Lucas mid-pack in Phoenix after first day of action
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Lucas said the team made strides with its hot weather setup before giving the track a little more than it could hold after the sun went down in a go-for-broke second session.
"We tested some stuff in the first run of the day, which showed us some things," he said. "It wasn't quite what we were hoping for, but it was a step in the right direction."
Lucas' first run was a 3.984 at 274.66 mph, which was fourth best in the round. In the evening session, Lucas said they went back to their earlier setup and smoked the tires. He had to revert to his previous run to earn a spot in the field and he now sits 10th with two qualifying sessions left.
"It was a little too much for the racetrack," he said. "But it's fine, conditions tomorrow are supposed to be overcast with a chance of rain. Hopefully the rain will hold off until later in the day and we'll get a couple of runs in and move our GEICO Powersports car up in the field.
"There are only 16 cars here so tonight was a good time to step on it. There wasn't much for us to lose."
Lucas added that Saturday's goal for the team is to find a healthy balance that will pay dividends with a deep run during Sunday's eliminations.
"We're trying to take advantage of some of these qualifying sessions because we're limited by the NHRA to only a certain number of test sessions during the year," he said. "That ties your hands a little bit. We just want to learn what we can whenever we can.
"Today was a great opportunity to try things with the warm conditions and a semi-green racetrack. The warmer weather bit us in Pomona and a couple of times last year, so we're just trying to get around that right now."