It was a matter of choices. You could go for it all if you thought the rain was going to wipe out the final qualifying session or you could hold back hoping the rain would do the same.

“This morning Jimmy (Walsh) said we can either hop it up or we can tone it down but I think we should go down the track and see where it will take us,” said Lucas after claiming the pole for his family sponsored Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainard Int'l Raceway. We did exactly that and went an 86 and I thought we left a little bit out there in the middle of the track.”

Lucas capped a single qualifying session with a highly respectable 3.868 second run at 307.16 mph, the fourth of his career and the second this season.

It was a matter of choices. You could go for it all if you thought the rain was going to wipe out the final qualifying session or you could hold back hoping the rain would do the same.

“This morning Jimmy (Walsh) said we can either hop it up or we can tone it down but I think we should go down the track and see where it will take us,” said Lucas after claiming the pole for his family sponsored Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainard Int'l Raceway. We did exactly that and went an 86 and I thought we left a little bit out there in the middle of the track.”

Lucas capped a single qualifying session with a highly respectable 3.868 second run at 307.16 mph, the fourth of his career and the second this season.

If there is anything to karma, Lucas should be handing the Wally to his mother tomorrow. Five years ago, he won in the Top Alcohol division on the same day he made his Top Fuel debut. Winning on Sunday would bring a breathe of reality to his dreams.

“I daydream about that day that I can do that,” said Lucas, before bringing himself back to reality. “It’s very nice to dream about but it’s going to take a lot to win this race. Especially with the weather conditions and all, you can’t really get a good read on what it’s going to be like. Yesterday it was muggy and hot and everybody showed in their performance. Then today it was a lot better, much more normal conditions like some of the other tracks we have been to before this one. I think there is a really good chance that we can come out and show what we’ve got tomorrow but we’re going to try and do this as a team and maybe try and get both cars to the final round. If Sean (Langdon) wins I’ll be happy and if I win he’ll be happy. We’re really starting to act like a team and it shows.”

Lucas will start the day in a unique matchup of ages, he being the youngest on the circuit and his opponent, Chris Karamesines, being the oldest.

“Actually racing the Greek is going to be kind of cool. I’ve never raced him in a qualifying session much less an elimination round so this is going to be kind of cool. It’s fun and unique opportunity for me to do what I need to do so the bottom-line is we have to race the track tomorrow, we’re not racing the Greek, we’re racing ourselves. I think that goes with everything else that you are doing. You can’t go up there and step on your own toes you have to have the car and setup ready to do what it needs to do to win that round but the bottom-line is the track is going to be tricky with the rains and the rubber is going to be different. That first round is going to be exciting to watch, there is going to be a lot of fun racing tomorrow.”

It might be exciting on the race track tomorrow, but for Lucas one of the joys of coming to Brainerd is experiencing the “zoo”, an area of campers where the partying is almost non-stop and almost anything can happen. Then again, that is almost what Lucas is hoping for, that anything can happen, including his first Top Fuel career win in a race sponsored by his family's business. 

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