Morgan can't parlay starting-line advantage to round-win in Phoenix

PHOENIX -- Lucas Oil/MAVTV Ford driver Larry Morgan was so far ahead of Vincent Nobile at the start of their first-round matchup at the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park that even Nobile thought the race was over.

But despite a .031-second advantage on the Christmas Tree, Morgan was unable to hold off the charging Nobile.

"I was a good ways ahead of him," Morgan said. "He thought I'd beaten him. I said, 'No, you went around me.' He probably got by me around 1,000 feet or so. The finish line couldn't get there soon enough for us."

Larry Morgan

Photo by: Anne Proffit

"We just got out there and the tires got loose," Morgan said. "That's where I lost all of my e.t. It still went straight, but it was just spinning the tires."

Morgan, the No. 13 qualifier, was looking for his second upset in two races after beating No. 2 qualifier Allen Johnson in Pomona, Calif. Morgan finished with a pass of 6.629 seconds at 209.01 mph while No. 4 qualifier Nobile rallied to a run of 6.563 at 210.44 mph.

"My car, when it gets above ride height, starts spinning the tires and it won't stop," Morgan said. "We'll get to work on that. I need all those trick shocks those guys have."

Morgan said his Ford spun the tires in second, third, and fourth gear, causing it to slow. He was proud of his reaction time but would rather have had the round-win.

"That's the only thing that I had that was good, huh?" Morgan asked with a smile about his light. "I don't think I have a problem driving, but when it gets loose like that, you give up so much."

Lucas Oil