Jim Halsey became the first official five second nitrous doorslammer in the history of the IHRA when he laid down a 5.972 elapsed time at 237.00 miles per hour to lead the first qualifying session at the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, N.C.

This marked the sixth consecutive five second run for Halsey, the five prior coming at an outlaw event in Englishtown, N.J.

“We made some changes (to the overall combination) prior to the IHRA race in Epping because we knew it was going the wrong way,” Halsey admitted when asked about finding the right combination to crack the five second barrier. “It was getting bad. We could never find the right combination. We tested before Englishtown and got it to run very well and I was very happy because it wouldn’t even run at our place. The weather was great there and the track was amazing. The weather was the biggest factor.” Jim Halsey became the first official five second nitrous doorslammer in the history of the IHRA when he laid down a 5.972 elapsed time at 237.00 miles per hour to lead the first qualifying session at the IHRA World Finals in Rockingham, N.C.

This marked the sixth consecutive five second run for Halsey, the five prior coming at an outlaw event in Englishtown, N.J.

“We made some changes (to the overall combination) prior to the IHRA race in Epping because we knew it was going the wrong way,” Halsey admitted when asked about finding the right combination to crack the five second barrier. “It was getting bad. We could never find the right combination. We tested before Englishtown and got it to run very well and I was very happy because it wouldn’t even run at our place. The weather was great there and the track was amazing. The weather was the biggest factor.”

The bulk of changes for Halsey came in the car’s rear-end ratio as well as some subtle changes in the tune-up. Amidst speculation the team utilized a five-speed transmission at the outlaw event, Halsey confirmed the team utilized a four-speed.

They may test a five-speed in the off-season.

“I don’t know if it would help,” Halsey admitted. “I don’t know if us having a big motor if it would help any. A lot of guys run three speeds in these.

“We made some big gains in the Nitrous system,” Halsey said. “The ratio we were working in the rear just wasn’t working the motor quite enough. We’ve got that down pat and working hard as well.”

Halsey came back in the final session and laid down a 5.988-second run, but Tommy D’Aprile’s 5.971 edged him for the low qualifying position.