Larry Morgan joked after advancing through his first quartet of competition Sunday at the NHRA's Four-Wide Nationals that sponsor FireAde just might have to spray its flame-killer on his Chevy Camaro Pro Stock car because it was one hot rod, emphasis on hot.

His hunch was correct.

The popular veteran ended a 120-race drought at zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C., and nothing could extinguish his joy as he joined Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) in the winners circle.

Figuratively, it was a "get well" weekend for Morgan and his crew. But it was literally, too.

He experienced trouble breathing during Saturday's racing and consulted NHRA medical officials, as eager to stay and make the most of only two qualifying runs in the rain-shortened program as he was to start feeling healthy again. He received some medicine and pooh-poohed a trip to the hospital.

The doctor, he said, "started checking my vitals, and he said, 'You need to come over to the helicopter.' The plain-spoken Morgan replied, "Listen, I don’t feel that bad, to pay for a $20,000 ride. I can drive to the hospital.' "

Morgan stayed at the racetrack. "They just checked the oxygen in my blood, and I was good" he said, downplaying his condition. "I was just lucky enough to be out here and race with these guys today. I just couldn't be any happier."

He wisecracked, "Have you seen a sicker dog get well? Not till today."  

The Newark, Ohio, owner-driver was more than ready to ditch his losing streak.

It showed in the final, where Morgan used his second .006-second reaction time of the day to outrun a trio of opponents who also had been running wickedly strong. He reeled off his career-best elapsed time and speed at 6.464 seconds, 214.52 mph. His E.T. ties Erica Enders-Stevens' third-quickest time in Pro Stock history, which was the national record until Jason Line reset that with the class' quickest-ever pass at 6.455 seconds.

Morgan claimed his 11th overall Wally trophy by topping Greg Anderson and one of his own power-supplier entrants, Jonathan Gray – both of whom registered stunning all-time top-10 E.T.s Sunday – and Nobile, who also has been overdue since winning last June at Chicago.

On a day when the top two from each foursome advanced, Morgan left nothing to chance, winning all three of his groupings in an event that produced six of the 10 quickest runs in Pro Stock history during eliminations.

He dampened Line's national-record celebration in the opening round, relegating him to second place on a holeshot as John Gaydosh, along with Phoenix winner / points leader Rodger Brogdon, were eliminated. Then in the second round, Morgan bested Nobile, 2014 event-winner Jimmy Ålund, and Line.

As the day wore on, Morgan indicated he saw the increasing need to pull out more stops with the set-up and be more aggressive.

"The cars you could get after a lot harder. And we weren't doing that. These guys are real conservative, and I'm OK with that. But when it comes to racing on Sunday, you’d better get after it or you won’t be here," he said. "I told them, 'This is what we're going to do, because I can't deal with doing what we've been doing.' We made the changes we did, and it picked up."

Morgan attributed his success on the Christmas tree Sunday and his better direction overall to the changes he made since last November's Finals at Pomona.

During the offseason, Morgan struck an engine-leasing deal – one he called "a no-brainer" he said he "couldn’t turn down" – with Gray Motorsports that relieved him from a massive amount of work. He ditched his Ford Mustang and got a brand-new Chevrolet in a 30-day rush job from builder Jerry Haas. Ron Thames, president and CEO of FireAde, came on board with Morgan as a marketing partner before the Winternationals. And Morgan was grateful for the support.

"A lot of good people helped me get where I'm at right now, and I couldn’t have done it without any of 'em," he said. "That's the big difference [between his performance level before this year and in just four races this season]. There's a lot less stress on me. I've just got to drive the car. Those guys are good at what they do, and they do a fabulous job. It showed today. Just by surrounding myself with good people, that's how you win."

Like others in the Pro Stock class, Morgan came to zMAX Dragway in good faith that they had fixed the racing-surface miseries last fall that were so severe the NHRA moved the remainder of the event to Dallas. Yet he conceded he was apprehensive this weekend, especially after not getting a look at the track Friday because of relentless rain.

"Coming here, I was worried to death, because there had been only one test here," Morgan said. "They said the track was good, but the other three lanes had not been run on. And we were all concerned with that. Then the temperatures being under 50 degrees, we were all concerned about that. But the best-case scenario happened for us. It was a cold track without a lot of rubber on it. If it had been 100 degrees, there wouldn’t have been very good racing here. It'll end up being very good from now on. It's a fabulous track. I don’t know how Bruton [track owner Smith] and Christian [general manager Byrd] and all you guys got this done, but it is fabulous. It is unreal."

He completed his personal sweep at facilities that Smith owns. They include Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Morgan earned his previous victory, and Sonoma Raceway, where he won in 2002. Of Smith he said, "That guy moved drag racing ahead of its time."

One thing that distinguishes Morgan is his ability to pull off the surprise victory. Just like when he recorded his first victory – halting Bob Glidden's four-year winning streak at Indianapolis and stopping his winning ways there for good at nine victories – Morgan upstaged the national record-setter, the points leader, the No. 1 qualifier, and everyone else in the 16-car field and each of his four-car groups.

And that was the best medicine Morgan could have had this weekend.

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