Lance Larsen, crew chief, has been sleeping a lot better lately. He says that’s a byproduct of a good running hot rod.

Lately that’s the best way to describe the Mark Pickens Enterprises/Motorvation dragster driven by Clay Millican. On the strength of a runner-up and a semi-final finish, the five-time IHRA champion turned NHRA regular has pulled into the top ten of points.

“There have been several little things,” Larsen said, taking time from studying his computer graphs. “Our car has ran pretty good all year. It just hasn’t left the starting line. We found some maintenance issues that we were doing incorrectly.” Lance Larsen, crew chief, has been sleeping a lot better lately. He says that’s a byproduct of a good running hot rod.

Lately that’s the best way to describe the Mark Pickens Enterprises/Motorvation dragster driven by Clay Millican. On the strength of a runner-up and a semi-final finish, the five-time IHRA champion turned NHRA regular has pulled into the top ten of points.

“There have been several little things,” Larsen said, taking time from studying his computer graphs. “Our car has ran pretty good all year. It just hasn’t left the starting line. We found some maintenance issues that we were doing incorrectly.”

Larsen cautions that one shouldn’t blame the crew because they were only doing what they were instructed to do.

“There were a lot of things that we needed to change around that didn’t make a lot of common sense,” Larsen said.

Credit the Mike Ashley Racing Top Fuel team with providing direction to sorting out the problems.

“They told me some areas to look into,” Larsen said.

After the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN, the team returned to their Memphis shop and scrutinized every single move they made when starting the car. They started the car five times to straighten out an issue.

The extra scrutiny paid dividends for the team in Topeka.

“It made the car more predictable,” Larsen said. “The guys were doing their jobs and I thought I was doing mine, but I was wrong.”

Larsen pointed out the team’s morale remained high because the car always made it to the finish line under power. The car was qualifying well enough to earn lane choice more times than not, yet something was missing.

“It wasn’t like we were idiots, there was just one little thing we were missing and didn’t catch it,” Larsen added.

Larsen declines to say what the problems were, opting only to say, “We fixed it”, after a group effort by Millican, Mike Ashley Racing and the rest of the MPE Motorsports.

It seems the MPE team has found their groove at the perfect time by pulling into the top ten in Full Throttle Top Fuel points halfway through the first phase of the of the Countdown to the Championship. Larsen tends to disagree.

“I’d say we’re about eight races too late,” Larsen admits. “I guess I shouldn't say too late because we are certainly capable of getting in the Countdown and staying in there because of the fact that this is a good team. Our engine program is doing well and we have a driver who is absolutely one of the best who has ever lived.”

Another issue that has dogged the team is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We could have a great light and the guy in the other lane ends up having a little better,” Larsen laments. “We’ve raced Alan Johnson’s team three times and he’s beat us every time but we’ve been right there in the picture. My philosophy has been to go to the finish line because I don’t know how to run like he runs. I know how to run like I run and eventually he’ll falter and I’ll get him. I’ll walk over, smile and shake his hand.”

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