationals at Pomona in May.

In the rematch Harris had lane choice and the "Nitro Thunder" team selected the right side. Brett had a slight starting line advantage but his engine started eating itself up at the 900 foot mark and Thompson just motored on to a stellar 5.88 at 253.30 win. Harris clicked it to a slowing 6.14 at 210 but it wasn't over.

 

Harris, covered with oil into the shutdown area, could not see. His car drifted into the center of Thompson's lane, and the two cars bumped rear wheels, parachutes-tangled, as both drivers tried everything they could to avoid disaster. Fortunately both drivers emerged a-ok, with very little cosmetic damage to either car. When you consider weight and magnitude of the situation this one could have been uglier than Pomona. One would think these two are not anxious to meet each other in a final any time soon.