CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (March 29, 2015) - The drought is over for Larry Morgan.
The veteran Pro Stock campaigner scored a victory at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on Sunday, driving his FireAde Chevrolet to the winner's circle for the first time since October 2009 in Las Vegas.
"I couldn't be happier," Morgan said. "I've won a lot of races, but this has to be one of the best ones I've ever won."
The victory was Morgan's 11th in Pro Stock but his first since aligning with Gray Motorsports and partnering with Fire Service Plus and FireAde. Gray Motorsports supplies engines and technical support to Larry Morgan Racing, and FireAde and President/CEO Ron Thames supply the resources for Morgan to go fast.
Morgan had some lean years since his last win. His most recent final-round appearance came in 2011 as he struggled with his underfunded, independent team, but his driving was still as good as anyone in Pro Stock, even if he couldn't always show it.
"I knew I could drive," Morgan said. "I'm still good enough that I can still let the clutch out. The only thing I was worried about was getting the funding to do it. I knew I was capable and I knew getting into a Camaro, getting hooked up with Johnny (Gray), and getting all the support I get from FireAde was going to be good."
The alliance with Gray has allowed Morgan to shift his focus from worrying about whether he had enough horsepower to worrying about driving his race car.
"I've just got to drive the car," Morgan said. "If there's something I don't see that I don't like, I can overrule what they decide to do. But those guys are really good at what they do, and they do a fabulous job. It showed today."
Morgan and his FireAde Chevrolet were terrific on Sunday. In the first round, Morgan had the best reaction time in his quad, leaving with a .006-second light. His pass of 6.501 seconds at 214.42 mph was quick enough to finish second and advance to the second round.
In round two he had another stellar light, .022, and then made the best run of the round, 6.477 at 214.25 mph, to charge into the final round.
Lining up against Greg Anderson, Jonathan Gray, and Vincent Nobile, the 60-year-old Morgan was quickest on the Christmas Tree (.006) and quickest on the track (6.464 at 214.52 mph) to win the race.
"When it comes to racing on Sunday, you better get after it or you won't be here," Morgan said. "I told them, 'This is what we're going to do.' We made the changes and it picked up to a .47 the next run. Everything turned out perfect for us."
