Past Phoenix winner Morgan has eye on Firebird prize

Lucas Oil driver Larry Morgan is ready to pick up his performance and put himself in a position to win this weekend's 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Morgan's Lucas Oil Ford Mustang qualified 13th and fell in the first round of last week's Pro Stock season-opener in Southern California. Like many other Pro Stock drivers, Morgan was mystified by the Pomona surface, an especially frustrating occurrence for someone who looked stellar in preseason testing.

"I need a good pick-me-up so that's what I'm searching for in Phoenix," Morgan said. "We'll be all right. If I didn't have power, I wouldn't be so positive, but we've got good power, and we've got a good car. We just didn't show it in Pomona, but like I said, we'll be all right."

First up on Morgan's agenda in Phoenix is qualifying better. He closed the 2011 season qualifying in the top half of the field at four of the final six races, but the tricky conditions in Pomona left him further down the ladder than he would have liked.

"I've got to run better in those first few sessions," Morgan said. "I can't win races if I'm not running better. I've also got to qualify in a better position so I'm not running the top guys in Round 1 on Sunday. That gives you a chance to get dialed in on race day."

Morgan's lower seeding in Pomona matched him against four-time world champion Greg Anderson, who was running well enough to not only beat Morgan but three other drivers on his way to the winner's circle.

Phoenix moves back to its traditional early-season date for 2012 after running in the Countdown to the Championship a year ago. Morgan, who scored a runner-up finish at Firebird in 1993, hopes the track is more consistent than the one in Pomona.

"Last year, Firebird was real good," Morgan said. "We got there after a major resurfacing project was completed and it was nice and smooth. I hope it's good this year. It could be. If they do the track like they did last year, it'll be good. I just hope they remember what they did and do it again."

The event begins Friday with Pro Stock qualifying sessions scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. Qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday with eliminations slated for an 11 a.m. start on Sunday. ESPN2 will carry all of the action.