FireAde pro Larry Morgan drops first-round match in Seattle

SEATTLE – This time, Allen Johnson got a small measure of revenge on FireAde Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan.

In a rematch of their thrilling battle in the Denver finale — a race Morgan won on a holeshot after a long staging battle — Johnson won with a pass of 6.544 seconds at 211.83 mph in the first round of the NHRA Northwest Nationals on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.

“He got me this time,” Morgan said. “Allen is as tough as they come out here, and it was going to be tough to get by him. We did it in Denver but couldn’t do it again. That’s OK; well, it’s not, but there’s always another race.”

There was no staging battle this time around, as both drivers pre-staged and staged without delay. Johnson left first with a .029-second reaction time (to Morgan’s .056) and then held off Morgan’s pass of 6.547 seconds at 212.09 mph.

“I never really go up there with a plan to stage first or last or anything like that,” Morgan said. “I didn’t go up there with a plan in Denver, and I didn’t do that today. We both went and pre-staged, and A.J. went right in and staged. That was that.

“Next time, who knows? Maybe I’ll double-bulb him or maybe we’ll both sit there all day again. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Morgan completed the three-race Western Swing with the victory in Denver, followed by two unfortunate first-round losses. Morgan had issues here getting the car to go straight, and while the Chevrolet Camaro was solid Sunday, the elapsed time wasn’t to his liking.

“I can’t wait to get this thing home and go through it,” Morgan said. “It’s been acting a little weird, so there’s something going on. We’ve been lucky this year to not have many issues, but something’s not right, and we need to figure out what it is.”
Morgan remains sixth in the Pro Stock points standings, snagging two victories in three final-round appearances.