August 08-10 - Boise, ID - For Firebird Raceway's signature event it was a weekend of warm weather, huge crowds, record runs, upsets and heart stopping drama as the 37th edition of the Boise Nightfire Nationals concluded under the dark skies of Idaho.

Backing up, there are three tracks in the country that come to mind when this reporter thinks, "What a pleasure it is to be here". One is Bakersfield, another is Bowling Green and the last is Boise. They all have several things in common including they are all either family owned and/or operated. They have "the feel" of real drag strips and without exception they make you feel welcome... albeit racer, media or fan. The New family has owned/operated this track for two generations and what father Bill started, sons Scott, Brad and John have carried on. If you haven't been here, especially for this annual event, put it on your calendar.

Back to racing, in the semi finals of Top Fuel, Brad Thompson upset Brett Harris with a superb 5.783 at 262.16 (track record MPH) to advance to the finals against the consistent 5.7 car of Jim Murphy.

Murphy had to replace an engine before the final that was contested at 10:15 p.m. Thompson was slightly ahead until the 1000' mark when his car got loose and impacted the right side guard wall. The impact caused the car to veer sharply across both lanes and crash into the left wall as well. Murphy was by Thompson when he came across behind him and was not involved. After Thompson was extracted he was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Murphy's winning time was a 5.991 at 233.94... his slowest pass of eliminations. In spite of his runner up finish, Thompson overcame Troy Green to take over the 2008 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Top Fuel Points lead by 22 with one race (CHRR) remaining.

Photos by: Dan Kaplan, Jason Ellis, Don Ewald, Chris Graves, Darrell Conrad, Pam Schavrien and Brian Losness

Stats by: Darryl Jackman - Drag Race Central

 

8:11 p.m. A late start for the festivities but the day time was taken up with a bracket race that paid some serious change to win. The Pepsi NightFire Nationals are a lot more than Top Fuel and Funny car. There are bracket races all four days of the event and today they staff of the raceway had to play catch up as the final three rounds got 'winded out' yesterday evening.

Weather conditions: air temperature 94 degrees, relative humidity 26 percent, barometer 29.75 inches.

 

First out was Adam Sorokin in the RB Entertainment - Champion Speed Shop fueler and Rick White in the San Diego based Neal & White entry.

 

 

Sorokin left hard and went on to set the pace with a very nice 5.840 at 233.16 with White carding a baseline 6.008 at 230.35.

 

Pair two featured Jason Richey in Dave Smith's "Nitro Fever" and Mark Malde the Birky Bunch Chevy car.

 

After a horrible 60' time, Richey hauled the mail on the big end running 6.357 at 245.83. If the Smith crew can get this car to leave - watch out.

 

Malde's Chevy never did sound right and he wisely clicked it at half track slowing to a 7.036 at 136.13.

With the left lane now void of any sunlight, pair three was the other Chevy car, Utah based Scott Mason in the Mason Bros. and Jim Murphy in his WW2 Racing entry.

Murphy was stout on the bottom and zipped to a 1100 foot 5.905 at just 209.01. Mason was nipping some pistons and shut off early to a 6.797 at 151.48.

 

 

 

The next pair featured Brad Thompson in the Thompson & Bless "Agent Orange" car and the return of Brett Harris to the seat of "Nitro Thunder" (aka Big Red). Brett had been sidelined since the 2007 CHRR tending to work and family affairs.

Thompson shook so hard in the first 60ft that he had to slap of the pedal before getting the car settled and then still carding an abbreviated 6.072 at just 208.81. Harris had nearly the same ET in the other lane but had a much faster MPH carding a 6.070 at 245.70.

 

 

Pair six was points leader Troy Green in the High Speed Motorsports "Great White" fueler and Mike Cross who just finished upgrading his license to run Top Fuel and this was his first event in the absolutely gorgeous and VERY period correct fueler out of the Estrus Racing stable.

 

 

 

 

High Speed crew chief Brett Johansen had the car set "soft" to get a baseline and then Green shut off way early to an easy 6.192 at 183.41.

 

Cross got loose and aborted his pass to a 6.985 at 171.26. Not bad for the first run in competition on the car. And as you can see, you could say this puppy is leaving the line in 1971 and who would argue. In a word its - BITCHIN - right down to the nose and canard wings and Hannaesque "lizard nose".

 

 

 

 

Out next was Terry Cox in the Wilson, Ninnis & Cox "Cheetah IV". The car is a real beauty but has yet to achieve an kind of performance level. The power is there but the clutch isn't so tire smoke has been their bane since the cars debut... and it didn't change on this pass as Cox blazed the tires at the 100' mark and coasted through.

 

 

 

The last car of session one was Jerry Kumre Jr. in Butch Blair's "Fugowie!". This was Kumre's first time in the car so he made a 7.532 at 132.08 check out pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday - Qualifying Session Two

2:40 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 86 degrees, relative humidity 18 percent, barometer 29.80 inches, adjusted altitude 5,400 feet.

 

Even in the heat of the day the eventual sell out crowd was filling the stands.

 

We will race for food.

 

With the sun at its hottest, the fans got their first dose of nitro when Adam Sorokin and Rick White paired off on a hot race track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorokin rattled the tires hard about 100ft out and had to lift. White made a nice pass in the heat - 5.903 at 234.13.

 

 

 

 

 

Next out was Terry Cox and Scott Mason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mason had the planned early shutoff pass in session one and might have wished he had done that here. He stayed with this run as more and more smoke poured from the engine and many (9 maybe?) pistons were sacrificed to the nitro gods! It was an expensive 6.797 at 151.48.

 

Cox once again blew the tires by the 60' mark and coasted through again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paired as they were in session one, Brett Harris and Brad Thompson were the next pair up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harris put Big Red into the fives with a huge speed (5.901 at 252.88) to provided a fine show for the fans. Thompson was side by side with Harris all the way down with a 5.922 at 234.61. Two nice runs under not the best of conditions.

 

 

 

Unlike sessions one and three, the second session was not mandatory for the fuel cars and a few chose to sit it out. Thus the last three cars to take a shot were all singles. Jason Richey was first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richey was way soft at the hit with a 1.229 60ft time and then shutoff at about 1100ft to a 6.650 at 173.57.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next single was Jim Murphy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murphy just missed going around Sorokin for the #1 spot with a stout 5.856 at 237.65. But he was able to claim low ET for the round under about the same condition they'd see on Sunday in round one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final car to take a shot at the track in session two was Troy Green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green had a 1.022 60ft number followed by sever tire shake and smoke at about 200ft. After losing his bearings Green wisely shut it off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this shot you can see air under the right tire - not a good thing.

 

 

Session Three and Round One Sunday

More Sunday Eliminations - Finals - Funny Car