Gainesville, Florida (March 20, 2016) - After qualifying No. 12 in the 16-car field of the 47th annual NHRA Gatornationals, Top Fuel pilot Morgan Lucas knew he needed to step up his performance in Sunday's opening round of eliminations to give his Lucas Oil TV race team any chance of advancing, and the reigning U.S. Nationals champion did just that, running an event-best 3.770 at 316.75 mph down Gainesville Raceway.

Unfortunately, his pass wasn't enough to beat first-round foe Brittany Force, who won a close contest with her slightly better 3.739 at 319.45 mph.

"We could have used that run in qualifying," Lucas said. "It would have changed the dynamics of race day because we would have been slotted differently on the ladder and maybe not have had as tough a car in the other lane. But that's not the way it worked out this time, so we'll take our lumps and move on.

"They flat out beat us; no way around it. (Force crew chief) Alan Johnson has that car running great, as we all expected he would, and Brittany did her job. I flinched on the starting line and was a little bit behind where I needed to be, but it may not have mattered because they had us covered."

Lucas has spent the last two and a half seasons racing part-time while he learns the family business, Lucas Oil, from his pioneering father, Forrest. Despite his limited schedule, Lucas has been a force on the racetrack, winning three times in 14 starts.

Now, with a second child on the way, Lucas will again step away from the circuit until late July with a scheduled return date of July 29-31.

"We are not schedule to run this second car again until Sonoma," Lucas said. "My wife, Katie, and I are expecting our second child in May, and a good part of the reason I've been running part-time these last few years, aside from learning the family business, is to be there for my family. It's an exciting time for us and I don't want to miss these precious moments.

"For now, the focus of the race team will be 100 percent on Richie and the Lucas Oil dragster. I'm super confident in this group that they'll find the consistency it takes to win the championship. The top 10 is going to be a battleground all year, and we need to step up to the challenges ahead. We are out here to run for the championship, and we need to do better than today's disappointing outcome."

Today's race will be televised from 1 to 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.