With a brand-new NDRC Silver Christmas Tree trophy, a PB to his name and some international star power in his corner, Adam Murrihy cannot wait to head to the next round of the NDRC championship for XPRO Nitro Funny Car (Willowbank Raceway, January 10-11).
While the weekend’s Aeroflow Spring Nationals at Dragway at The Bend got off to a tough start for the Brisbane-based team and its Northern Territorian driver, they turned it all around on Sunday to not only set their quickest time ever of 4.090 seconds at 488.59kph, but also go all the way to the A-Final.
It was a great start to the new 2024/2025 National Drag Racing Championship’s XPRO Nitro Funny Car season for the A.M. Motorsport Nitro Freak Funny Car Team, which is well and truly gearing up for a title fight with the support of legendary US Funny Car Race team John Force Racing.
“We are 100 percent chasing the championship,” said Murrihy, who was supported by Full Noise Fabrications, Cahill’s Speed Shop and The Bolt King Capalaba over the weekend.
“We want to be taking home some hardware away after each round this year – we now have this Silver NDRC Tree and we will settle for that for now, but we will be doing all we can to work towards the Gold one at Willowbank Raceway in January!”
While things ended up on a strong note at the weekend, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the team at Dragway at The Bend.
“We got caught out on our first run on Saturday with some air bubbles in the clutch cannon which meant we buzzed the tyres in the first run, and then we just missed the first qualifier by literal minutes – we were strapped in ready to go when the last pairing went out but we were still in the pits – by the time we bled the clutch out as it is a bit of a tricky process in these cars,” Murrihy explains.
“We turned it around for race day – while in round one we shook the tyres after 100 feet which saw Morice McMillin long gone in the other lane, we threw everything at it for the second run to see if we could make that A-Final.
“Brett and Kevy who do the tuning on the car dialled in what we had been intending to run on that missed qualifier – we had been planning to work up to that, but had to give it a crack, and it was designed to see us run a 4.0, as we knew Morice would who we had again in that match-up.
“It went down nice and clean and did everything it was supposed to do, giving us a PB as well as sending us to the A-Final against Josh Leahy.
“When it came to that final battle, everything was going to plan but there was but when we went to launch the car wiggled sideways with some fluid underneath which gave Josh the opportunity to get away, but it was still a reasonable run and Josh was really consistent over the whole event, so while it would have been nice to upset his weekend, it was a well-deserved victory.
“Of course, it would have been nice to have a couple more passes on the Saturday to have more shakedowns ahead of race day Sunday, but I think we were pretty lucky that I was able to get to the A-Final and get some championship points, which is what we are shooting for at the end of the day.
“We will strip the car all the way back now and try and work out where the fluid came from as we get ready for Willowbank.”
The team’s preparations for the next round – a home track event for the Brisbane-based crew – will also be assisted by our connection with John Force Racing and Force American Made.
“We are working closely with the John Force team over in the States – Brett was over there for the Indianapolis round recently and will be heading back over again next month to spend more time with the John Force Team,” Murrihy said.
“It is a bit of a David and Goliath situation for us here up against the Rocket/Aeroflow team, with three cars they get 15 runs of data out of a weekend, three lots for every pass, and we get five max over a weekend if everything goes to plan.
“So, to have the John Force guys in our corner, and having the amount of data they have to lean on, has been very beneficial to us as we look to be a championship challenger this season.
“They have been super helpful in supporting us – we can pick up the phone at any time for advice and they have also been fantastic to deal with for parts and consumables.
“What it means is we have got the package, the car, the crew – so if the track is right and it is not too hot at Willowbank, I think we should be able to cut some nice times.”
Round two of the XPRO Nitro Funny Cars as part of the NDRC will be held at Willowbank Raceway across January 10-11, 2025, alongside racing for the NDRC Top Fuel title and Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.
Between now and then, NDRC racers will hit the track for Benaraby Dragway’s Harbour City Nationals (November 1-2, Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship), Dragway at The Bend’s DragBike Nationals (November 9, Top Fuel Motorcycle), at Sydney Dragway (November 15-16, Pro Racing Championship), the Perth Motorplex’s Goldenstates (November 22-23, Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship, Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle), and Portland’s South Coast Nationals (December 7-8, Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship). For the full listing of events, please visit https://nationaldragracing.com.au/calendar/
To learn more about the NDRC, visit www.ndrc.tv
