Morgan Lucas enters this weekend’s NHRA Southern Nationals bearing the same but different status as he did last year. The Geico-sponsored driver is winless once again, but there’s a big difference.

Last year Lucas was “O-for-his Top Fuel career. This time he’s just winless for the season. For the first time in his career, Lucas can officially be referred to as the defending event champion.

"It's exciting," said Lucas, who scored his first of three career wins last season at this race. "You can say that you're not thinking about it, but you're thinking about it. Anybody who says they don't think about stuff like that is just lying.”

Morgan Lucas enters this weekend’s NHRA Southern Nationals bearing the same but different status as he did last year. The Geico-sponsored driver is bwinless once again, but there’s a big difference.

Last year Lucas was “O-for-his Top Fuel career. This time he’s just winless for the season. For the first time in his career, Lucas can officially be referred to as the defending event champion.

"It's exciting," said Lucas, who scored his first of three career wins last season at this race. "You can say that you're not thinking about it, but you're thinking about it. Anybody who says they don't think about stuff like that is just lying.”

Lucas had reason to believe the NHRA Southern Nationals was a win waiting to happen. He was the No. 1 qualifier in 2005 and has always experienced moderate success in eliminations. Last year, he dipped into the luck bank a bit to score a wild, tire-smoking duel under the lights over Spencer Massey following a rain delay.

“Going to a track where you have had success puts you in the mindset where all you think about is racing and winning," added Lucas.

Lucas is hoping for another victory and this one is more decisive. A series of performance gains has him feeling good about his chances.

"We've found some really cool stuff at the shop and we've been creeping up on something lately," Lucas said. "It makes me that much more optimistic about going to the event. We made some big changes in the bell housing and that right there was the biggest difference in my opinion. The window for tuning these cars gets small sometimes and consistency is always the most important thing. Last few races we've been making ET gains and trying to have good runs. Right now the car is talking to us and we're trying to listen to it."