‘Lucky dog’ Larry Morgan hopes to hit another jackpot

LAS VEGAS – FireAde Racing Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan feels like he has hit the jackpot at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, even though he has stayed far away from Vegas casinos.

Morgan is coming off a victory at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals two weeks ago, and he has qualified lucky No. 7 for Sunday’s race.

“I’m having the time of my life right now,” Morgan said. “We’ve got a good sponsor, a good car, good power, and we’re having a good time! Life is good.”

Using Gray Motorsports horsepower, Morgan drove the FireAde Chevrolet to a top pass of 6.641 seconds at 208.30 mph. He’s going for two victories in a row for the first time since 1990 when he won three consecutive races.

“I feel good about two in a row, and it’s the best chance I’ve ever had at winning the championship,” Morgan said. “We’ve got a lot of good people behind us.”

That starts with sponsor FireAde, which joined Larry Morgan Racing as a marketing partner for the 2015 season. Morgan also acquired Gray Motorsports as engine supplier and technical supporter, and he has become a threat each week.

The Charlotte victory ended a drought of nearly six years, but Morgan is hardly satisfied. He’ll line up against Jimmy Alund in the first round Sunday after Alund qualified No. 10 with a pass of 6.647 seconds at 208.07 mph.

“He’s a wonderful guy, wonderful racer,” Morgan said. “He’s bad-ass, but right now I’m bad-ass, too.”

And he knows there’s plenty left in the FireAde Camaro.

“I’ve yet to make a good run,” Morgan said. “Either it ran with the brakes on or I checked the rev limiter to make sure it’s working or whatever it was. That last run, I don’t think I hit the limiter, but I was a little late.

“I’m just the lucky dog. I just feel so lucky right now and I’m very, very blessed. What I’m enjoying the most is helping put FireAde on the map.”