LAS VEGAS (April 14) -- Pro Stock veteran Larry Morgan doesn't need to get on a hot streak in one of Las Vegas' famous casinos to prove he's living a charmed life. Instead, he only needs to look at his sleek red, white, and blue Lucas Oil Ford Mustang in the pits of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"No doubt about it, I'm a lucky guy," said Morgan, second only to Warren Johnson in number of Pro Stock starts with 480. "To have Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and all the great people at Lucas Oil supporting this program, to have Ford Motor Company doing all the things they've done for us in the last year trying to get Fords back in the game, to have the dedicated professionals on this race team, man, it's all pretty awesome.
"We're working really hard to pay them all back, which in racing means getting to the winner's circle. It hasn't been easy switching to a motor combination that we started from scratch but we're getting there and we're going to keep a positive attitude about it. We all know what it takes to win at this level."
After a semifinal start at the season-opening Winternationals, Morgan has since come back to earth, fighting hard to stay in the mix in arguably the toughest professional class in all of motorsports.
"There are no gimmes and no one is going to take it easy on us because we're trying something new, and we really wouldn't want it any other way," Morgan said. "I can tell you we're making plenty of horsepower. We just need to get the combination figured out and we'll be good to go. You have to remember it's been 25 years since a Ford has led Pro Stock.
"We're heading into the hotter races and that should bring and end to those crazy ET numbers we've seen this season. It should bunch things up and that should play to our favor. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is an awesome place so we'll get a good read on where we are in relation to the other teams this weekend."
The 11th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals run Friday through Sunday at the North Las Vegas speedplant. Pro Stock qualifying begins with two sessions at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Friday.
