Madison: Morgan Lucas final summary

LUCAS LEAVES ST. LOUIS SEEING RED

MADISON, Ill. (June 25) -- What Morgan Lucas wouldn't give to have .036-thousandths of a second back after he red-lighted his chances away in the opening round of eliminations for the 10th annual O'Reilly Midwest Nationals Gateway International Raceway.

After qualifying 13th with an elapsed time of 4.725 seconds at speed of 275.28 mph, he raced David Baca in the first round. Although Baca had lane choice with his No. 4 starting position, Lucas sensed his odds were good as his Lucas Oil team felt solid with their setup in negotiating a hot, slick track.

Lucas, despite the red light, covered the quarter-mile in 4.738 seconds, 294.75 mph to Baca's time of 4.774 seconds, 311.99 mph.

He now holds down the eighth position in the NHRA POWERade points standings with 590 points after 12 drag racing events in 2006 -- the halfway point of the season.

Kicking off the second part of the season is the first of three races-in-a row, known as the 'Western Swing', will be the 27th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colorado on July 14-16.

-lor