UPDATE: Torco's CompetitionPlus.com obtained these spy photos of Larry Morgan's Indy ride.

(8-26-2006) - Larry Morgan will, indeed, run a one-off Rod Shop tribute car during this coming weekend’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, so ignore that item in our Rumors section.  Morgan made his decision after hearing about the Sox & Martin tribute car that’s being fielded by Bob Panella, and is also being done in honor of the Rod Shop’s 35th Anniversary.

Former Rod Shop owner Gil Kirk, who’s been out of active drag racing for a number of years while expanding his business interests in Columbus, Ohio, not only approved of Morgan’s move, but strongly supports it.  “I remember well our drag racing efforts, and Larry was an integral part of that,” he said when we reached him at Morgan’s shop in Newark, Ohio.  “I’m basically here to help them get the color stripes on the car correctly from a Cliff Getty design, and I’ve already screwed things up.”

Morgan’s desire to honor the Rod Shop is easily understood, as his first brushes with quarter mile success came in read, white and blue colors, while it could be said that he finally reached major prominence as a part of the Castrol super team after the Rod Shop faded away.

“I’ve never forgotten the people I’ve met and the fun I had in drag racing,” Kirk said.  “I distinctly remember seeing Don Schumacher at the races when he wasn’t active, and said to him, I suppose I’ll see you out here owning one of these things pretty soon.  It didn’t happen then, but look at him now.  And no, you will not see me doing the same thing.  This is a one-time thing with Larry, and I have no financial stake in this project.”  Kirk is planning on attending Indy, which will be his first time at the U.S. Nationals in some years.