MURPHY, GORDON AND DOUSHGOUNIAN BAG WINS AT THE FOX HUNT NITE OF FIRE
Bob Murphy has been the #1 qualifier in 7.0 PRO at every SRP event this year, but has not gotten past the second round. He finally got that monkey off his back with his win at The Fox Hunt Nite of Fire.

Great weather accompanied a packed house for Sacramento Raceway’s annual Fox Hunt Nite of Fire event.  Famous for its free admission for the ladies, Sacramento Raceway Park rocked throughout the night with an electric, youthful vibe as the fans cheered on their favorites. With an evening of racing that featured jets, Pro Slammers (PSDCA), 7.0 PRO, and a jet car burndown, the energy of this audience was matched only by the horsepower of the motorcycles and race cars on the track.  Contributing to this atmosphere was a spectacular aerial display of lightning and thunder that only infrequently doused the fans with a little of the wet stuff.
The event also saw several new faces in the SRP’s winner‘s circle for 2012; Bob Murphy in 7.0 Pro, Mike Doushgounian in Pro Mod Slammers, and Mark Gordon in 6.90 Pro Slammers. Doushgounian, the 2011 PSDCA champ in 6.90 Slammers, made his debut in Pro Mod Slammers a successful one. Not only did he win the event, but scored top speed and low e.t. for the entire race with a 218.33 and 6.538 run, respectively. Following Doushgounian’s lead was Bob Murphy in 7.0 PRO. If “Murphy’s Law” is to dominate and win races, then Bob followed his rules to the letter.  After qualifying number one with a near perfect 7.001, Murphy arrested the rest of his opponents and threw away the key.  In the final round against Lake Havasu City’s Rick High, Bob cuffed Rick with a punishing 7.003-189.83 run. In Pro Slammers, it was Mendocino’s Mark Gordon winning his first PSDCA event and doing it in an impressive fashion. After qualifying second, Gordon took out number two in points, Tony Jurado, with a quick 6.923 in E1. Mark was supposed to meet a resurgent Mike Henry (the #1 qualifier) in the final round, but Henry was unable to answer the call and Gordon singled his way into victory lane. For West Coast Pro Comp, it was a gaggle of dragsters and Jesse Adams’ funny car. Adams was definitely up to the challenge running a series of 6.70s that included a winning 6.707 over Funny Car Fever winner Butch Stroupe in the final round. 7.60 Slammers saw two familiar antagonists, Mark Lawson and Rob Patten, battling once again. In the final round, both drivers cut terrific lights with Mark’s .011 ahead of Rob’s .033. Patten was able to close that differential, but in doing so, broke out with a 7.594 e.t.
West Coast Pro Gas also had a large contingent of racers at The Fox Hunt with 44 members competing in four classes. B/G saw Miguel Lomas repeat his Nostalgia Reunion win and Chris Rea, victorious at Funny Car Fever, drop all the pretenders in C/G with his Sun Drop-sponsored ’64 Nova. In D/G, it was Tim Chappell’s first ever win in West Coast Pro Gas competition and he did it by beating two of the best--Jack Nilson and Dan Ficher, with his 496 cid Chevy-powered  ’66 Malibu.
Rounding out the competition was a full field of drag bikes from the Nor Cal Drag Bike Association. Once again, as he had done at Funny Car Fever, it was Sacramento’s own Ed Bradell coming out on top with his ’05 ZX10R Kawasaki.
Mike Doushgounian made the big jump from 6.90 Slammers to Pro Mod Slammers a successful one. The San Martin, CA resident dominated the class with a runaway victory at The Fox Hunt Nite of Fire.

Mark Gordon added his name to the small group of drivers who have won in 6.90 Slammers this year. His victory at The Fox Hunt Nite of Fire ended Jerry Jahnsen’s recent string of three consecutive wins.
It’s been a year long tug-of-war between Mark Lawson (near) and Rob Patten (far) for supremacy in 7.60 Slammers. Give the edge to Lawson after his win at The Fox Hunt Nite of Fire.
Kenny Buzdas has called Jesse Adams drag racing’s “designated hitter” because he drives so many different types of race cars. The Yuba City, CA resident recently jumped up to West Coast Pro Comp (from 7.0 PRO) and promptly won in a class dominated by the rear engine dragsters.

Ed Bradell heating up the tires prior to his race against Terry Hill. Bradell would go on
to defeat Troy Emmett in the final round to win Drag Bike.
Miguel Lomas displayed the same consistency at the The Fox Hunt Nite of Fire that he had shown at The Nostalgia Reunion—how about an 8.615/8.612/8.630 trio of runs to win B/G.

Chris Rea and crew clowned it up in the winner’s circle after winning C/G. Chris was on his game all night, especially so in the final round, when he clocked a 9.607 against Jim Finn.
Lockeford’s Tim Chappell survived two double breakout races (Philip Pantle in E1 and Jack Nilson in the final round) to win D/G.
Chaysse Trimp got the win in E/G with his hot pink ’69 Opel GT. Along the way, he defeated several higher qualified cars including number two Steve Cochran in the final.