NHRA News: Amato selects Morgan Lucas to drive his Top Fuel dragster (7/19/2004)

Amato selects Morgan Lucas to drive his Top Fuel dragster

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
7/19/2004

"I've made a vow to myself that I will do my very best to honor Darrell Russell and his memory at all times."
– Morgan Lucas

Team owner and drag racing legend Joe Amato has selected Top Alcohol Dragster driver Morgan Lucas to pilot his Top Fuel dragster. Lucas will begin his professional career Aug. 12-15 at the 23rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., a race sponsored by his father Forrest Lucas' company.

By hiring Lucas, Amato, the sport's all-time leader in Top Fuel wins (52) and championships (five), is continuing a trend he started in 2001 when he picked promising sportsman racer Darrell Russell to replace him in the company car. Forced to retire by eye problems, Amato elected to give an up-and-coming driver a chance at the big leagues. Now, it's Lucas' turn.

"I hit the jackpot when I hired Darrell Russell," Amato said. "We all know what he did for this team and what he meant to me and the NHRA as a whole. Now I've got another young kid that's shown lots of promise and we'll give him a chance to see how the big boys race. I'm happy to give him the opportunity to shine."

Amato Racing's Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.
Click for bigger image.

Russell certainly delivered for his boss. He won his first national event, becoming just the third pro driver in history to do so, and went on to win the 2001 Rookie of the Year award. In three and a half years of competition, Russell finished sixth twice, and fourth once. He was ranked fourth when he died as the racing result of an accident June 27 in St. Louis. Overall, Russell raced to 17 final rounds and recorded six victories and two No. 1 qualifier awards. He was selected for the prestigious Budweiser Shootout for the sport's top qualifiers every year he was eligible.

Like Russell, who was a four-time Division 4 champion with seven national event wins and 19 divisional event wins at the sportsman level, Lucas has enjoyed success in a Top Alcohol Dragster. He won the Division 7 title in 2003 and already has seven national event wins, including the U.S. Nationals, to his credit. Lucas was runner-up to Top Alcohol Dragster national champion Alan Bradshaw last year.

"This is such an honor for me," Lucas said. "For Joe to go out on a limb like this is something. He's placing a lot of trust in me and I'm so appreciative. He's been awesome through all of our conversations over the last few days. He's all excited for me and he's such a down-to-earth, cool guy. I always thought he'd be all business, but he's really friendly and nice guy.

"Darrell Russell was a true hero. It will be impossible to follow him. I know I can't even come close to replacing him and what he meant to so many people but I've made a vow to myself that I will do my very best to honor him and his memory at all times."

Forrest Lucas is excited for his son and relayed a touching story of how Russell's thoughtfulness a decade ago helped shape young Morgan's drag racing dream.

No pressure: Darrell Russell won his
first race and was runner-up at the next.
Racers Edge Photography

"In a roundabout way Darrell is responsible for Morgan, my wife Charlotte, and I being involved in drag racing at any level," Forrest said. "About 10 years back my company was still very small but I had an employee that was into drag racing so he invited us to a race. Morgan was just this little cute kid back then and he went over to Darrell's pit across the way and asked Darrell if he had any old parts he could have to get autographed. Well, Darrell had experienced a wheelstand the week before and he had a bent-up front wheel that he signed and gave to Morgan. He went on to get it signed by everybody at the races, including Joe Gibbs. Grown men were offering to buy it from him by the end of the day.

"Darrell's kindness that day made such a big impression on Morgan's life and he instantly wanted to be like Darrell and be out there racing. He started helping guys on their crew and when he turned 16 all he wanted to do was race. We weren't expecting to make this big move at this point but I think he'll be a great addition to the Pro ranks. He's a good kid."

Most of the Amato team has remained intact and crew chief Wayne Dupuy will now get the chance to mold a new driver for his group.

"I think Morgan will do a good job for us," Dupuy said. "This isn't a deal where he's replacing Darrell because it's unfair to compare anyone to Darrell. He was a special guy who we'll all miss forever. We're starting a new chapter with Morgan and we need to look at it like a fresh start.

Darrell Russell
1968-2004

"When Joe hired Darrell it came off a strong recommendation from Gary Scelzi because Gary had been there in the Alcohol ranks and he knew a good driver when he saw one. Well, I called Scelzi and Whit Bazemore and a couple of other people I trust and they all said Morgan could handle the job. He's young, only 20 years old, so he's got a lot to learn, but we have the rest of the year to get him up to speed. Then we'll go hard for the championship in '05. For me, that's the next goal. In the meantime, I need to get this kid ready."

Morgan needs to complete his license upgrade in time for the Brainerd event. The team plans to test extensively in the coming days and chassis builder Brad Hadman is at Amato Racing shop in Pennsylvania helping the crew prepare Russell's back-up car while also measuring Morgan for a new chassis his company will build.

"This is good for all of us," Amato said. "We all miss Darrell and think about him every minute but it's nice to see the guys get back to work and get their minds on racing again. This has been an extremely difficult time for all of us but I think Darrell would want us to carry on. I spoke with his father Burnell, his brother Chris, and his wife Julie a lot about what we should do and they all agreed we should race and that Morgan was a good choice for the seat."

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