Race report
NHRA
Morgan powers to Pro Stock semifinal berth at Brainerd
Edited: Aug 20, 2012, 1:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lucas Oil's Morgan rides power of good breakfast to semifinal berth
Larry Morgan
Photo by: Michael C. Johnson
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug.19) - After winning two rounds in Pro Stock driving the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang on Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, driver Larry Morgan really wished he had four helpings of hash browns at breakfast.
"I wasn't going to have any," Morgan said. "But when I was in line, somebody told me that when Melanie Troxel ate these cheesy hash browns that Matt (Krebs), the Lucas Oil hospitality chef makes, she always won rounds. So I grab the spoon and scoop out, 'One round, two rounds.'"
Morgan got to the semifinals in one of the most unorthodox ways in a while. The first round win was a hole shot victory over Vincent Nobile and the second round win came after a loss to Mark Martino.
Martino beat Morgan on the track, running a 6.587 second lap at 209.39 mph. Morgan crossed the finish line in 6.624 seconds at 209.30 mph.
"I was ready to go home," Morgan said. "We were in put it all away mode. Then an NHRA official comes up and tells us, we've got to get ready for another round."
Martino's car was too light after it went over the scales following the race, and his run was disqualified handing Morgan the victory and a semifinal matchup with eventual race winner Erica Enders.
"I was shocked, but the happiest guy on the property," Morgan said. "We went right to work and got our Mustang ready for the next round."
Morgan got off the line first against Enders in the semis, but she had too much car in the end. Enders finished in 6.561 seconds at 210.28 mph, while Morgan ran a 6.637 second lap at 208.23 mph.
In the first round Morgan used a .05 second advantage off the starting line to finish first against Nobile, despite Nobile having the quicker ET. Nobile's time was 6.584 seconds at 209.14 mph, while Morgan ran a 6.608 at 208.78 mph.
The DQ win over Martino proved to be huge in the ultra-tight battle for a spot in the Countdown to the Championship in Pro Stock. The second round win took him from 11th place to ninth place with the Top 10 moving into the playoffs after the Labor Day Weekend running of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
Morgan is three points behind eighth place Shane Gray and 16 points ahead of 10th place V Gaines.
"That was a huge break for us," Morgan said. "I want to get into that Countdown so bad for Forrest and Charlotte Lucas. Where we are now lets us control our own destiny in Indy."
Source: Lucas Oil Racing
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article GEICO's Stoffer clinches Countdown spot in Brainerd
Next article After a quarterfinal finish in Brainerd, Line’s top priority is testing
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Larry Morgan
Four-time Pro Stock World Champion Greg Anderson relishes chance to perform at Sonoma
NHRA
NHRA
Four-time Pro Stock World Champion Greg Anderson relishes chance to perform at Sonoma
Torrence, Beckman, Morgan and Krawiec race to winner’s circle at Denver
NHRA
NHRA
Torrence, Beckman, Morgan and Krawiec race to winner’s circle at Denver
J. Force, Dixon, Johnson and Krawiec power to No. 1 qualifiers in Denver
NHRA
NHRA
J. Force, Dixon, Johnson and Krawiec power to No. 1 qualifiers in Denver
Latest news
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
5 h
Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
8 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
8 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 8 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe