FireAde’s Larry Morgan puts fastest Pro Stock car in Atlanta eliminations

ATLANTA – The only thing that slowed FireAde Racing driver Larry Morgan was the finish line.  Morgan posted the fastest speed of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals on Saturday at Atlanta Dragway, making a pass of 6.565 seconds at 211.89 mph in the third qualifying session. That puts him in the No. 8 spot heading into final eliminations Sunday.

“I feel real good going into the first round,” Morgan said. “I feel that confident. We were top speed for the weekend, so that’s good for us and for Johnny (Gray) and Gray Motorsports. I feel real good about everything.”

Gray Motorsports supplies engines and technical support to Morgan’s FireAde Racing team. Sunday, though, Morgan will have to line up against a Gray teammate in the first round: Jonathan Gray, son of Johnny Gray, who qualified No. 9 with a 6.580 at 210.08 mph.

Morgan started the weekend by shaking the tires in Q1, but he rebounded to make a 6.583-second pass in Q1. Then in the heat of Q3, Morgan recorded his best pass. In the final session, Morgan made a decent run of 6.585 seconds at 211.69 mph, even after rolling the beam in staging.

“The first run, we shook the tires,” Morgan said. “The second run, we changed the tires and made a pretty good run but I didn’t shift quite right. Then the third run, I made a really good run. I shifted good and it made a good run.”

Morgan will have plenty of support on his side Sunday. FireAde is based in Fayetteville, Ga., about 90 miles from Atlanta Dragway, and numerous FireAde employees and their families will be at the race to watch Morgan do well.

“I’ve got cheerleaders here, that’s for sure,” Morgan said. “For FireAde and all the people here who support us, I’d sure like to win this race for them. We’re going to do the best we can do, and hopefully tomorrow afternoon we’ll be in victory lane. That’s what we’re shooting for.”