Racing in a Nitro Funny Car for the first time on the NHRA tour this season, “Nitro” Joe Morrison and the Herzhauser Funny Car acquitted themselves with a solid outing at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals. The veteran driver drove the Herzhauser Funny Car to the No. 16 qualifier position. The team came into Maryland International Raceway with a plan to make limited runs based on car count as well as the performance of the rest of the Funny Cars in the class. Their solo run on Saturday morning locked them into the 16-car qualified field for the race on Sunday.
“We’re here without any major sponsorship and we had to race really smart,” said Morrison. “There were 16 cars, so we did one qualifying pass. We smoked the tires. Jimbo knew what he had to do to make sure we would go A to B and keep Beckman honest. We knew we didn’t need to make all four runs to get into the show. This was my third race in the Herzhauser Funny Car this season and I am very comfortable in the racecar. The run on Saturday gave us data we were able to use for race day against No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman.”
In the first round Morrison pulled up beside Beckman, who is racing for the powerhouse John Force Racing operation. It was a classic David vs. Goliath scenario but for Morrison and the Herzhauser team they were up to the task. Morrison had a solid reaction time advantage off the starting line but by the 330-foot marker Beckman had driven around the Flemington, New Jersey resident. At the finish line it was Beckman making the second quickest pass of the entire weekend, getting the win over Morrison’s improved 5.207 second run.
“I’ve known Jack for a long time and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” said Morrison. “I love the fact that he’s a historian of the sport but he’s also a very intelligent, damn good driver. I knew I had to have my stuff together, so I rolled it in a little bit. I had to get every advantage I could. It was trucking on down the track. We’re coming up on the eighth mile and our car is running fine. He was three car lengths ahead of me, so there was no reason to push it. I knew there was no way I was going to beat him, so I shut it off early. It was time to lift and save the parts for the future.”
Morrison kicked off his race weekend with an appearance at the FanFest hosted by the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development on Thursday night. The event which featured almost two dozen NHRA professional drivers, live music and a car show at The Barns at New Market in Mechanicsville, Md., was a chance for Morrison to meet new fans and get the community excited about the inaugural Potomac Nationals.“The Fanfest on Thursday night was a blast,” said Morrison. “Any chance you get to spend time with fans before the race is a huge plus. I saw a lot of people on Thursday night come by our pits this weekend to wish us luck. This has been an amazing event. We were sold out on Saturday and I think today was another huge event.”
Morrison is looking at his future plans to see when he can return to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The veteran driver is balancing his Right2Breathe project obligations with racing opportunities in a variety of professional racing series.
“I would call this a good weekend,” said Morrison. “We were smart about what we did, qualifying wise, and for Jimbo to only have one shot at it, smoke the tires, turn around, and give me a car that’ll go A to B. I can’t complain. We have a good bunch of guys at Herzhauser Racing and I’m honored to be a part of it. It’s a whole lot of fun.”
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