Lucas Oil's Larry Morgan finds right timing for Pro Stock round win in Denver

After some favorable results during Sunday's eliminations at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Larry Morgan, driver of the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang in Pro Stock, might just start showing up late to races the rest of the year.
After missing the first round of qualifying on Friday because of a lengthy flight delay, Morgan went on to not only qualify for Sunday's eliminations, but he also made it into the second round with a holeshot victory over Erica Enders.  

 

"I can only do the best I can do," Morgan said. "That makes you feel good. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I know I can drive. I'm not the worst driver, and far not the best. I can tell you one thing, none of them scare me, so I guess that's a good thing."  

 

Morgan was the lower-qualified car and did not have lane choice. There was a brief staging duel, but when the green light dropped it was Morgan's Mustang off the line first. His reaction time was .007 seconds to Enders' .049 second reaction - and he needed every fraction of a second to hold off Enders' charge and win a first round race by holeshot for the fourth time this season. 

 

Enders had the quicker ET (6.975 seconds at 196.10 mph), but Morgan's 7.005 at 196.39 mph combined with his edge at the starting line translated into a .012 second advantage at the finish line.  

In the second round, Morgan matched up with eventual finalist V Gaines, who got the jump at the start of the race and powered through for the Round 2 victory on his home track.  

 

"We ran through the clutch big-time," Morgan said. "I just got in a little bit of trouble. We could've probably run a 6.97 or 6.98."  

 

As it stands, Morgan crossed the line in 7.018 seconds at 196.13 mph, about a hood's length behind Gaines' 6.965 at 197.54 mph.   

 

Up next for Morgan and the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang Pro Stocker is the July 27-29 NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.

Making the Countdown cut at forefront of Morgan's mind

Veteran drag racer Larry Morgan continues his quest to get the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang into Pro Stock's Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA's version of the playoffs.

Heading into this weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Morgan is just outside of the Full Throttle top 10, a ranking he needs to attain to make the Countdown. He's currently in 11th place, 15 points behind Ron Krisher for the final spot.

"We're making progress," Morgan said. "We're qualifying, which is good. Now we need to take that next step and get up into the top half of the field and win rounds every weekend."

Getting close to the top eight in qualifying might also help Morgan avoid past world champion Mike Edwards, who has bounced Morgan in the first round in three of the last four races. Morgan's best qualifying effort of the season has been 11th, which he accomplished at Phoenix and Houston.

Pro Stock drivers are rarely 100 percent satisfied with the performance of their cars, and Morgan has been zeroed in on the clutch of his Mustang as a source of improvement.

"I'm trying to figure out the problem," Morgan said. "We're feeling good about the power in the engine, but we've been burning through the clutch. We're going to go up to Norwalk (Ohio) and do some testing before we go to Chicago.

"I don’t think our parts are junk, but we have been having some issues. We're hoping the test straightens things out and we'll be strong when we get to Chicago."

Lucas Oil's Larry Morgan edged out at SuperNationals

Despite a first-round loss to Mike Edwards, Lucas Oil Ford Mustang Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan said he believes his car is stronger leaving the NHRA SuperNationals than it did when it arrived at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

"We qualified and moved forward," Morgan said. "I think we made the car better. Now we just need to work on the engine stuff, and stay after it."

Morgan qualified 14th on Saturday and was trying to upset No. 3 qualifier Edwards on Sunday morning in the first round of eliminations.

Both cars launched in nearly a dead heat, which allowed Edwards to use his horsepower edge to cross the finish line first. Edwards ran a 6.534-second lap at 211.86 mph to Morgan's 6.604 at 209.92 mph.

"We just spun the tire real bad," Morgan said. "We were going for it, but the lane just wasn't there. We should have run a 6.55 or 6.56, and that would have been respectable. I just missed it. 

"I just need to get lane choice. If I pick up .02 seconds, I'd be real fast."

Morgan said the next goal is to concentrate on the engine now that his Lucas Oil Mustang's chassis has been corralled into shape.

"The chassis stuff is way better," Morgan said. "A lot of the problem came from the wheelie bars. Now we can concentrate on the engine and find those extra fractions of a second we need to compete with the top cars."

Morgan gets another week to work his magic in his race shop before departing for the June 15-17 Ford Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals at Bristol, Tenn.