It was an emotional victory for Darren Morgan on the weekend in Adelaide, who was commemorating the life of Mick Atholwood, who recently passed away and was instrumental in the early part of his Top Fuel career, particularly during the formation of the DMR team.
Morgan’s uncle also passed away on Easter Sunday, so there was an outpouring of emotion from the entire team following the final.
“To have won the first 1000 foot race here in Australia is pretty special – it’s history and something that no one can take away from us,” said Morgan.
“The boys did such a great job – not only were we trying to get a handle on the track, we had some problems that we had to overcome. It doesn’t matter where you go, when you have to beat the championship leader (Harris), second (Cowin) and Lamattina to win the deal – you know you’ve worked your butt off.
“We were racing with heavy hearts over the weekend with the loss of my uncle and Mick (Atholwood). We had the big stickers on the side of the car for Mick, he was racing with us throughout the weekend and it was fantastic that we could get the win up to honour those guys who’ve done so much for us.
“Overall, it was great to be back racing in Adelaide. It allowed people that know us to come and watch us when they don’t get that chance as we race usually far from home. There were many of our team’s investors on hand, so it’s always good to win in front of friends and family.
“There’s a real positive vibe about the sport now, we had some corporates – Airmaster – in Adelaide for the first time and they couldn’t get enough of what we do. There was a big crowd too, all of whom seemed to enjoy the weekend. I think we’re going in the right direction, ANDRA are making some good decisions, so lets hope the momentum continues.”
The AEG Powertools driver now leads the ANDRA Pro Series Championship by 12.5 points from Andrew Cowin.
The next round of the ANDRA Pro Series Top Fuel Championship will be conducted at Sydney Dragway in May at the Nitro Champs.
