Lucas beats Top Fuel teammate at Winternationals
Morgan Lucas defeated Shawn Langdon in a matchup of former high school classmates in the Top Fuel final Sunday at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals.
Robert Hight won the Funny Car final while Jason Line won in Pro Stock.
Lucas powered to a run of 3.835 seconds at 316.38 mph, while Langdon lost traction for a moment and slowed to a 4.047 at 313.73. The two Lucas Oil Racing teammates graduated in 2001 from Jurupa Valley High School in nearby Mira Loma, Calif.
''I've never been in the points lead in Top Fuel before, and I don't really even know how to feel right now,'' Lucas said. ''Getting to race my teammate Shawn, who I went to high school with, this is just a dream come true, it really is.''
''We were really fortunate in 2009 to get three wins, then we went on a big drought last year in 2010,'' Lucas said. ''I think that is one of those things that makes you appreciate success. I think as a team we're really going to appreciate this day and just enjoy it because, you know what, who knows when the next one is going to happen.''
In Funny Car, Hight used a quicker reaction time to defeat 2010 series runner-up Matt Hagan in a close final round. Hight powered his Ford Mustang to a 4.056-second run at 312.71 mph to edge Hagan's Dodge Charger at the finish line, which posted a quicker but losing performance of 4.023 at 310.20. It was Hight's first win since Denver 2010.
In Pro Stock, Line defeated Greg Stanfield to win for the 22nd time in his career and second time at the Winternationals. Line put together a run of 6.529 seconds at 211.89 mph in a Pontiac GXP, while Stanfield trailed with a 6.595 at 210.70, also in a GXP.
The NHRA season resumes March 10-13 in Gainesville, Fla.
