Never one to pass up a chance to deliver a juicy punch line, veteran drag racer Larry Morgan said the Ford Motor Company chose him to help develop and showcase its new  engine clearly "because I'm so good-looking!"
 
No doubt Ford Racing engineer Mose Nowland and his colleagues had at least a couple of technical reasons for selecting Morgan for the project that began December 18th, 2008. But Nowland expressed his confidence that Morgan can deliver the punch line for Ford this year, knocking out maybe more than his fair share of the National Hot Rod Association competition.
 
"I'm sure Larry is going to do well," Nowland said. "My expectations are running high right now."

Never one to pass up a chance to deliver a juicy punch line, veteran drag racer Larry Morgan said the Ford Motor Company chose him to help develop and showcase its new  engine clearly "because I'm so good-looking!"
 
No doubt Ford Racing engineer Mose Nowland and his colleagues had at least a couple of technical reasons for selecting Morgan for the project that began December 18th, 2008. But Nowland expressed his confidence that Morgan can deliver the punch line for Ford this year, knocking out maybe more than his fair share of the National Hot Rod Association competition.
 
"I'm sure Larry is going to do well," Nowland said. "My expectations are running high right now."
 
He said, "Our connection with Larry came about as we were looking for very capable teams to launch our program with, and I believe Larry might have been doing a little shopping from his side. It has been a wonderful combination, and I just can't say enough about it and where we are at and our progress and the excitement that is all around us."
 
Nowland is keenly aware of the GM cars and Dodges that have dominated Pro Stock action for the past 15 years.
 
"We realize our competition is tough and we've got the Mike Edwardses and the Johnsons and others out there. I know they weren't sitting on their laurels over the winter. We've been working real hard, and we're certainly going to have a qualifying car, there's no doubt in my mind -- unless some unforeseen thing pops up," he said. "From what we see and feel right now, we're going to be in that ladder somewhere."
 
Morgan has no shortage of confidence as he prepared to start his 24th season -- his first in a Ford -- and to top his career-best finish of third (1989, 1991).
 
"I'm probably better prepared now than I have been in a long time," he said. "I think we're going to do well. We spent some time in the wind tunnel last weekend to balance the car.  We spent a lot of time on the dyno. Mose made some very, very nice parts, and the foundation is all there.  We've just got to make it work, and I'm ready to do that.
 
"I think we’re going to do well right out of box, because we've been preparing for the last year to do this," Morgan said. "We've had a few very good tests. I think we're going to do well.
 
"I think we are all experimenting to some extent, but I’ve been preparing for this, as Mose will tell you, all year.  We've been working on making these parts the way they should be. They’ve done a fine job and I think we’ve done a pretty good job ourselves," he said. "It's really exciting for us, for the fact that Ford hasn't been out there for such a long time.  We're hoping that we can jump right up there and get in the mix of things and help Ford out with where we're going."
 
Then, with an almost giddy post-script, Morgan said, "I'm excited for Ford to get the Ford Mustang out there again and show off what Mose has been working on for the last few months. I'm so excited, I almost can't hardly stand it, just to get there.  It's incredible.  We ran real well in testing, both times we were out."
 
Morgan watched fellow team owner Jim Cunningham test his two developmental-stage Ford Mustangs last November at the Finals here at Auto Club Speedway, with Erica Enders in one. She placed 20th in the 16-car lineup, and Cunningham was 23rd. That, Nowland said, gave Ford a huge head start for Morgan's "official debut" with his Lucas Oil Mustang later this week.
 
That fall Pomona rollout, the engine expert said, "resulted in a good development program of thrashing on the engines. We were very, very delighted with what we saw after that. The compatibility and durability of the components was better than we expected, and we just felt real good that we had a sound engine. The remainder of the winter we spent on the  dynamometer and a couple of test trips to start tuning on the horsepower."
 
Nowland said they've "made considerable progress with our engine. We've had several test trips, and we've done extensive dynamometer testing. The development work has been on the top end basically: the manifold and induction system and so on. We were excited about the performance of this thing. We actually met our goal the first time out on the dynamometer -- in fact, we eclipsed our goal, our expected goal, and that has really set the excitement high. We're very grateful for our two participating teams, the Morgan team and the Cunningham team. They've been great contributors."
 
It would be impossible to mention "Ford" and NHRA Pro Stock racing without mentioning the name Bob Glidden. Nowland said he and the Ford family "love the (Glidden) family dearly. They can certainly get the job done. Believe me, they know how to Pro Stock race, there's no doubt about it." Still, he said, "We do not have any active business with Bob."
 
Ford and Glidden made their Pro Stock exits at about the same time. Since then, Nowland said, "there has been a lot of breakthroughs on alloy, compositions, strength, and methods of valve train dynamics."
 
To help him use the new materials and technology and evolving parts, Nowland found a surprising training ground -- NASCAR.
 
"There's a lot of things we learned there that we applied to this engine.  We just have learned over the years what works and what doesn't work," Nowland said.
 
"Let me make it clear that we didn't have a whole gaggle of engineers on this project.  It was just a couple of us here, a designer and an engineer," he said.
 
"We've been involved with other engine designs and their special application. We saw opportunities to put those features into this engine, and then, of course, in dealing with the Cunninghams and the Morgans, they brought a lot of technology and concepts to this engine that really fit in nicely.  I credit them for us being where we are today," Nowland said.
 
"Our goal," he said, "was to get out there pretty quick with an engine that would stand a good chance to qualify and keep the price down.  I believe we've met the challenge pretty good."
 
The fans have been a barometer for Nowland. "I guess you can measure where you are today by the level of excitement we hear," he said. "The fans have been so good about welcoming us back. Apparently, they are excited, too."
 
No one probably is more eager to show off the Mustang than Morgan. He helped Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Hector Arana, his Lucas Oil teammate, win his career-best five races. But he's ready to win himself for the second time in three races. Morgan defeated Rickie Jones in the final at Las Vegas Nov. 1 in the penultimate race of the 2009 season. That was his first victory since Sonoma in August 2002 and only his second trip to the winners circle since 1994.
 
"You can't get in there enough, I can tell you that right now," Morgan said. "It's quite a thrill. More than anything, my next race win is going to be in a Ford Mustang, and I can't wait. Hopefully, that will be Sunday night."
 
What a way it would be to christen the new Ford Mustang.