PHOENIX (Feb. 17) -- Larry Morgan's performance in Southern California at last weekend's 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals turned more than a few heads.
His semifinal run in the Pro Stock class of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series behind the wheel of his brand new Lucas Oil Ford Mustang has fans of the blue oval, employees at Lucas Oil, and the folks at Ford Motor Company absolutely buzzing with excitement.
"Jamie Allison (director of Ford North America) is so excited he's coming to Phoenix," Morgan said. "It was about the best start I could have had. Just very, very good for everyone involved, from Lucas Oil to Ford to my guys at the track and back at the shop.
"We're barely scratching the surface here so to get a semifinal finish was huge."
Morgan did not have much time to bask in his success because there was a lot of work to do before this weekend's 26th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix. Morgan dinged his primary motor a bit in Pomona and had to fix it before shipping the piece overnight to Firebird.
"We hurt the motor in Pomona, sent it home, hurt it on the dyno again, so we've been thrashing since the race ended," Morgan said, who was still working at his shop Wednesday night. "It's tough when you've only got a few days before you have to head back on the road, but we'll get it done."
With the early success he's had and the excitement he's generated, Morgan said the extra work is worth the effort.
"We've all been putting in a lot of extra hours this week, and this whole off-season, really, but you get a burst of energy after the kind of success we had in Pomona," Morgan said. "There are plenty of smiles around the shop."
He added more Ford executives are scheduled to attend future races, which is more than enough motivation to keep the Lucas Oil Mustang in tip-top shape.
"We need to be on our toes to show them we're working hard for them," Morgan said.
The 26th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals run Friday through Sunday at Firebird.
His semifinal run in the Pro Stock class of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series behind the wheel of his brand new Lucas Oil Ford Mustang has fans of the blue oval, employees at Lucas Oil, and the folks at Ford Motor Company absolutely buzzing with excitement.
"Jamie Allison (director of Ford North America) is so excited he's coming to Phoenix," Morgan said. "It was about the best start I could have had. Just very, very good for everyone involved, from Lucas Oil to Ford to my guys at the track and back at the shop.
"We're barely scratching the surface here so to get a semifinal finish was huge."
Morgan did not have much time to bask in his success because there was a lot of work to do before this weekend's 26th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix. Morgan dinged his primary motor a bit in Pomona and had to fix it before shipping the piece overnight to Firebird.
"We hurt the motor in Pomona, sent it home, hurt it on the dyno again, so we've been thrashing since the race ended," Morgan said, who was still working at his shop Wednesday night. "It's tough when you've only got a few days before you have to head back on the road, but we'll get it done."
With the early success he's had and the excitement he's generated, Morgan said the extra work is worth the effort.
"We've all been putting in a lot of extra hours this week, and this whole off-season, really, but you get a burst of energy after the kind of success we had in Pomona," Morgan said. "There are plenty of smiles around the shop."
He added more Ford executives are scheduled to attend future races, which is more than enough motivation to keep the Lucas Oil Mustang in tip-top shape.
"We need to be on our toes to show them we're working hard for them," Morgan said.
The 26th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals run Friday through Sunday at Firebird.
