Murphy Not Backing Down From Pro Nitrous Challenges

[NewsBot]

Just as quickly as Jim Halsey shot to the top of the qualifying ladder in Pro Nitrous at the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags, his day ended nearly as fast.In just one 4-second run, ADRL fans were given the summation of how tight the class has become and what can happen on any given race day.Of course, on the other side of the spectrum, Terry Murphy (pictured), the No. 16 qualifier, was enjoying the spoils of the upset while furthering the notion that nothing is a given in a class where even the No. 15 driver in the points race is still only 559 points out of a top eight spot.Murphy advanced to the quarterfinals in St. Louis and was one of the big movers in the class, jumping up to fifth in the points race with his productive day.“That just shows if you qualify, even if you’re 16th, you’ve got a chance to win every race,” Murphy said of his crowd-pleasing upset run at Gateway International Raceway (GIR).Of course, it also shows just how impressive and deep Pro Nitrous is in 2010.Two event winners - Lee Adkins and Khalid Al-Balooshi - are out of the top 10 and only two others - Rickie Smith and Shannon Jenkins - have won races this season.Smith went on the recent hot streak, winning three in a row before Jenkins won the Hardee’s Gateway Drags, but the key for everyone else has been consistency and going rounds.It may be difficult to catch Smith, whose 2,463 points are nearly 600 better than Jenkins, but that doesn’t mean drivers like Murphy and the like are out of it.Other classes may have more starpower and be more congested at the top, but no field has as many drivers still alive in “The Battle For The Belts” chase.Murphy is aware of all of that, which means he must keep pushing forward through whatever adversity is thrown his way.The best example of that came at the Speedtech U.S. Drags III, where Murphy blew his engine up on all three qualifying runs on Friday.Staring at a wasted trip in the face, Murphy rebounded to qualify on his last try and then advanced to the quarterfinals to pick up valuable points.There might not be wins - at least not yet - but Murphy appears as tenacious as anyone in the exceptional field.“I need to keep going rounds to keep pushing for that ‘Battle for the Belts’ spot,” Murphy said. “I’m trying to lock in a spot somewhere in that 4-8 range. We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”Again, that goes back to just how deep the class is.Murphy was a prime example of that when he knocked off Halsey at GIR. It wasn’t an ideal run - Murphy was loose and spinning the tires bad - but he hung in there and kept the car from crossing the center line as Halsey had even more difficulty.But that run also epitomizes how fragile things are in Pro Nitrous.With one minor slip-up, Murphy could drop back down just as quickly as he vaulted up in St. Louis.“These guys in this class are all the best,” Murphy said. “There’s nobody better out there. You can’t underestimate anyone and you certainly can’t bring your ‘B’ game to these races.”(Photos by ADRL/Richards)

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