READING, Pa. – Morgan Lucas and his Lucas Oil Stabilizer Top Fuel team has two more chances to overcome a mere 13 (672-685) points in his hopes of making the POWERade Top 10 in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings and 29 (672-701) markers away from ninth place as he heads into this weekend’s 24th annual Toyo Tires Nationals.
The setting is ideal for Lucas to make a major move upward in the rankings and with new crew chief, Pennsylvania native, Jimmy Walsh on board, at his hometown track, the Maple Grove Raceway, things could definitely be looking into Lucas’ favor.
“We’ve got a big weekend ahead of us and Jimmy will have his family out there, so I know he will definitely want to perform in front of his hometown fans,” said Lucas. “We know what we have to do and we’re steadily improving and with Jimmy and Stew (John Stewart, J.R. Todd’s crew chief) working together, I feel we’re on the verge of something big and that should mark a major improvement for us. It’s getting down to nail-biting time and I want not only my car, but J. R.‘s car in the championship as well.”
Besides wanting to exceed on the track, Lucas will be setting his priorities before the race for the NHRA Softball Classic at the Reading Phillies stadium Thursday night.
“It’s going to be fun and certainly different than what we’ve been used to,” said Lucas, a team member of Gary Scelzi’s SuperChargers. “We had a practice and scrimmage game in Brainerd and after our initial start, we need to keep practicing. It’s going to be a fun night and that’s what most important is raising some funding for DRAW.”
The start of the 24th annual Toyo Tires Nationals begins at the Maple Grove Raceway on Friday, August 15 with two nitro qualifying sessions starting at 3:30 p. m. (EDT) and 6:30 p. m. Saturday’s time trials start at 12:00 p. m. for the nitro classes followed by a second session at 3:00 p. m. The race starts promptly at 11 a. m. on Sunday, August 10.
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