BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15) -- It took a couple of months more than he would have liked, but Larry Morgan's Lucas Oil Ford Mustang Pro Stock car is finally running up to his expectations.
"I can't wait to get to the next race in Bristol," Morgan said of this weekend's 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. "I just wish we had a little more time in between to test, but we'll be ready either way."
At last week's NHRA SuperNationals, Morgan successfully qualified for a race for the first time in six events. Prior to that, Morgan, who is spearheading the development of the Ford Pro Stock engine, was having difficulty getting all the parts and pieces of his new powerplant to work together without burning up.
"We've been on a roll here," Morgan said. "We've been able to keep the engine in the car, and that's really encouraging, and the best part is we know there's still room for improvement.
"We're most excited about not breaking a lot of parts, because now we can concentrate on racing."
Making it through the Chicago and Englishtown races without any damaged engine components is allowing Morgan to get started on some other research projects.
"We're going to test a new car this week," Morgan said. "It's from Sinned Customs. We're going to try and test it, weather permitting, and see if it takes us further forward.
"For the race, we're not going to take anything out of the car we're using now. That's the one we'll use in the event."
Morgan added he knows that Bristol Dragway will be a fair test for his car as it makes strides from trying to make races to winning rounds.
"Any track built by Bruton Smith is a good one," Morgan said. "I can't wait until we get there."
Qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begins at 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, at Bristol Dragway. Qualifying and eliminations will be broadcast on ESPN2 on June 19-20.
