Quarterfinal finish for FireAde pro Larry Morgan in Texas

HOUSTON, TX – Charlotte winner Larry Morgan had his FireAde Chevrolet Pro Stock car ready for another trip to the Victory Circle Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals, but a cosmic .003-second reaction time by quarterfinal opponent Greg Anderson resulted in a 2-inch loss on the quarter-mile stripe.

Morgan was plenty fast off the starting line himself, posting a great .016-second launch, but Anderson’s 6.572 at 210.47 mph was just enough to steal away the win against Morgan’s quicker-but-losing 6.563 at 211.36 mph.

“That was a classic, door-handle-to-door-handle race all the way down the quarter-mile,” Morgan said. “Both cars were in step, and I promise I couldn’t have pushed that gas pedal any harder. It was so close I don’t think either one of us could tell who won until the lights came on in his lane.

“He’s a four-time champion and all you can do with a deal like that is shake his hand and wish him well next round. Today was his day, so maybe next time it will be our turn. I have to feel a little disappointed because we know every weekend that we have a car capable of winning the race, and that sure was the case today. It just didn’t happen.”

Morgan looked sharp at the start of the day, beating good friend Vieri Gaines with a 6.559-second pass at 211.53 mph compared to Gaines’ 6.581 at 210.47 mph. He barely lost out on lane choice in his second race against Anderson, who was .002 quicker in his opening-round win against European champion Jimmy Alund. Lane choice may have ultimately been the difference.

“There was some late swapping around with the lanes, and it seemed that the right side was really good,” Morgan said. “I thought both lanes were pretty nice. Of course, you can ‘what-if’ yourself to death in drag racing.

“We’re not hanging our heads. This is the best start to the season we’ve had in ages, and with the help of Ron and Teresa Thames, the owners of FireAde, we are contenders once again. It’s an exciting time for us.”

Morgan will now take two weeks off before racing again May 15-17 at Atlanta Raceway in Commerce, Ga.

“That’ll be a huge race for us because FireAde is headquartered just outside Atlanta,” Morgan said. “The most fun we’ve ever had in the winner’s circle was with all the FireAde folks in Charlotte. I’d dearly love to do that again at their home track.”