Matt Falls To Teammate Again In First Round
Qualified: No. 7 (3.991 E.T. at 321.27 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 5.115 E.T. at 225.41 MPH defeated by Jack Beckman 4.649 E.T. at 251.44 MPH
Race Recap:
Two-time NHRA Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan was looking for his second triumph of 2019 this weekend in his home state of Virginia. After qualifying the Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat seventh in the field, he matched up with fellow Hellcat Funny Car pilot Jack Beckman in round one. Hagan took the starting line advantage but lost traction in a big way near the 800-foot mark. Beckman lost traction in his run as well, and the two veteran drivers were quick to get back on the throttle, but Hagan wasn’t able to gather his machine back in time to capture the win. The two are now tied with 22 victories versus one another in their 44 career meetings.
Quotable:
“It was a really hot, greasy weekend here in Richmond. We were hoping to get us a home state win here in Virginia, but we just could not get our Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat down the track clean in that race with Jack. He had some trouble too, but not as much as we did. It’s usually a little muggy out here and the humidity is crazy. Thanks to all of our fans that came out all weekend and especially today for the show everyone in NHRA puts on for them. Really looking forward to getting to Chicago. I’ve had a lot of success there. We have won that race several times and set some world records there. And we are just going to keep digging and do everything we can to put this MOPAR Funny Car in the winner’s circle very soon.”
Matt this weekend in the Shelor Motor Mile Hellcat!
Qualified: No. 7 (lane choice)
The Competition: No. 10 Jack Beckman
The Results:
Q1: 4.074 E.T. at 313.44 MPH
Q2: 4.001 E.T. at 320.51 MPH
Q3: 4.045 E.T. at 315.64 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q4: 3.991 E.T. at 321.27 MPH
Bonus Points: One
Quotable:
“We’ve got a really good, consistent race car. We had some issues with the fuel pump seizing up and had a lever break, but (crew chief) Dickie (Venables) has gotten that under control. Our Shelor Motor Mile Hellcat is going down the race track. It’s smooth in both lanes, they’re pretty even. I’m excited about tomorrow; it’s going to be a good race day.”
Matt Falls to Teamate
Qualified: No. 10 (4.129 E.T. at 263.98 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.113 E.T. at 287.35 MPH defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. 4.037 E.T. at 309.84 MPH
Race Recap:
Last year’s Southern Nationals Funny Car runner-up began his day with an intramural battle against fellow Hellcat pilot Tommy Johnson Jr. After qualifying in the bottom-half of the field for the first time in 2019, Hagan found himself in the less-desirable right lane opposite his teammate. The DSR Dodges launched together and maintained pace until just past halftrack when Johnson surged ahead to nab the win ending Hagan’s day early.
Quotable:
“Tricky race track for us this weekend. Obviously, we had some issues that we just couldn’t overcome. Usually, our ole hot rod is like a bracket car; put a 94 on it and go racing, but the weather threw us for a loop this weekend and we just got behind the eight ball a little bit.”
Next NHRA Event
FC Mello Yello Points
| Unofficial NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings: | ||
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Robert Hight | 717 |
| 2 | JR Todd | 556 |
| 3 | Ron Capps | 548 |
| 4 | Tommy Johnson Jr. | 527 |
| 5 | John Force | 524 |
| 6 | Matt Hagan | 506 |
| 7 | Jack Beckman | 477 |
| 8 | Tim Wilkerson | 463 |
| 9 | Shawn Langdon | 404 |
| 10 | Bob Tasca | 369 |
| 11 | Cruz Pedregon | 306 |
| 12 | Terry Haddock | 250 |
| 13 | Jim Campbell | 209 |
| 14 | Jeff Diehl | 191 |
| 15 | Jonnie Lindberg | 174 |
| 16 | Blake Alexander | 143 |
| 17 | Dave Richards | 94 |
| 18 | Phil Burkart Jr. | 88 |
| 19 | Gary Densham | 73 |
| 20 | Paul Lee | 52 |
| 21 | Frank Pedregon | 32 |
| 22 | John Smith | 31 |
| 23 | Dale Creasy | 10 |
| 24 | Bob Bode | 5 |
