Reading: Lucas Oil Racing final report

All three Lucas racers rack up round wins in Reading

READING, Pa. (Oct. 10) -- Lucas Oil drag racers Shawn Langdon, Larry Morgan, and Hector Arana all finished one-up and one-down at Sunday's 26th annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals.

Langdon beat Steve Torrence in the first round of Top Fuel before being eliminated by title contender Cory McClenathan. Morgan scored one of the biggest upsets of the Pro Stock season when he took out powerhouse Mike Edwards but then lost a round later to part-time pro Dave Connolly. Top qualifier Arana crushed Connie Cohen before red-lighting against red-hot pro L.E. Tonglet, the winner of the last three national events.

Sophomore Langdon got things started in his Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster when he ran a 3.886 at 292.58 mph to out-pace Torrence's 4.016 at 310.20 mph. He then had a near-perfect .003-second reaction time against Cory Mac but his engine went away and he eventually lost with a 4.893 at 12.90 mph not nearly enough for McClenathan's 3.836 at 318.99 mph.

"We're going rounds every race and that's a good thing," Langdon said. "We didn't gain any ground but we didn't lose any so our goal of getting into the top five is right in front of us. It'll be nice to have a little break before the final two races. I think we all need it."

With his program on a noticeable upswing, Morgan spooked Edwards into a rare -.002-second red-light start. The disqualification negated Edwards' 6.560 at 211.23 mph and gave the win to Morgan and his Lucas Oil Ford Mustang, which went 6.586 at 209.56 mph. He then beat Connolly off the starting line but was caught and passed with Connolly posting a 6.559 at 210.47 mph to Morgan's 6.611 at 209.43 mph.

"We took out the big dog and then the little dog bit us," Morgan said. "Getting past Mike and into then second round is a pretty good feat. We spun the tires both rounds, tried to rotate the earth, and it was just too much. If I leave this tune-up exactly how it is right now we'll be perfect in Vegas."

Arana started the day as the man to beat on his Lucas Oil Buell and his 6.861-second, 192.99-mph thrashing of Cohen sent a message to the rest of the class. Unfortunately, he got a little too excited in Round 2 and jumped the start, handing Tonglet the win in 6.884 seconds at 191.76 mph.

"Overall, it was a good weekend," Arana said. "We've fixed the problems with the bike and our performance is back where it needs to be to win races and championships. We've put so much attention into the bike over the last four races that I haven't had time to worry about my riding and that got me today.

"We have a few weeks off before Vegas so I can get this bike ready and then take some time to work on my riding and my reaction times. I can't wait to get there and race some more."

-source: lucas oil racing