ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 12) -- Lucas Oil drag racers Shawn Langdon, Hector Arana, and Larry Morgan have all earned a chance to contend for the crown of the 41st annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals after successfully qualifying for the event by the end of Saturday's time trials.
Driving the marquee Lucas Oil/Speedco Top Fuel dragster, Langdon has been reeling off quick passes with ease at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, topping out at 3.835 seconds at 313.95 mph to earn the No. 7 spot in the field. The only downside to his weekend came when the final ladder was assembled and he realized he was going to face team owner Morgan Lucas and his GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster in the opening round.
"The car has been awesome this weekend," Langdon said. "We've gone 3.83, 3.84, and 3.86, so the consistency is there. Plus, we're only a couple of hundredths behind the top guys and that's close enough that you feel like you can make up the difference on the starting line.
"The only thing that sucks is the fact we have to race Morgan in Round 1. It's going to happen from time to time when you have two cars but that doesn't make us feel any better about it right now. Of course, we wish we'd meet in the final round instead of the first, but at least one of us will advance. It should be a good race because we generally bring out the best in each other."
Defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Arana is positioned for another big day as the current Full Throttle points leader earned second place in the bike class with a 6.869 at 194.83 mph on his Lucas Oil Buell V-Twin.
"We tried for the top spot but couldn't quite get it," Arana said. "That's okay because we still like our chances. The bike's running great and I hear that it may get cooler tomorrow with some cloud cover so we have a chance to really step it up."
A native of Puerto Rico and the longest tenured member of the Lucas Oil race team, Arana is slated to face Wesley Wells, who qualified 15th with a 7.146 at 183.44 mph.
Morgan was practically giddy after qualifying his Lucas Oil Ford Mustang ninth on the Pro Stock ladder with a competitive 6.564 at 209.43 mph. It was the first time since late March that Morgan earned a race day start, a span of seven races.
"It's a great step forward for this team," Morgan said. "We've had our struggles, to be sure, and really in a perfect world we would have taken a year off to test when you make massive changes like we did going from a Dodge to a Ford. But we're out here racing as best we can and the support of Lucas Oil and Ford has been phenomenal. It's really what motivates me to keep pushing so hard.
"We got Greg (Anderson) in Round 1 and he's a three-time champ so we'll need another big run, but the reality is anyone you race anymore is going to be tough. That's the way this class is these days. We'll give it our best shot and, who knows, maybe we'll surprise some people."
Anderson ran the same elapsed time as Morgan but his slightly faster top speed of 210.34 mph gives him the luxury of lane choice.
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. EDT with race action airing on ESPN2 in primetime.
