Launch Pad

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Matt Hagan powered to his third No. 1 qualifier of the season Saturday at the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

Hagan secured the top spot after setting the track elapsed-time record with a pass of 3.865-seconds at 333.33 mph in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T during the second session Friday night.

“I feel pretty good about this track and this car, so we definitely feel like we have an opportunity to turn on four win lights tomorrow,” Hagan said. “We know we need to put this car in the winner’s circle a few more times to move to the top spot in the standings, and that’s really what we are trying to do.” Full Story - Sunday's Schedule

NORWALK, Ohio (June 23, 2017) - Valiant work by the NHRA Safety Safari to prepare a record-setting racing surface at Summit Motorsports Park in Northern Ohio after heavy rain to start Friday paid off for Don Schumacher Racing's­­ Matt Hagan during opening day of the NHRA national event.
 
Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Powered by Pennzoil team completed their first run in 3.881 seconds at a temporary track-record speed of 332.02 mph.
 
And it got even better for Hagan and crew chief Dickie Venables with assistant Michael Knudsen in the late night session when they went even quicker and faster to improve the time record to 3.865 and hold the provisional No. 1 spot heading to Saturday's last two sessions. Although his speed was higher at 333.33 on his last pass, it wasn't better than Robert Hight's 334.65.
 
"These fans are awesome for staying out all day through the rain so it was even more special to give them runs like that," said Hagan, the world record-holder for time (3.802) and speed (338.85) with a run this year Topeka.
 
"Dickie never surprises me," said Hagan, a three-time winner this year and two-time world champion who is looking for his first Ohio win. "Dickie and our Mopar guys make it happen; I just hang on for the ride. I think Dickie was expecting even more on that first run."

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BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 18, 2017) – Matt Hagan and his Don Schumacher Racing-owned Sandvik Coromant Dodge Charger R/T Powered by Pennzoil has experienced the highest of highs in Thunder Valley at the famed Bristol Dragway.

Hagan, who calls Christiansburg, Va., some two hours north, home, reached the final round the past two years at his home NHRA race track with one of the most emotional of his 25 NHRA Funny Car victories coming in 2015 when he scored the narrow victory over DSR teammate Ron Capps.

“This is always a big race for us here at Bristol,” Hagan said after another strong performance at Thunder Valley. “You want to do well and win at your home track in front of so many friends and family and we’ve done pretty well here the past few years. Another decent weekend with going to the semis after we won one and went to the final round the past few years.”

Hagan, flying the bright yellow colors of Sandvik Coromant, the official cutting tools of DSR, led DSR’s contingent of Funny Cars in qualifying at Bristol Dragway placing his Charger in the No. 3 position. He defeated Alexis DeJoria and 16-time series champion John Force before running into Capps, the defending series champion and current Funny Car juggernaut who advanced to his seventh final round in 11 races this season.

“Losing to a teammate is never easy,” Hagan said after spending Father’s Day at the track with his son, Colby. “We’ll get there. We should have won it. We just need to go down the race track. We didn’t do that, so we’ll move on to Norwalk. We were just pressing too hard and smoked the tires.

“Every race counts and every lap matters. Capps is building a commanding lead on us and the rest of the field and we have to put them on the trailer when we race them. The ultimate goal is to be the points leader and those guys are getting done on race day and our goal is to do the same.”

Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane team, led by crew chief Dickie Venables, will have a chance to nip away at Capps’ lead when the NHRA series resumes next weekend, June 23-25, in Norwalk, Ohio, about an hour west of Cleveland.

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Matt Hagan and the Sandvik Coromant 2017 Dodge Charger R/T in the No. 3 spot in Funny Car. Hagan with crew chief Dickie Venables and assistant Michael Knudsen saved their best for last with a time of 3.925 (326.00).

Qualified: No. 3
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS - First round: Jim Campbell

QUALIFYING RESULTS
FRIDAY: 6.060 sec., 119.59 mph, (Session 1); 3.984, 323.81, (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 6.134, 111.87, (Session 3); 3.925, 326.00, (Session 4)
 
A year ago at Bristol: Qualified No. 4, lost in championship round to Tommy Johnson Jr.
Career at Bristol: Wins 1 (2015); Runner-ups 1 (2016); Poles 0

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BRISTOL, TN – June 13, 2017 – (Motor Sports Newswire) –  Racing just a couple hours from his Christiansburg, Va. home, Funny Car driver Matt Hagan relishes the opportunity to compete at picturesque Bristol Dragway, the site of this weekend’s 17th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

After trying for years to win at his home track in Funny Car, Hagan came through for the first time in 2015, advancing to the final round again last year. Winning on Father’s Day weekend added an extra special touch for Hagan, making it such a memorable moment the two-time world champion hopes to repeat it again in his 10,000-horsepower Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T.

“It doesn’t get any better,” said Hagan, who is currently second in Funny Car points. “I’ll have my boy there this weekend, my family will be there and it’s just a blessing to have them all so close. At this race you have so many people you grew up with that come out and watch you. They saw you racing at a local level and they’ve been able to grow with you. For them to see you do well, I think it’s a pretty special thing. Some of those people really, really care about you and your career.”

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1, including final eliminations coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, June 18. It is the 11th of 24 events during a 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season that has been a massive success for Hagan.

  1. Matt grabs Wally at New England Nationals
  2. NHRA New England Nationals Qualifying
  3. Walk 1,000 Feet with Matt Hagan
  4. Hagan believes 338 mph proves drag racing's the ultimate extreme sport
  5. NOTHING COMPARES TO 335 MPH SAYS HAGAN, NOT EVEN CLOSE

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Next NHRA Event 2017

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2017 Mello Yello Schedule

Mello Yello Points

Funny Car (Unofficial)

1. Ron Capps (1095)
2. Matt Hagan (946)
3. Jack Beckman (860)
4. Robert Hight (809)
5. Tommy Johnson Jr. (739)
6. Courtney Force (714)
7. John Force (683)
8. Tim Wilkerson (525)
9. J.R. Todd (508)
10. Cruz Pedregon (431)
14. Alexis DeJoria (381)