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GEICO's Lucas conquers Brainerd for the second time in career
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug.19) - On Sunday, Morgan Lucas, driver of the GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster, won for the third time this year in Top Fuel and the second time in his career at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
"Anytime you can win here, especially as involved as my Dad (Forrest Lucas) is with the race, is a dream come true," Lucas said. "Hopefully it's a sign for good things to come for."
The signs pointed to the possibility of a GEICO rail victory from the time the team opened the truck on Friday. The weekend weather broke cooler than in the past, which played to the car's strengths, and Lucas has a better track record and comfort level at BIR than at any other track on the circuit. The car qualified No. 4, and on Sunday returned to the racehorse form it showed when Lucas piloted it to four No. 1 qualifiers and wins in Gainesville and Houston earlier this season.
"You can't help but get a lot of confidence after an outing like this," Lucas said. "You never know with these cars. We had great car for a while in the beginning of the season. We had to change a couple of discs in the (clutch) package and it changed everything.
"My crew chief Aaron Brooks has done a great job of logically working through the problems and getting them fixed. A lot of hard work is starting to pay dividends."
Lucas beat Steve Torrence, Cory McClenathan, Tony Schumacher and then Antron Brown in the final.
In the final against Brown, Lucas was off the starting line first for the fourth time in as many rounds, and he never looked back. Lucas crossed the finish line in 3.818 seconds at 316.90 mph, while Brown ended with a lap of 3.831 seconds at 313.80 mph.
Lucas said he was most proud of knocking out Tony Schumacher in the semfinals.
"That guy has always had my number," Lucas said. "It must be a 30-to-1 ratio of the times he's beaten me. Getting one back is nice. He's a great driver, but you want to beat everybody you race - it's what keeps you going."
Against Schumacher, Lucas ran a 3.812 at 323.19 mph to Schumacher's 3.819 at 322.42 mph. In Round 2, Lucas dropped a cylinder at about half-track but still had more than enough muscle to take out McClenathan. Lucas ran a 3.858 at 311.20 mph as McClenathan smoked and popped his way to a 6.460 at 96.69 mph.
"The racetrack was phenomenal today," Lucas said. "I'm not sure in any year prior to this you've seen cars going in the low 3.80s on a track that's 118 degrees. It's making racing a lot of fun for everybody."
The first-round race was no gimme against Torrence, a three-time winner on tour this year. In the coolest conditions of the day, Lucas ran a 3.788-second pass at 327.90 mph, which handled Torrence's 3.859 at 318.84 mph.
"In years past, you probably had five or six cars that could win a race," Lucas said. "Now you've got 12 cars that potentially win if they are firing on all eight. To me that says a lot about that class, makes it better for the fans and puts a lot more importance on the driver when it comes to reaction times and things like that."
Lucas walks away from Brainerd with more than just this third Wally of the season. With his first-round win, Lucas clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship, and in the second round, he moved up in to sixth place in the Top Fuel standings.
Next time out Lucas will look to put a trophy from drag racing's crown jewel event into his growing collection as he tries to win the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals from Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
MLR Love for Brainerd and Lucas Oil Nationals Runs Deep
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 15) - Brainerd International Raceway has become a second home to Morgan Lucas and he's hoping that the familiarity of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals will be lucky for him and his GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster team.
"Brainerd is one of my favorite stops on the circuit," Lucas said. "It's an easy spot to enjoy yourself and have fun. The fans are dedicated to having fun. Plus, we've had success there in 2004 and 2009 when we won the race.
"With the way the weather forecast looks, this is going to be a good weekend for our car. It seems to like the cooler weather and it makes a lot of power to run in the cooler conditions. If we do our jobs right, there's no reason why we can't end the day with the trophy in our hands."
Lucas is in line to clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship this weekend if he wins a single round or Clay Millican and Bob Vandergriff both lose in Round 1 on Sunday.
"To clinch this weekend takes a lot of pressure off the next race," Lucas said. "It will keep everyone on the team from getting too spun out during the week before Indy. Once we know we're locked in and the pressure is off, we'll start running better.
"If we can do that in Brainerd we can mark that accomplishment off our list and set off to start working on the other goals we have for ourselves this year."
The entire Lucas family has adopted the Brainerd race as their own and sponsoring the event has been beneficial on several fronts.
"My dad (Lucas Oil co-founder Forrest Lucas) doesn't get a lot of opportunity to go to the races and just relax and enjoy his surroundings," Morgan said. "Brainerd has always been one of the places he's been able to have fun and be one of the guys. On top of that, it's a big market for the family business.
"Those two things together are a big win for everybody. We talk about going to Brainerd all year long."
Qualifying for the Lucas Oil Nationals gets under way at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday from Brainerd International Raceway. Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with eliminations starting at 11 a.m. Sunday. The qualifying show will air at 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday on ESPN2 and the eliminations show airs starting at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Trying to win races while getting fan votes
for Shootout keeping Bernstein busy
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 15) - MAVTV/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver Brandon Bernstein is going to have a little more on his plate than normal at this weekend's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Raceway.
Other than his usual race duties, Bernstein is at his sponsor's race trying to clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship. He's also launching a campaign to be voted into a spot in the Traxxas Shootout at the U.S. Nationals.
Tops on Bernstein's list is getting that Countdown spot nailed down. To do that, Bernstein must go one round further than either Clay Millican or Bob Vandergriff on Sunday.
"It sounds a lot easier than it can be in reality," Bernstein said. "It'll be nice to clinch at Brainerd and then we can just race Indy and not have to worry about having to do anything to get into the Countdown.
"The car has been running terrific, so that's a goal everyone on the team thinks we can attain."
The MAVTV team has been to two finals and handful of semifinals this year, and Bernstein said there is no place better to get that break-through win than at the Lucas Oil Nationals, where Lucas Oil co-founder Charlotte Lucas hands out the winner's trophies.
"The Brainerd racetrack and experience is awesome," Bernstein said. "The fans in the Zoo are just incredible. I've had some success at Brainerd back in the Bud days when we had Lucas Oil on the car.
"The winner's circle with the Lucas family is special. Hopefully this can be a weekend were we can get both my teammate Morgan Lucas and myself into the finals, and guarantee a big celebration at the end the day."
Bernstein is also trying to earn a spot into the Traxxas Shootout. One of the spots will be determined by a fan vote and lottery, and true to the political season Bernstein is launching a "BB Is For Me!" campaign where he's not afraid to stretch the truth a little in order to get a vote for a race he anticipates being a highlight of the Indy race.
"I love having that race within a race," Bernstein said. "When you have that shootout race on Sunday, it gives you that extra day of race-day mindset. You can't go wrong with two race days in one. It's a lot of fun, and I'm counting on the fans to get me in the race."
Voting begins after this weekend's race on Sunday at the NHRA Facebook page or by following the link at BBis4me.com. During the weekend, fans will be encouraged to come up with their own outrageous reasons to vote for Bernstein via Twitter by mentioning @BB_is4me or with the hashtag #whyyoushouldvoteforBB.
Qualifying for the Lucas Oil Nationals gets under way at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday from Brainerd International Raceway. Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with eliminations starting at 11 a.m. Sunday. The qualifying show will air at 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday on ESPN2 and the eliminations show airs starting at 9 p.m. on Sunday.
