Lucas bows in Round 1 at Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 23) -- The GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster's Sunday was short at the 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

Driver Morgan Lucas and the rest of team chased the tuneup all weekend and never really found an agreeable setup for Heartland Park Topeka.

Lucas qualified 10th on the ladder and faced Cory McClenathan in the first round. McClenathan got away cleanly, but Lucas' car sputtered and lost a cylinder at the start. Lucas trailed McClenathan by .05 seconds by the 60-foot mark and was never able to recover.

"Side-by-side racing is good," Lucas said. "You have to always be on your game as a driver and a crew chief. This weekend I don't think either of us were on the right page. It showed in the time slips we had."

When it mattered, McClenathan ran a 3.914 second pass at 309.34 mph to Lucas' 4.095 at 265.80 mph.

"We took a couple of steps back this weekend," Lucas said. "I don't know if we underestimated the track or what happened."

Next week is going to be an important for the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster team. The crew needs to get ready to be on the road four consecutive weeks following the Memorial Day break, and it also needs to recharge its batteries ahead of the month-long road trip.

"I think it's time for the team to have some fun together," Lucas said. "We need to get back to doing this because we love it, not because it's our job.

"There's a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of storing, preparing, and packing to be done, because we don't have a lot of time to regroup. I'm going to try and get a little R&R next weekend and I think the rest of the guys are too."

The NHRA schedule resumes June 3-6 from Route 66 Speedway in Chicago for the United Association Route 66 Nationals.