This year will include some big changes for Morgan Lucas, driver of the GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.

Lucas got married in the off-season and will be taking a more active role in the operations of Morgan Lucas Racing in 2013.

“My whole outlook on life has shifted,” Lucas said. “My purpose for being competitive used to solely be on having fun and racing. While I still love racing, I want to win because I do have a family, I want to be a good provider, and I want the business side of the race team to be successful.

“There are a lot of things that go into you wanting to be the best you possibly can be. It’s a new kind of pressure to be under, but if you channel it the right way, pressure can be a great motivator.”

Lucas is coming off great season where he collected three wins, four No. 1 qualifiers, and a seventh-place finish in the championship standings. It was his first year with Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi working on the tune-up, and, according to Lucas, more than anything their combined success opened the door to what is possible for this team to accomplish.

“This whole season is about bettering what we did last year,” Lucas said. “We can have a better finish in the points and be a consistent threat to win more races. I love drag racing, and I want to win a championship before my career is over. I’m going to do everything I can to help this team become the top-notch team we have the potential to be.”

The GEICO crew is returning largely intact, and chemistry and depth of knowledge are important steps in the direction Lucas wants to see his team take.

“Confidence is key to success in all avenues,” Lucas said. “You have to be confident in planning, decision making, and execution. We’re carrying a confident mind-set forward this season.

“My confidence is high but controlled. I know we can be competitive; now we’re going to try to be competitive more consistently. It’s what the whole team wants. We’re here to do battle, we know the game plan, and now we just have to execute it.”

Being a success in a Top Fuel dragster has always been the top goal in Lucas’ life since the very first time he laid eyes (and ears) at a dragstrip.

“I came to a drag race with my dad and I remember hearing this roar, this thunder — it shook my body — and we were still in the parking lot,” Lucas said. “We ran up to the stands and I saw a Top Fuel dragster go by. I was instantly hooked. It was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

His path saw success driving Jr. Dragsters, Super Comp cars, then Top Alcohol Dragsters before moving up to the pro ranks, where he has won nine times and been a regular in the Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA’s version of playoffs.

Now in his fifth season with GEICO on his race car, Lucas is looking to bring unprecedented success to the partnership.

“We have a tremendous relationship with GEICO, and I want to be there for them 100 percent,” Lucas said. “It’s also very important to represent my mom and dad’s company, Lucas Oil, and the hundreds of associates they have working for them around the world.”

Vital Statistics

• Driver: Morgan Lucas
• Date of birth: November 27, 1983
• Hometown: Brownsburg, Ind.
• Sponsor/Car: GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster
• Crew Chiefs: Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi
• Career Wins: 19 (Top Fuel 9, Top Alcohol Dragster 10)
• Career Final Rounds: 27 (Top Fuel 14, Top Alcohol Dragster 13)
• Career Best Elapsed Time: 3.733 (1,000 foot), 4.474 seconds (quarter mile)
• Career Best Speed: 330.96 mph (1,000 foot), 333.33 mph (quarter mile)

Career Highlights

• 2012: Recorded three wins and four No. 1 qualifiers with a retooled team led by Aaron Brooks; Qualified for Countdown to 1 playoffs for fourth straight year
• 2011: Beat teammate Shawn Langdon for the title of the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., to assume Full Throttle championship points lead for the first time in his career; Successfully qualified for Countdown to 1 playoffs for third straight year
• 2010: Earned second straight Countdown to 1 playoff berth; Finished 10th in Full Throttle points; Set career-best speed of 317.49 mph at final race of the season in Pomona, Calif.
• 2009: Won Atlanta race for first national event victory in Top Fuel class; Low qualifier at St. Louis race; Qualified No. 1 and won Brainerd race, an event sponsored by his family’s business, Lucas Oil; Won Memphis; Earned first Countdown to 1 playoff berth; Finished seventh in Full Throttle points
• 2008: Finished 12th in Top Fuel championship standings on the strength of three semifinal appearances; Pulled double-duty on numerous occasions by driving his Top Alcohol Dragster at several races
• 2007: Posted four semifinal finishes for 15th place in the NHRA POWERade Series point standings
• 2006: Raced to five semifinal finishes, including season-opening Winternationals; Maintained a position in the POWERade Top 10 for most of the season; Qualified a season-best fourth at ACDelco Gatornationals
• 2005: Raced to three runner-up finishes; Posted two No. 1 qualifying positions; Recorded career-best performances for time and speed; Posted a career-best POWERade points finish
• 2004: Posted two runner-up finishes to close season (Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2); Clocked career-best performances in time and speed; Competed in both Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster; Finished eighth in Top Alcohol Dragster national points and third in Div. 7 points; Earned four national event victories and one divisional event win in Top Alcohol Dragster
• 2003: Finished second in the Top Alcohol Dragster national points standings; Won Division 7 Lucas Oil Series Championship; Won four national events including the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals; Won two Lucas Oil divisional events; Earned six low qualifier awards
• 2002: Finished second in the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series in Top Alcohol Dragster; Won two national events and one Lucas Oil event; Earned five low qualifier awards; Ranked 18th in the national points standings

Personal

• Wife: Katie
• Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 170 pounds
• Education: Riverside Community College

•