LARRY MORGAN |
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PHOTO : RICK BELDEN |
Morgan believes no good deed goes unpunished , and if Biegun is guilty of anything , it ’ s in wanting to provide another place for drag racers to race .
“ The guy wants to do something nice , and everybody wants to drag him down and beat him up on the way down ,” Morgan said . “ I can tell you right now ; I don ’ t care who it is , it shouldn ’ t have to be like that .”
The name alone , Morgan says , causes many to paint Biegun with the same brush as those who owned the series before him . Morgan says Biegun is willing to step up to the plate and make right for the sins of others , but to do so the road must run both ways .
“ He told me , ‘ If we go out there , and they support us , and we make money , I will make sure every one of them that ’ s owed money gets their money back ,’” Morgan conveyed . “ And he doesn ’ t have to do that . But that ’ s what he said he would do . In other words , if we go out there and make $ 100,000 , he said he would spend every cent of that to pay those guys back , providing they support him .”
Morgan said if Biegun is willing to come out and pay a debt he doesn ’ t legally owe , racers should be willing to give the series a chance . Morgan hopes for a chance , but isn ’ t holding his breath .
“ The people who did get paid , not a frigging one of them has come to support the ADRL ,” Morgan said . “ So what the hell ’ s the sense of doing it ?
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That ’ s the way I look at it .” Morgan is content with starting anew and building his own brand of stars .
“ What I can do is guarantee if you come , you will get your money . I will guarantee that ,” Morgan said . “ I was in Martin , I was in Rockingham ; that guy paid every person there and then lost $ 28,000 or $ 30,000 each race . So I can tell you this much , he is into making something out of this . And he ’ s been very successful with every business he ’ s got . I spent days down there at his shop , or at his businesses in Michigan . He ’ s got a very well-groomed operation , and I believe he can do that to the ADRL .”
Morgan said there ’ s a need for a show-based entertainment program such as the new ADRL , and it has shown with good attendance at the first two events , held in Rockingham and most recently in Martin , Michigan . He ’ s also planning on continuing his core divisions like Pro Modified and possibly a Pro Stock division .
“ Anything to put on a show , we are going to consider it ,” Morgan explained . “ We ’ ve got the Nostalgia Pro Stock cars for the rest of the year , and I ’ ve got to tell you , they put on a hell of a show . We are going to bring in competition , but the fans want guys that want to put on a show .”
Morgan said , case in point , his Nostalgia Pro Stock racers distributed more than 1,200 handout cards during the two-day race , confirming the fans are enjoying the variety . With this said , he ’ s even considering nostalgia Funny Cars and
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Dragsters .
“ I think that there ’ s something there ,” Morgan said . “ Are we competing with NHRA ? Not a frigging chance . We don ’ t want to . I ’ m a racer of NHRA . It ain ’ t about a big d *** contest here ; we don ’ t care about that . All we want to do is make it where people come in and enjoy with their family , racing . And that ’ s what we ’ re here for . It ’ s not any of that craziness .”
Morgan understands there ’ s a consensus the ADRL will eventually try to go head to head with its spinoff , the Professional Drag Racers Association .
“ No . No . No ,” Morgan reiterated . “ We ’ re not going head-to-head with them . We don ’ t even have a program like they ’ ve got . We put on shows with jet cars , and some Pro Mod cars have come in . There are cars from all over the country coming . Got a little bit of everything , and I ’ m telling you , the fans loved it .”
The next scheduled event on the ADRL tour is September 8-9 , 2017 , at Dragway 42 in West Salem , Ohio . Morgan said the presale ticket counts are already strong .
All Morgan is asking is to put the past in the past , and help the new ADRL provide another place for the racers to race .
“ Jeff Biegun ’ s a good man and a good family man , and that ’ s what we need right now to run the drag racing series ,” Morgan said . “ It ’ s such a political game these days . I just want it to be good for everybody .”
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July 2017 |
DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 89 |