Morgan Lucas advanced to his fourth quarterfinals finish of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel season this weekend at the 21st annual Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways bringing him closer to a berth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
He defeated Doug Kalitta in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations running a quick time of 3.887 seconds, 302.69 mph to his opponent’s numbers of 4.314 seconds, 258.96 mph.
In the quarterfinals, Lucas lost to ‘Hot Rod’ Fuller, in a close side-by-side race. The Lucas Oil Stabilizer driver left the starting line first (.068 - .081) but was quickly overtaken within the first 300 feet of the 1,000 feet distance of racing as Lucas recorded a time of 4.021 seconds, 293.60 mph to Fuller’s winning time of 3.924 seconds, 306.46 mph.
“We gave it a good run today,” said a positive sounding Lucas. “The car was performing so well in qualifying that it gave us a good indication that today could have been our day. We’re only 10 points out of the Top 10, so we’re making up some ground, slowly, but surely. Knowing that gives us a good feeling.”
In the NHRA Top Fuel points standings, Lucas still stands in the No. 11 position with 588 points and is making up the distance that will gain him access into the Countdown to the Championship with him now only 10 points out of the elite Top 10 drivers.
Lucas qualified in the No. 5 position with a time of 3.848 seconds, 312.50 mph at Seattle.
The Western Swing will come to a completion next weekend with its third event in as many weeks at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., for the running of the 21st annual Fram/Autolite Nationals on July 25-27.
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