TOPEKA, Kan. (May 20) -- The GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster has been building momentum the last few races, and driver Morgan Lucas isn't going to let a checkered history with Heartland Park Topeka break that stride.
Heading into this weekend's 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, Lucas and crew chief Jimmy Walsh have found a tuning combination that has gotten the car down the track consistently, especially in hot weather.
Currently seventh in NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel points, Lucas has gone at least one round in each of the last four races. A far cry from earlier in the season when the GEICO Powersports dragster was struggling to make a full run.
"Any time you can toss the laundry (deploy the parachutes) you know you at least made a semi-decent run," Lucas said. "If everything goes right, I'll be packing the 'chutes several times in Topeka. I won't mind the extra work, believe me.
"This whole year has been a big learning curve for us because we've been trying to make the tuning window bigger so we can catch up to some of these A-list teams."
Lucas added that despite not having a pile of positive results at Topeka, he said the fans there make the experience worth the trip.
"Topeka has never been one of my pride and joy racetracks, but I've always enjoyed going there," Lucas said. "It's always a fun environment to race, and the town gets really involved in the event.
"We seem to have a car that's running better ever week in the kind of hot conditions we normally have at Topeka, and my luck is bound to turn around there sooner or later anyway. Maybe this will be our year."
He said the whole effort is building the GEICO Powersports dragster toward being at the top of its game when the Countdown to 1 playoffs begin later this summer.
"We're taking steps in the right direction," Lucas said. "Hopefully we can be the sleeper at the end of the year.
"The thing about the Countdown is that it gives you more room to try things during the season itself. But bottom line, it's about winning races. That's what we want to do for GEICO Powersports and Lucas Oil, and we're taking positive steps in that direction. If we can win a championship too, all the better for everybody on our team."
Qualifying for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Summer Nationals begins at 5 p.m. CDT Friday. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. CDT Sunday. Qualifying and eliminations will be shown in primetime on ESPN2.
