Morgan all smiles after qualifying FireAde Chevy in No. 6 spot

POMONA, CA – FireAde Chevrolet driver Larry Morgan is all smiles at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, and not only because he qualified No. 6 for the season opener.

Morgan debuted a new sponsor (FireAde), a new car (Chevrolet), and a new engine (Gray Motorsports) this weekend, and things have gone well for the veteran Pro Stock racer.

“We have had the best weekend,” said Morgan, who outqualified Gray Motorsports drivers Shane Gray and Jonathan Gray. “We jokingly are calling ourselves the A team,” Morgan said. “We started as the C team and ended up as the A team.”

Morgan’s best pass was 6.535 seconds at 212.90 mph, which makes for his best qualifying spot since starting No. 5 at the second Pomona race in 2011.

“I’ve got to thank (FireAde President and CEO) Ron Thames, his wife, and his family of employees for coming together and making a deal to help promote his product,” Morgan said. “We’re trying to grow this thing, and we need all the support from people we can get.”

Morgan credited several people for his resurgence this weekend. Of course, it starts with Thames and FireAde, who are backing Morgan’s 2015 effort, but it also includes Johnny Gray and Gray Motorsports, Morgan’s engine supplier, and Jerry Haas Race Cars, which built Morgan a new Camaro in one month.

Morgan was also thankful for friends in Ohio who helped bring everything together in a short period.

“It started with Ron, and then Johnny and his group at Gray Motorsports came on board,” Morgan said. “Then Jerry (Haas) came on with a car, and my guys at home made sure the truck and trailer got done. That’s a great group of people.”

All the hard work resulted in Morgan making three solid passes in qualifying that kept him in the top half of the Pro Stock field for each session.

“Gray Motorsports put together a championship team that has treated us like family,” Morgan said. “We are so proud to be associated with them. Every one of their guys has been over here making sure everything is alright.”

Morgan will line up against Jimmy Alund in the first round Sunday, which begins at approximately noon. Alund qualified No. 11 with a pass of 6.543 seconds at 211.56 mph.