Lucas beams after putting two MLR dragsters in top 3 at Pomona

POMONA, CA – Morgan Lucas was like a proud father Saturday after one of his Morgan Lucas Racing Top Fuel dragsters qualified No. 1 for the NHRA Finals in Pomona and the other qualified No. 3.

Richie Crampton, driving the GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster, knocked his boss Lucas down to the No. 3 spot with a stellar pass of 3.711 seconds at 316.30 mph in the final qualifying session.

Lucas, though, was right there with this teammate after recording a pass of 3.738 at 323.35 mph in his Lucas Oil/GEICO dragster.

“To be honest with you, I’m really proud of this whole group,” Lucas said. “There’s a lot of adversity right now, a lot of unknown, and the guys are still pushing ahead doing everything they have to do.”

Lucas was especially proud of the rookie Crampton, the man who replaced him in the GEICO/Lucas Oil car. The leading contender for the NHRA Road to the Future Award as the top rookie, Crampton added a No. 1 qualifier to his already impressive resume. Crampton has two wins, including the U.S. Nationals, and also reached the Countdown to the Championship.

“Not even looking at it from the owner’s standpoint but looking at it from the friend, the guy who used to drive full-time, the guy who cares about the outcome is from the sense of knowing there’s a lot of emotions tied to it,” Lucas said, “I’m proud of him. So proud of him that I can’t help but get a little emotional. I know it’s just qualifying, but a .71 is a pretty impressive run.”

Lucas, too, was beaming when he thought about his stellar run.

“A .73 isn’t a bad run either,” Lucas said. “The credit goes to (crew chief) Aaron (Brooks). He’s an amazing crew chief. I don’t know if there is something he wouldn’t be good at if he put his mind to it. That’s the kind of guy he is. This whole deal is outstanding.”

Lucas begins final eliminations against Billy Torrence, who qualified No. 14 with a lap of 3.799 seconds at 319.98 mph.

“GEICO has been a great partner for so many years,” Lucas said, “so I’m sure they’re happy and watching what we’re doing right now.

“We’re just lucky to be able to be out here and go racing, what we get to do with our friends and people we like to consider family. It’ll be a great day tomorrow.”

Eliminations will start at approximately 11 a.m., Sunday, with both qualifying and elimination action broadcast on ESPN2 on tape-delay basis.