Several years ago, the cancer survivor from Ohio traded in his restaurant job to become the personal chef for a drag-racing team. He travels the country, cooking in the pit during competitions, to ensure his team gets the most well-rounded, nutritious and delicious meals possible.

This week he will be feeding his men as the team competes at the Lucas Oil NHRA Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown.

It's the most relaxing job Morse has had.

"I love it," he declares. "I don't even feel like I've had a job in the last seven years."

A new lifestyle

Morse, 42, spends approximately half of the year on the road with the Jegs.com team — led by driver Jeg Coughlin Jr., a four-time world champion. He is responsible for feeding between 12 and 20 people two meals per day during racing events, which typically last about three days.

"On Friday I'll fly in," Morse explains. "I'll get there around 9 or 10 in the morning. I'll make lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday I make breakfast for Jeg only. And then I'll make lunch for the team. Then I'll fly home Sunday night. Before I know it, the weekend's over."

Time and planning are crucial parts of the job. Morse recalls one time when he was preparing an Italian-style lunch in Topeka, Kan.

"I had to make bread," he says. "I didn't have time to make bread once I got there. So I had to make the bread and then punch it down on the airplane. It was crazy."

The frenetic pace is just one of the job's challenges. Another is finding key ingredients in areas of the country that don't typically carry them.

"Imagine going to the middle of Kansas and all of a sudden you have to cook Italian food," Morse says. "You can't find a lot of Italian ingredients (there). . . . Even the meat counters change. They have less expensive cuts of meat, with more fat in it that you use for smoking."

Someone unaccustomed to scrambling or thinking creatively might crumble. But not Morse. The job was a welcome change from the demanding 70- to 80-hour work weeks he was used to in the restaurant business. And after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease 15 years ago, he decided a change definitely was in order.

"I'd read different reports and talked to doctors, and they said that people that go back to the same job — if it's a stressful position — the likelihood for the cancer to come back is a lot higher," he says. "So when I found this job, I could get out there and do this, but it didn't take all of my time."

Morse found out about the job through his brother, who introduced him to a team member. At that time, it was suggested he cook for the team. Although it piqued his interest, he didn't pursue it.

"I didn't know what drag racing was," he admits. "I didn't know what year my car was for a long time."

A chance meeting a year later resulted in Morse officially becoming the Jegs.com team chef. That was seven years ago, and he never has looked back.

Morse's job is so unusual that it prompted a reality show called "The Racing Chef," which was featured on Fox Sports Net last year. Morse is pursuing a television deal to bring the show back again this year.

Never underestimate the importance of food

These days, Morse is cooking in his very own trailer — replete with a top-of-the-line kitchen — which sits beside Coughlin's in the pit during races. His close proximity to the team gives him a clear understanding of exactly how important his job is.

"There are a lot of times when you win or lose a race by a 10,000th of a second," Morse points out. "From the owner's aspect, it's a benefit for the team to have a chef because the guys can go to bed earlier at night. They don't have to go out after the race and (get food). . . . They can be in bed a couple hours before the other teams.

"From a racing aspect, I'm sure he (Coughlin) feels a lot more comfortable having someone nutritionally balanced working on his car than someone who ate half a corndog all day."

You might think that coming up with recipes for a drag-racing team would be Morse's biggest challenge. But that's where you would be wrong.

"They like everything," he swears. "Pastas, Mexican food. They like homestyle food, too."

Then there are the times where Morse whips up a little something less conventional, such as an apple pie with black pepper sprinkled in the crust and a sharp cheddar cheese, onion and pancetta filling. The pie is topped off with salty caramel ice cream.

"I'm telling these guys (the menu), and they're looking at me like I'm out of my mind," he recalls of that particular dessert. "But then they had it. And as soon as they had it, it was gone. They had to eat the whole thing."

Morse adopts a motherly type of attitude when it comes to his meals.

"If I cook something, they have to try it," Morse says firmly. "If they don't try it, they're not getting anything else. But if they try it and they don't like it, I'll cook them whatever they want. But most of the time, I don't have a problem."

He also has no problem personalizing meals based on diet restrictions or particular likes and dislikes. For example, on pizza night (which happens every week) Morse makes individual pies for the team — a feat which requires him to get creative for one Atkins diet follower.

"He can't have the crust," he says. "Once in a while I'll make a crust for him made out of sausage."

As with all cooking, timing is everything. And in this business, Morse has to be prepared for the unexpected.

"A challenge for me is sometimes they'll go out to race a car, and I'll think they'll be back in 45 minutes and I'll start getting dinner ready," he explains. "(But) if somebody gets oil on the track, they may be cleaning the track up for an hour."

It's not hard to imagine the other drag-racing teams getting jealous over their competition's great eats. And Morse is certain the smells emanating from his kitchen have tempted many a man — especially on days when he is baking cinnamon rolls or garlic bread.

"I have an exhaust fan from my stove that blows out the side of the trailer right into the person's pit that is next to us," he says. "I know one day this team — they just couldn't take it. . . . It was just 30 minutes of continual cinnamon roll smell. It's definitely tough for them."

Morse has been approached with offers from other teams, but says he doesn't have any intention on leaving.

"I've just told them, 'Don't even offer me anything because I'm really happy where I am,'" he says. "I feel spoiled rotten. . . . I'm never stressed out. The guys on the team treat me like a king."

More information about the Jegs.com drag-racing team is available by visiting www.teamjegs.com.