FireAde Pro Larry Morgan chasing another U.S. Nationals title

INDIANAPOLIS – FireAde Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan has 19 victories in his NHRA career, and two of his biggest wins have come at the U.S. Nationals.

Morgan won Pro Stock at Indy in 1989 and earned another U.S. Nationals title in Sportsman racing. After qualifying No. 12 for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway, he hopes to add a third Wally to his trophy case.

“For us it’s a big race,” Morgan said. “This is the biggest race of the year. It’s an honor to win Indy. You look forward to it because it’s right before the Countdown, so you hope you have everything together.”

The Countdown to the Championship — NHRA’s playoffs — begins in two weeks in Charlotte, and Morgan is already locked in, but he’d like to build some momentum as he contends for the Pro Stock title.

During qualifying at Indy, Morgan’s best lap was 6.612 seconds at 209.07 mph, though he and his Larry Morgan Racing team are chasing some bugs in his Camaro.

“We made what we felt was a good run this morning, but we were four- or five-hundredths off the top guys,” Morgan said. “It didn’t run the back half very good, so we put another motor in — it was a new motor from Gray (Motorsports) — and I let the clutch out and it shook right off the bat. I think if we can make it down the track we should run really well.”

Morgan will have to be on top of his game because he faces Allen Johnson in the first round of eliminations on Monday. Johnson qualified No. 5 with a pass of 6.576 at 209.26 mph, and the two will square off in a rematch of their memorable final in Denver, a race won by Morgan on a holeshot after a long staging duel.

All competitors have been dueling the Indiana heat and humidity this weekend, with temperatures above 90.

“The heat’s been bad,” Morgan said. “If you’re not claustrophobic you will be by the time you get in that car and sit for a while in this heat.”