Larry Morgan, Pro Stock Class, NHRA All Caught In A Trap?

MORGANLEAD

Larry Morgan, to borrow Elvis Presley’s lyrics, is caught in a trap and can’t walk out. But it’s not because he loves Ford too much.

The Pro Stock veteran and outspoken sage of the class tried to unload his Ford Mustang during the off-season but found no takers. He spoke to Roger Allen, General Motors’ drag-racing representative, practically begging for a Camaro, but Allen told him, “I need you right where you’re at.”

“In the poorhouse?” wisecracked Morgan.

Said Allen, “No. We need a Ford out here.” Morgan told him, “I wish you could convince the guys in charge at Ford of that.” Allen said, “I do, too. But we need you in a Ford.”

2014_Larry_Morgan_ActionMorgan said he has nothing against the Ford product – in fact, he said he prefers its parts – but said, “I just can’t get any support. It’s all on my own, and it’s breaking my back. I’m dying over here.”

Still, he can’t buy a different car, because, he said, “I’ve spent $3 million on it and I can’t change over.” He said since the reshuffling of Brian Wolfe and the departure of Mose Nowland from Ford, the automaker “just put the brakes on the program.”

It irks Morgan to hear people say, “You get money from Ford.” He contends, “I couldn’t get a sparkplug from Ford if I needed it. I converted my car over this year to a 2013. It took four months to get headlights and taillights from them. When I raced for Dodge, Lou Patane was the head of the program [vice president of motorsports operations for Dodge]. We were out of valve covers. He sent a Chrysler truck to my shop with them. That’s the kind of support the manufacturers ought to do to. If anything’s going to happen with Ford for me, I’ve got to make it happen.” He said, though, “If we go out there and do good, they’ll be the first ones there to be happy about it.”

I couldn’t get a sparkplug from Ford if I needed it. I converted my car over this year to a 2013. It took four months to get headlights and taillights from them.

Morgan understands the politics of it but said the fans long for the day when rivalries are revived.

“They need the parity. Before long, if you don’t have but one brand, it’s not good for anybody. It’s like winning – you can’t have one guy win every race,” he said. “Before long, people will quit coming. They will hate drag racing, and drag racing will be gone. And there’ll be a tombstone with ‘John Force’ on it.”

Morgan’s goal is not to have his name on any NHRA tombstones, either. And he’s feeling the effects of a sport that, in his opinion, has not adjusted to the fluid economy or even its own technological progress.

The Pro Stock class in particular and the National Hot Rod Association in general have let costs get out of hand, he charged.

In his own category, Morgan said, “These guys are renting the engines for $40,000-$50,000 a race, and you can’t do it for that anymore. I think the engines ought to be rented for $15,000 a race, at the max. You’ve got guys out there, gouging these people. That’s why there are not that many racers out there like there used to be. A lot of guys could figure out how to come up with $15,000, but they can’t come up with anywhere from $50,000-$100,000 a race.”

2014_Larry_Morgan_Head

The business model is obviously flawed, the Newark, Ohio, owner-driver said.

“You can’t afford to pay an engine program more than you can win. If you do, you’re an idiot, if you think it’s going to survive. You can win $40,000 a race — if you win. If you pay $100,000 a race to rent an engine and a car, that’s not good business sense,” Morgan said. “You call Warren Buffett and say, ‘Look – I’ve got the best deal in drag racing for you: If you give me $100,000 a race, we can win $40,000 a race, if we win every one of them.’ How many times do you think he’s going to sign on the dotted line? He’s going to say, ‘You’re an idiot.’ That’s what’s happened to our class.

“I don’t know how to reverse it. I wish I did. I wish I could tell you there’s a fix,” he said. “And listen, I’m not bitching that I don’t have the money to do it like those, because I don’t, and I’m OK with that. I’m doing the best I can do with what I get. But don’t put me in their category: ‘Why don’t you run like they do?’ when I’m running on 10 percent of what they spend. If you want to give them the same budget I got and see how we do, then you can do that. But don’t say, ‘Why aren’t you doing as good as those guys with all that money?’ It’s money-driven. Our class is money-driven.”

You can’t afford to pay an engine program more than you can win. If you do, you’re an idiot, if you think it’s going to survive. You can win $40,000 a race — if you win. If you pay $100,000 a race to rent an engine and a car, that’s not good business sense.

Morgan conceded all of drag racing is revenue-driven but put it in perspective: “I think the problem we have is the sport never grew with what it cost to do it.  It’s like the sport moved but the money didn’t. I can tell you this much: in 1987, I got $300,000 more a year than I get now to do what I do. I’m happy with what I get from Lucas [Oil]. Without Lucas, I wouldn’t even be doing what I’m doing. But it’s not what it takes to do it right. It’s not their fault.

“I think the problem with our particular class is we’ve let it go and get out of hand with all the things that we do,” he said.  “And I’m guilty of it. We’re all guilty of it.

“Because the cost is out of control in our class, I suggested they take our cars and take whatever the NASCAR motors are and put that in our cars and put fuel injection on it, where it looks like a car you can buy from Ford – actually a production car. That’s not going to fix drag racing, but for our class. But they don’t want to hear that,” Morgan said.

He singled out Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson as one of the smarter ones, one who has refused to go into massive debt just to participate in drag racing.

“Everybody thinks Warren Johnson is ‘Worn-out Johnson.’ He’s not “Worn-out Johnson.” He said Johnson “forgot last night more than [his colleagues] will ever know about Pro Stock racing. Warren Johnson’s not an idiot. He doesn’t have the funds it takes to stay up on the level it takes to win races. I hate it that he’s not at the races, but I understand it. He’s a good businessman.”

DSC_3566Especially if the situation doesn’t change dramatically, Morgan said someday he’ll be sidelined, too. “Someday I’m going to have to . . . realize that there’s got to be something else in our world and it’s not Pro Stock drag racing. I know that’s coming. “

The problem appears to plague the Verizon IndyCar Series and NASCAR, as well. “Motorsports is in trouble, and I hate that,” Morgan said. As for the NHRA, he said, “I have to blame a little of that on the NHRA by not making sure the teams are funded well enough, like NASCAR does. NASCAR makes sure those guys have the money to keep doing it. What they count on in drag racing is the people that [have] well-funded teams – businessmen like [Don] Schumacher and [Connie] Kalitta – Those guys have businesses that keep their teams going.”

Morgan has opinions about a number of issues, including:

The problem is everybody got cut back. They [NHRA brass] have to cut back somehow, too. We’ve got to do something to draw more fans in.

The notion of jettisoning the sportsman program from the professional: “The day that the sportsman get broken away from professional racing, it’ll be the end of drag racing.”

Cost to fans: “The cost of the fans coming to the races ought to be cut back. Our shows are horrible anymore, because there’s not that many fans out there. The problem is everybody got cut back. They [NHRA brass] have to cut back somehow, too. We’ve got to do something to draw more fans in. We’ll all do what we have to do to do it. We’re driving competitors out by the cost of what we’re doing. We’re driving fans out by the cost, when they all took cuts in pay and the cost of living went up. We’ve got to make it cheaper for the fans or they’re not going to come.”

ESPN2 broadcast package: “When you say you’re going to be on, you’d better be on.”

DSC_3795

His sponsor, MAVTV, as potential NHRA broadcast partner: Forrest Lucas  . .  . knows how to make things happen. They should listen to him. He owns MAVTV.  He could put on a show like no other.”

Import automakers in Pro Stock: “I think we need that. I think we ought to have that.”

His “Can’t Fix Stupid” movement: “You can’t fix stupid. There’s no fixing it. That’ll never change. Stupid is just stupid. I don’t want to dig on the sanctioning body. They dig enough friggin’ holes on their own. It’s like having a job and being pissed off at your job all the time. I’m not going to be that way. Graham [NHRA senior vice-president of racing operations Light] and I are good friends. We don’t always agree on things. And we probably never will, because I’m not going to kiss his ass. But the guy does a pretty good job with what he’s got to work with.”

About the author

Susan Wade

Celebrating her 45th year in sports journalism, Susan Wade has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with 20 seasons at the racetrack. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, St. Petersburg Times, and Seattle Times. Growing up in Indianapolis, motorsports is part of her DNA. She contributes to Power Automedia as a freelancer writer.
Read My Articles

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