Larry Morgan made the conversion over to a Ford Pro Stock program in 2010 with a high hopes and potential. Saturday, the iconic Pro Stock driver from Newark, Ohio, says change is in his future in multiple ways. He’s through with racing a Ford, and depending on some pending deals, Pro Stock as well.
“I’m not saying I am over racing Pro Stock,” said Morgan. “I’m over racing a Ford in Pro Stock. The reason I say that is I cannot support the program properly. No one else wants to run a Ford and the day Jim Cunningham passed away; I knew I was done running a Ford. I believe the Ford parts are the best.
Larry Morgan made the conversion over to a Ford Pro Stock program in 2010 with a high hopes and potential. Saturday, the iconic Pro Stock driver from Newark, Ohio, says change is in his future in multiple ways. He’s through with racing a Ford, and depending on some pending deals, Pro Stock as well.
“I’m not saying I am over racing Pro Stock,” said Morgan. “I’m over racing a Ford in Pro Stock. The reason I say that is I cannot support the program properly. No one else wants to run a Ford and the day Jim Cunningham passed away; I knew I was done running a Ford. I believe the Ford parts are the best.
“That being said if you have no support from the manufacturer, which we don’t, and I understand that; I don’t understand how they come up with this. The fans who support our program, the Pro Stockers and the Funny Cars, those people I believe buy Fords. They’re going to lose a lot of support here. I hate that for Ford.
“With that said, to race, it will have to be in something other than a Ford. I say what I do about Ford, but why would you want to be in Pro Stock if you’re a manufacturer. I can’t be mad at Ford. I’m only upset they started a program and never followed through with it as they should have. It is what it is.”
Morgan isn’t sure which pathway he will take, GM or Mopar, or even if he will race Pro Stock.
“Pro Modified looks very inviting to me,” Morgan said. “I like the idea of the three power adders.”
Morgan believes Pro Stock has been in trouble for a while, when the rule makers lost control of it years ago.
“I think we’re in trouble with Pro Stock,” Morgan explained. “The thing with our class is almost anyone can afford to buy a competitive engine. but there’s only a half-dozen who can afford to buy the parts and throw them away after 40 runs. That’s what it takes to be competitive. If you don’t replace those parts, they end up breaking and when they break they ruin the entire engine.”
Morgan believes the dollar numbers haven’t added up for a long time.
“You cannot run a turn-key car for $100,000 a weekend, when you can only win maybe $40,000,” Morgan explained. “Does that make sense? Doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or Ray Charles to understand this doesn’t add up. There’s not enough money to support this style of racing out here and have full fields.”
Morgan is quick to point out he’s not criticizing without offering a solution.
“You have to control the engine speed,” Morgan said. “You can do stuff like control the valve lift. This is the stuff that is killing us. With these limits, you could have a good field. They [NHRA] won’t do that. They will let you run 11,000 and 12,000 rpm. You can do it, but the parts go in the trash can. Twenty years ago if I told you I was going to turn my 500-inch engine 11,000 rpm, you would have smacked me upside the head and called me crazy. Now we do it.”
Morgan, adding this is not the first time he’s offered this opinion, cited his efforts fell on deaf ears at the sanctioning body. He said he told NHRA officials they should put a 10,500 rpm limit on the class. He added the proposal of controlling the lift of the cam with limits to the valves as well.
“You could go out there, hold the thing to the wood, run the whole field and not hurt a part,” Morgan explained. “You cannot do that today. You hold it at 11,000 rpm and you’re going to need a basket [for parts].”
Morgan, who hasn’t missed only one NHRA event since 1984 [Richmond 1999], has given up hope anyone cares enough to make a significant life-saving change to save Pro Stock.
“We do stupid things to pick up horsepower out here and you just cannot fix stupid,” said Morgan. “You think you are doig something good here and it just doesn’t work that way. You gotta make the car reliable and make a race out of it. Right now we are racing to see who has the biggest ‘you know what’ out here.”
Furthermore, Morgan adds, the wrong people are making the lion’s share of the money in Pro Stock. He added as an example the spring manufacturers are making upwards of $40,000 down the line.
Morgan believes the time has come for the tail to stop wagging the dog. He feels the NHRA is overdue for a crackdown.
“If I was in charge of the NHRA, because of the cost factor, I’d tell the teams we are limiting engine speed, and you can open the valves one inch. That’s how it should be. End of discussion. This would end the guy who has the most money that could throw at it, and whatever sticks — sticks. That isn’t how it should be. Wally Parks would roll over in his grave to know how drag racing is today. This is not a slam at those who run the NHRA, it’s just what we have allowed to happen. We as racers are just as guilty as the sanctioning body for letting it happen. Look at NASCAR, if they make a rule they tell you what it is going to be, and you have to work around them. We do the opposite. The tail wags the dog in our sport. Not how it should be.”
Morgan said he isn’t making idle talk regarding the potential move to Pro Modified. So why Pro Modified? Why give up an established category for one not recognized as a professional eliminator?
Morgan sees the future.
“I enjoy watching them,” said Morgan. “You have some serious characters in there. Me, saying this, my 25-year old kid wants to watch the Pro Mods. I’m looking at the young fans and they want to watch that style of racing. Why wouldn’t NHRA support that as a professional category? I don’t understand why not. We cannot get the Big Three to support Pro Stock like they should. All you have is a bunch of wealthy guys, and this is not a slam, but money rules our class.”
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