ATLANTA (May 14) - Lucas Oil Ford Pro Stock driver Larry Morgan is looking for consistency, and he hopes this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway is the place where it starts.
The Atlanta race kicks off a three-week stretch with three races, as Topeka, Kan., and Englishtown, N.J., quickly follow. It can be an arduous stretch for race teams, but Morgan believes his team is prepared.
"We've been preparing for this stretch for a while now," Morgan said. "But you can never be prepared for three races in a now if you're tearing stuff up."
The 10-time Pro Stock winner has had his share of mechanical troubles this season, but a smooth weekend in Houston two weeks ago has him optimistic those problems are behind him.
"We didn't even touch the car, other than taking it to a local bank for an appearance," Morgan said. "We didn't do much with it because it ran well in the first round in Houston, and we didn't want to change a bunch of stuff.
"We worked on two other engines and we got them done, so they're ready to go. The transporter will still come back to the shop in between races, and we'll have a couple of guys working on stuff while we're at the racetrack."
Morgan and his team tested this week in Valdosta, Ga., working on finding speed and consistency.
"We worked on a little bit of everything in Valdosta," Morgan said. "We need to work on consistency and keeping the motors in one piece. The motors start with valve springs, too. If we can keep the valve springs good, we'll be OK."
Morgan joked that he worked on his driving, too, after an unfortunate red-light in Houston.
"I'm going to try to keep from red-lighting," Morgan said. "So far I've got that mastered pretty good, so we'll turn our attention to the race car."
Morgan is a past winner in Atlanta, having scored there in 1990. That victory started a three-race winning streak for the Pro Stock veteran.
"That was the beginning of three in a row I won," Morgan said. "I won Atlanta, Memphis (Tenn.), and Baton Rogue (La.) and that was good. It would be nice to do that again.
"If I did that again NHRA would be all over me, but I'd like that. That'd be a good place to be."
Pro Stock qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:15 and 6:30 p.m., Friday, and 12:30 and 3:15 p.m., Saturday. Eliminations begin at noon, Sunday. ESPN2 will carry qualifying highlights from 6-8 p.m., Saturday, and elimination action from 9 p.m.-midnight, Sunday.
