Memphis: Morgan Lucas final summary

Morgan Lucas Posts Semi-Final Finish in Memphis

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (Aug. 23, 2004) -- In just his second event behind the wheel of the Joe Amato-owned Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster, Morgan Lucas earned his first semifinal round finish during the 17th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals.

Lucas continued gaining valuable seat time during the four rounds of qualifying action at Memphis Motorsports Park. Crew Chief Wayne Dupuy tuned the Lucas Oil Dragster into the No. 6 qualifying position with an elapsed time of 4.605-seconds at 311.85 mph.

During the first round of eliminations, Bob Vandergriff blew his engine during staging resulting in a solo pass for the Lucas Oil driver. Lucas earned his first round win in Top Fuel Dragster competition with an elapsed time of 4.843-seconds at 286.19 mph.

Lucas earned his second round win by defeating current points leader and reigning event champion, Tony Schumacher. Schumacher had a slight advantage off the starting line but Lucas drove around him by the sixty foot mark to earn the round win by .0125-seconds, or about six feet. Lucas' run clocked in at 4.714-seconds at 304.94 mph against Schumacher's pass of 4.733-seconds at 307.51 mph.

"Being able to race against guys like Tony is such an honor for me," said the twenty-year-old rookie driver. "Wayne and the guys did such an incredible job with this car it's amazing. I trust everything they do with this car; all I have to do is get in and drive. I saw the nose of Tony's car just past the line and I thought 'I can't believe we won.' Tony beat me off the line but we made it to the finish line first and that's what counts in the end. This is just unbelievable; I don't know what else to say."

The semifinal round paired Lucas against Larry Dixon, driver of the Miller Lite Dragster. Lucas beat Dixon off the line but lost the lead just before the half-track point. It was a close drag race with Dixon edging out Lucas for the win with a 4.654 E.T. (303.50 mph) to Lucas' 4.693 E.T. (299.93 mph).

The Lucas Oil team heads to Indianapolis Raceway Park for the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S Nationals Sept. 3-6. Lucas will compete in both the Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster classes in Indianapolis. Lucas is the defending Top Alcohol Dragster U.S Nationals event champion.

For more information on Lucas, logon to www.MorganLucasRacing.com or www.LucasOil.com.

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