Morgan Charlotte II final report
Lucas Oil Racing press release
Lucas Oil's Morgan astonished by early exit at Charlotte
CHARLOTTE (Sept. 18) – Lucas Oil Ford Mustang driver Larry Morgan watched Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers set national records in the first round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals on Sunday – out of the right lane.
Morgan, running out of the right lane because he qualified No. 7 and had lane choice, figured he was up for a good run in his first-round matchup in Pro Stock.
But Morgan's Ford inexplicably spun the tires off of the starting line and fell to rookie Vincent Nobile.
"Unbelievable. I don't know why," Morgan said. "Every run it was good until the first round. It just blew the tires off. We need to pay attention more to the Funny Cars and what they do, I guess. It's like I was on ice. I just shut it off down there because there was no sense in wasting the run.
"It just absolutely blew the tires off. I've haven't had it that bad for a long time."
Morgan had a solid weekend in Charlotte, coming back from a disappointing race in Indianapolis. Morgan and his Lucas Oil team got their Ford engines tuned up and running well, and Morgan was solid in every run in qualifying.
Then his first-round run left him scratching his head.
"I don't think the tires were too old," Morgan said. "Other guys have the same problem. We thought the track was better than it was. The track looked better than it was."
Morgan and the Lucas Oil Ford team return later this week for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex on Sept. 23-25.
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