POMONA, Calif. – Morgan Lucas and Auto Club Raceway seem to go together in February.
A year ago, Lucas won the season-opening race at this historic track. Thursday, Lucas was again No. 1, grabbing the provisional No. 1 qualifier for the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals.
But hold on, the GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster driver said. The two don't compare.
"To be honest with you, the win last year is so far out of my mind, it's not even funny," Lucas said. "I know a lot of people want to ask that question when you're the defending champion, but when you win as many race as guys like Tony Schumacher or Del Worsham or Larry Dixon, that becomes one of those things people don't ask a lot.
"Last year was such a bad year toward the middle and end of the year that, for us, it's more trying to get the car down the race track right now. I didn't think we were even trying to run that quick that session. It is just the first run of the season, but we're all excited to get this GEICO dragster down the race track, and hopefully get some more stuff to build off of and continue some progress throughout the season."
Lucas struggled in the second half of 2011, failing to qualify for three of the six Countdown to the Championship races. In the off-season, Aaron Brooks took over as crew chief, with Rod Centorbi hired as co-crew chief.
After one run, at least, the changes worked. Lucas went 3.832 seconds at 320.28 mph to top the 17 Top Fuel cars who made a qualifying run Thursday.
"Aaron and Rod work great together," Lucas said. "They are a lot of fun to work with. They are very serious about their job. Aaron's very aggressive, and Rod's really sound when it comes to putting the car together. They're a really well-balanced team, and they work well with the guys on the team.
"That's the thing about our core group of people who have been there a long time. They work well as a unit, but then you bring guys in who have an advanced maintenance program who know to approach things better – more of a modern spin instead of the old-school approach to it – it really opens your eyes to some of the areas that maybe you were missing out on and created inconsistencies or caused a hindrance toward performance."
Tony Schumacher (3.838 seconds/320.58 mph) was second, with Shawn Langdon (3.857/319.29 mph) third.
Jack Beckman topped the Funny Car chart after Q1, going 4.139 seconds at 308.14 mph in the Don Schumacher Racing Dodge. That was nice, but the reception he got after the run meant more to him.
"The best feeling about that run is on the tow back, looking up in the grandstands and seeing my son (Jason) jumping up and down. That warms my heart. If we were first or last, just to see that was awesome."
For one day, at least, he was first.
"Let's not kid each other: That 4.13 is not going to stand for No. 1," Beckman said. "We feel we have as good a shot at stepping up as any other car. If NHRA is going to give out those – can I use the word silly? – qualifying session bonus points, we'll take 'em."
Bob Tasca was second at 4.150 seconds/307.37 mph, with Johnny Gray third at 4.158/307.23 mph.
Recovering from an off-season procedure on his back, Mike Edwards grabbed the provisional No. 1 in Pro Stock with a pass of 6.545 seconds at 211.86 mph.
"Any time you start off a new season, you just don't know what to expect," Edwards said. "We got off to a great start, a great run. The guys just did a phenomenal job. We made one of the nicest runs we've made in Pomona in a long time. It's a great start for us. Hopefully, we can build on this tomorrow and see what happens."
Ronnie Humphrey (6.561/211.39 mph) was second, with Vincent Nobile (6.547/210.97 mph) third.
